The moment many avid first-person shooter fans have been waiting for has finally arrived. Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II multiplayer is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4|5 and Windows PC. Let’s face it, there hasn’t been much to choose from in the shooter genre in 2022 and with Vanguard not being the best outing in recent years, people are more than ready for another instalment of Modern Warfare. Whether you like the franchise or not, it continues to be a monumental success in revenue takings each and every year. This one will hit slightly differently though, as in 2023 there will be no new Call Of Duty and this one will carry us through the next two years. After ploughing through the impressive campaign mode in its early access week, I was more than ready to get online with the multiplayer.

Introduction

After the massive success of Modern Warfare 2019 and a three-year hiatus since those concrete mechanics, everyone has been eager to see more of the same. I’m of the mindset sometimes that if something isn’t broken then why fix it? This is my feelings about Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II, more of the very same please but improved where possible. The majority of interested gamers would have managed to get stuck in with the BETA a month ago and made their mind up already.

For me, I was consumed by just how smooth the gunplay was along with the very well-laid-out map design in the small slice of the game we got to try. Pre-order players had the added incentive of gaining access to playing the Campaign mode a whole week early, you can read my review of this HERE. For those who are on the fence, I’ll try and cover everything possible here and highlight any key changes that you may not have expected.

Which Version Should I Buy?

If you’re an everyday gamer then you’ll know you can’t just spend £60 on a triple-A game and expect to see everything the game has to offer. For a start, if you’re on a current generation console, then £69.99 is the RRP of Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II. I have seen the game a little cheaper in various places though, so you may be willing to do a little shopping around.

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II Cross-Gen Bundle

The £69.99 copy of the game will give you access to both an Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S version. Perfect for those who haven’t quite made the jump from the last generation just yet. There are no extra perks with this edition but you will have access to Campaign Mode, Spec-Ops and Online Multiplayer portions of the game. Warzone 2.0 will be free to play on 16th November 2022 along with the new mode DMZ.

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II Vault Edition

Weighing in at £99.99, it’s a tad more expensive but there are certain perks to this pricier copy. You’ll receive the same as above but in addition, you’ll get access to the first battle pass with 50+ tier skips, Red Team 141 Operator Pack and FJX Cinder – First-Ever Weapon Vault. Whether you feel it’s worth the extra money is your choice, but essentially it’s just an extra bunch of cosmetics. If you’re still plugging away on Warzone, you will instantly unlock a Khaled Al-Asad Bundle, Final Judgement Bundle and Ghost Legacy Pack with 10 weapon blueprints and 12 operator skins. These will be pretty much redundant though unless you can carry them forward to this game in future.

Gameplay

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II on the surface will be no different to any other title you’ve played when it comes to its gameplay loop and formula. The levelling is nearly identical and whilst I’m yet to see what the prestige system is like this time around, I’m sure the differences between games will be minimal. What I can promise you though is a super polished product with rock-solid gunplay mechanics. The range of settings before you even fire a game up is mind-boggling as there is a ton to rifle through, but the ability to properly customise your button layout in great detail like keybinding on PC is a great addition.

There are new gameplay mechanics such as the ability to hang from ledges and be subtle in your approach to nearby enemies. You can fire a sidearm from this position or mantle up and over for a hopeful easy kill or takedown. Aquatic combat is another new layer to some of the maps allowing you to swim and even fight from under the water. Be mindful of your tactics though, only sidearms work submerged and gunfire will be dramatically weaker due to water density.

New Perk System & Weapon Unlocking Process

The perk system has been slightly tweaked and is a little confusing to understand at first. Now known as perk packages, you’ll be picking from a cluster of options to go into your match with. Each of the packages consists of four perks, two base perks, one bonus and one ultimate. You start the match with your two base perks with the other two slowly unlocking throughout the match you’re playing. Great performance such as racking up kills and capturing objectives will speed up the process and give you access to all four a lot faster.

Weapon unlocking has also had an overhaul, some will love the changes and a lot will learn to dislike the new system. Whilst a lot of the guns still unlock at various levels, others have to be obtained by hitting a certain level with a certain blueprint. This is all displayed on a complicated weapon web that will take some time to really get used to. It encourages the use of weaponry you may not normally want to use to get to what you really want. What I really liked here though was that you don’t have to keep rinsing and repeating on attachment unlocks all the time and the new Gunsmith 2.0 will bring a lot more custom-built weapons from people.

Game Modes

The obvious game modes we all know and love are all here from the off, team deathmatch, domination, kill confirmed and so on. Newly introduced though are a couple of round-based modes that nestle in nicely for those who love short bursts of combat like Search and Destroy. Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II also brings large-scale warfare to the fray with Ground War and Invasion with huge maps, vehicles and a whole load of chaos with up to 64 players.

Prisoner Rescue

Prisoner Rescue is very reminiscent of the hostage game mode in Rainbow Six Siege. You must infiltrate and bring the prisoner out alive and prevent the enemy team from extracting them. Be cautious though as there are no respawns available within a round, though you can be revived, and teamwork is the key to becoming successful. The attacking team must locate two prisoners and extract them or protect them at the extraction point. Each prisoner is worth 100 points and will count towards your overall score. Defenders need to do all they can to prevent the extraction of the prisoners and hold them until the mission timer expires. Each prevention is worth 50 points. The first team that reaches 500 points wins the game.

Knock Out

In another round-based mode, both teams are scrapping over a bag of cash in the centre of the map. Again, there are no respawns, but players can be revived by their teammates. Whichever team is in possession of the bag at the end of the round or wipes out the entire opposing team wins the round. The first to five rounds wins the game.

