Jumping right into it, the graphics for the game are well done to say the least. They certainly aren’t going to win any awards for aesthetics, but the developers have understood what is needed in a Call of Duty game and worked accordingly. If you’ve played in the beta, you might remember a graphics bug that made lobby screens extremely blurry and pixelated – a problem which no longer exists in this full release, thankfully.
Building upon that, the maps are quite well designed and capture the war-torn landscape that you would expect from a game like this. Each map has a different atmosphere, ranging from the arid, dusty Azhir Cave to the metropolis that is Piccadilly. While not all maps can be played in all game modes, there are enough maps now to ensure fatigue does not set in as you grind your way to unlocking more guns, attachments and cosmetics.
...if you happen to see a player destroying game lobbies and racking up nigh-infinite killstreaks, you can choose to use their loadout instead.
An interesting feature to note about the unlocks system is that you don’t necessarily need to unlock a weapon or loadout yourself to use it – if you happen to see a player destroying game lobbies and racking up nigh-infinite killstreaks, you can choose to use their loadout instead. This, however, only applies as long as you are in the same lobby as the player and is not a permanent unlock, ensuring that you will have to work for your gear.
Aside from the satisfying gunplay it offers, the defining feature that separates Modern Warfare from Black Ops 4 is the time-to-kill. It was a major complaint in Black Ops 4 that it took too long for players to down an enemy, and the developers of Modern Warfare seemed to have taken notice of this and decreased time-to-kill in their game.
With this, the gameplay is sped up: you can take down multiple enemies within the span of a few seconds, all with a single magazine.
This does have its downsides, however. Some guns have been taken to the extreme, far beyond what they ought to be capable of. The 725 double-barrel shotgun, when equipped with a choke, is capable of blasting players at mid-range and instantly killing them.
What would otherwise be a guaranteed victory for an assault rifle has become an almost impossible battle for the player, even more so if the shotgun user is hiding around a corner waiting for the player to approach.
Footsteps are so incredibly loud that players have become disincentivised from roaming, choosing instead to set up shop around corners and windows
Speaking of which, this leads to another problem in Modern Warfare. The developers have done a great job with the audio – too great, in fact. Footsteps are so incredibly loud that players have become disincentivised from roaming, choosing instead to set up shop around corners and windows, ready to blast players when they hear the slightest clomping of combat boots.
Although this is a method of play, it’s generally frowned upon in the Call of Duty franchise as it goes against the high-octane, adrenaline-pumping run-and-gun gameplay.
Much of my playtime in Modern Warfare has been in the multiplayer, so I’ve not been able to play the campaign just yet. However, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it, and let’s be honest - Call of Duty is first and foremost a multiplayer game, anything else is secondary. Although it does have a steep, triple-A price tag of fifty pounds, the inherent replayability and potential of the game is well worth it.