Stay Frosty – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

They say “Who Dares Wins”, but you know who else wins? People who play for the objective, not that you’d realise that from a round of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s multiplayer.

Okay, so your teammates don’t always play the objective game and (as someone who does play the objective) it can be frustrating. Not as frustrating as the campers, mind you – oh Lord, the campers in this game… But overall, the multiplayer is pretty enjoyable to play.

Daily challenges and Missions that give you XP, weapons, or other items encourage you to switch up your play style, or play game modes you normally wouldn’t choose. If you really dislike a mode, you now have the option to filter it out of your Quick Play searches.

The same can’t be said for maps. When the game was released, there were 9 Quick Play maps available – there are now 14. Of course there are more if you include Gunfight and Ground War (which is totally not Battlefield), but I’m going to focus on Quick Play. Like the game modes, there are some classics in there – like my favourite map, Shipment – and some new ones which are based on the campaign. As you’d expect, different maps lend themselves to different play styles: you’re not going to be sniping anyone on Shipment, but you’ll get a good chance to do so on Euphrates Bridge – the one map where people use something other than shotguns.

Sniper, shotgun, or SMG – whatever you use, you’ll be introduced to the weapons levelling system. It’s pretty in-depth. By using one specific weapon repeatedly, you can level up your gun, unlock camouflages, and attachments to use on it. Each gun has approximately 9 possible attachment slots, though you can only pick up to 5 to use at a time.

Surely you can just buy the best attachments because micro-transactions are everywhere? Well, not really, no. Micro-transactions, in the form of COD Points, can be used for cosmetic items – stickers, charms, voice lines, and operator skins – and the seasonal battle pass. The battle pass also offers more time-dependent cosmetics and some XP bonuses; the few guns available are available for the paid battle pass and the free alternative, which grants you cosmetics and XP boosts, but less frequently. The most important part of the season battle pass, in my opinion, are the Otter skins and Ghost as operator.

Somewhat predictably, Modern Warfare has introduced a battle royale mode – Warzone. You and your two squadmates battle 147 other players to be top team. Revives are available, but if you die, don’t worry too much. On your first death, you’ll be sent to every Call of Duty fan’s favourite place: the Gulag showers. You and an opponent have a 1v1 fight to earn your redeployment. The losers (or those on their second deaths) will have to be bought back for $4,500 by their squadmates.

Although Warzone is a component of Modern Warfare, it was also released as a free-to-play game on its own.

But this isn’t Black Ops 4! You want to play through a campaign, right? 2007’s Modern Warfare had a cool story about nuclear annihilation – and Captain Price! You missed that mustache, and you know it.

Like a lot of Call of Duty campaigns, Modern Warfare doesn’t shy away from touchy subjects. Between chemical warfare, terrorism, and a few methods of interrogation, the game can feel a little heavy at times. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The new faces of Kyle Garrick, “Alex” and Farah Karim, intermingle with some of your old comrades from the original trilogy. Through it all, there is a sense of camaraderie, unity, and – ergh – the call of duty… Yeah, I’m ashamed of myself for that one.

Through 14 missions, lasting about a total of 6 hours, the game can be a little intense. Navigating hostages and house raids can give a game a sense of urgency. You get sucked in.

I guess you can play it in segments, taking frequent breaks and stretching; that’s probably advised. Yet, something kept me captivated. For those 6 hours, I had to save the world with Captain Price.

And that is exactly what I did.