Ground War

Remember back in the day when ground war was 9v9 on Xbox 360 and was a dire laggy mess? Well almost 15 years after its debut, it’s evolved into something much more. Both teams have 32 players and will need to complete a number of objectives spread across the map to accumulate points for their squad. Think domination on a much bigger scale but I’d say it’s closer to conquest on Battlefield. Road vehicles, tanks and helicopters can all be used on the road to victory.

Invasion

Very similar to ground war but with a mix of human enemies and AI, I’d liken this to Attrition on Titanfall. This is the most suitable mode if you’re new to the game and want to become more comfortable. Killstreak crates, armoured enemies and more often spawn in sporadically to make the game spontaneous and different each time.

Third-Person Mode Is Back!

Many may have forgotten this, but Modern Warfare II had a third-person mode back in the day and whilst it was far from being the most popular, a lot liked it! The mode is back with a bang with the classic over-the-shoulder view which is a perfect opportunity to showcase all those cosmetics you’ll be earning or purchasing in the near future!

Maps

One of my favourite parts of digging into a new Call Of Duty is discovering new maps. There is a generous amount introduced at launch that should be more than plenty until the first proper content drop. Those expecting classic remakes from the original Modern Warfare 2 will be disappointed, for now, they are rumoured to be on the horizon in 2023. There are ten core 6v6 maps and a couple of further ones for the larger-scale ground war and invasion modes.

6 v 6 Map List

• Farm 18
• Mercado Las Almas
• Al Bagra Fortress
• El Asilo
• Breenbergh Hotel
• Crown Raceway
• Embassy
• Santa Sena Border Crossing
• Taraq
• Zarqwa Hydroelectric

Ground War/Invasion Maps

• Sa’id
• Sariff Bay
• Santa Sena
• Zarqwa Hydroelectric
• Al Bagra Fortress

The Bad Stuff

It goes without saying that almost all games have their niggles in the launch week especially and Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II is no different. I’d imagine once the servers settle, and the development teams deploy the first patch full of bug fixes everything will be right as rain. What I have experienced first-hand though is some connectivity issues when amongst a party of friends. Very frequently one or two of your squad members will be thrown to the main menu or straight back to the Xbox dashboard. Not only is this valuable playing time wasted, you have to go through the whole process of dishing out friend invites again.

The user interface on the main screen is a shoddy mess at the moment, with text and screens often overlapping, icons appearing in the wrong locations and loadouts becoming inaccessible unless you reboot the game. Again, this will probably be a priority and fixed pretty quickly, but at the time of writing, it’s a major headache for some players.

Xbox Players Can’t Turn Off Cross-Play!

This is the one that continues to baffle and annoy me. There is no way of switching cross-play off from the game settings, so you are forced to play against PC and Playstation players. It is a major personal frustration of mine and partly the reason I ditched Call Of Duty Warzone at the tail end of 2020. Having to play against gamers with a far superior aim with a mouse and keyboard and potentially hackers in the near future, the situation leaves a sour taste for me. Logistically it is possible to allow this an option as Playstation owners have the opportunity to switch cross-play off at any given moment.

Hardcore Modes & Stats Currently Unavailable

Being predominantly a regular on the hardcore playlists I was surprised not to see these available at launch. We have been promised these will be added in on 16th November 2022 once the first season goes live. Sadly, you’ll have to wait for a little over two weeks to be able to guarantee those instant kills on the hardcore modes. Also absent is the ability to view personal kill/death statistics and leaderboards which will also drop with the first season. Whilst these bits and pieces aren’t the end of the world, it’s always nice to have them from the beginning and not have to wait for an additional timeframe to access them. Personally, I’d expect the first update to be a pretty massive one with the introduction to Warzone 2.0, a new Battle Pass, DMZ, paid cosmetics and more.

Graphics & Audio

After indulging in the visual masterpiece of the Campaign mode, I was half expecting the online multiplayer to be watered down somewhat. Infinity Ward has absolutely smashed it when it comes to presentation in this section also. I have endured over 20 hours of gameplay this weekend alone with next to no sleep, just to put the game through its paces. Not once have I experienced any frame drops, lag or any other performance problems. For the most part, the map design is absolutely superb with so much intricate detail poured into the surroundings. The way they have been constructed made the majority of games appear balanced and for the first time in Call of Duty history, I didn’t feel the need to complain about the spawn positionings.

Animations are exceptional and far more atmospheric than MW2019. Being in the heat of battle and seeing a cruise missile thrust towards the ground in the distance result in an eruption of flames and smoke is impressive. The audio design seems to be drastically improved and whilst some may argue that the sound of footsteps may be far too audible, I loved being able to hear more. I’d absolutely recommend wearing the best headset you can possibly afford for this one, it feels as immersive as ever and honestly, I can’t fault anything when it comes to the eyes and ears of the game.

In Conclusion

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II is the most polished product I’ve ever played in the franchise and after the mediocre displays of Cold War and Vanguard, this one is absolutely worth your time and hard-earned dollar. With a plethora of classic, new and large-scale modes across the board, there is something for everyone to play and enjoy. Whilst the six-on-six battles remain the iconic three-lane maps with fast, frantic and chaotic close-quarters gameplay, the more relaxed of the bunch may prefer the ground war and invasion battles which have slower pacing. Those who don’t wish to mix and compete with online players across the globe may want to indulge in Spec-Ops for the cooperative fix.

Whilst the first season’s battle pass, roadmap, DMZ and Warzone 2.0 are all yet to make an appearance, the core offering in the base package is already extremely meaty. With solid and sharp gunplay, outstanding visuals and incredible audio design, it echoes all the values and ticks all the boxes the original Modern Warfare titles did all those years ago. Activision and Infinity Ward with their supporting development teams will have the mammoth task of keeping fans engaged for the next two years and the foundations are laid for possibly the greatest shooter of this generation thus far. For the multiplayer component alone, Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II is a must-buy.