With its upcoming release on October 28, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has a lot of ground to cover, not only with its patient player base but in how it can do the original justice while creating its own voice. While the original Modern Warfare series played out similarly to a Michael Bay film, the 2019 reboot felt more akin to something like Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty; a gritty, realistic take on modern combat where no one side truly wins, and the lines are blurred between heroes and villains. It still fell in line with what the series was known for, but made it feel grounded and real. This title needs to carry that torch ten-fold, upping the ante even further while also paying tribute to a classic among fans.
RELATED: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Reveal Confirmed for Next Week
Modern Warfare 2 Needs To Be A Re-Return To Form
Since the release of Modern Warfare 2 back in 2009, Activision and its many Call of Duty developers - Treyarch, Sledgehammer, Raven Software, and Infinity Ward - have had both successes and stumbles as the franchise has continued to grow. Only in recent years has the franchise seemingly found its footing again, as 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare came as a reboot that implemented characters of old while building a whole new story to engage with.
This seemed a pivotal moment for Activision, as this was the title that fans both new and old were eager for. Unsurprisingly, a return to form with a great story and the best gunplay mechanics that the franchise had ever seen proved successful. After its solid release, Modern Warfare gave players even more of a reason to rejoice with the release of the Warzone battle royale that has stood as one of the strongest titles in the sub-genre.
Success isn’t something that can be bottled, and Activision made that extremely apparent with the less than stellar reception of its last two consecutive titles, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Vanguard. Black Ops Cold War was the exact opposite of what fans were expecting following Modern Warfare, with more arcade-like combat that had been evident in the older Black Ops games and felt like a back step for players eager for clean gameplay. While Vanguard managed to do a lot right by bringing in a lot of what Modern Warfare had done in its gameplay, its setting and Zombies mode failed to meet fan expectations, thus creating another black hole that sucked players out of its ecosystem.
For Modern Warfare 2 to be a success, it needs to truly improve upon the fantastic gunplay that its predecessor had and create something enticing for players that have been starving for more of what they had been given in 2019. Gun balancing needs to be one of the things that Activision keeps a close eye on right out of the gate. Too often are the guns unbalanced in Call of Duty, causing players to rage-quit for weeks if not months until a specific gun or multiple are nerfed. There really should be no stone unturned when it comes to how well the upcoming title is refined before it touches players’ hands.
How Modern Warfare 2 Could Be Better
While gunplay probably won’t see all that much of a face-lift, its movement mechanics could see more improvements. The tactical sprint and sliding mechanics are perfected, but there could be some additional aspects that could further Modern Warfare 2’s gameplay. Somehow bringing back the dolphin-dive mechanic whilst simultaneously having slides as an option would add additional situational moments of gameplay that fans have yet to see from the franchise. The next Modern Warfare is where the developers need to go all-out.
The specific area where the sequel needs to succeed is in its campaign. It needs to be even better than what gamers were given in 2019’s Modern Warfare. A bigger, more explosive campaign that subverts expectations and hammers home the fact that war is pain is one way to make this happen. The original Modern Warfare 2 introduced players to combat on the American home front, and that’s something that has to be re-explored to really make its story compelling. This was one of the staples of what made the original so beloved, and to omit it would be a shame. Creating something wholly new is a good thing, but with a title as iconic as Modern Warfare 2, there have to be callbacks to the missions that legacy fans hold so dear.
If Infinity Ward is going to take inspiration from the original Modern Warfare 2, it should also strive to create entirely new iconic moments that the current generation will reminisce about for years to come. There’s no doubt that Activision and the many developers steering this game toward victory are looking at the original’s source material and seeing how they can do something even grander. Although the original is extremely beloved, seeing what Activision and Co. have planned is truly intriguing, as there are so many potential routes to tread following the last entry’s story. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has the potential to be the best Call of Duty title in the franchise, Activision just has to seize the opportunity.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
MORE: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Gets New Live-Action Trailer With Steve Aoki
