The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign is a riot from its impressive opening act to its explosive finale.
While we're still waiting to test the multiplayer, the campaign makes a great first impression on behalf of the entire experience.
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Modern Warfare 2 is brutal, and utterly unrelenting.
Developer Infinity Ward hasn't exactly steered Call of Duty into simulation territory here, although a quicker time-to-kill has allowed the series to establish an uneasy alliance with the form.
The result is a lightning fast first-person shooter where every shot counts, and where death is but a misplaced bullet or mistimed reload away.
Infinity Ward is proficient in a lot of things, and we should now add mission checkpointing to that list.
That just a couple of bullets can act as separation between life and death is a big culture shock for Call of Duty, one that is made satisfying by the quality of weapons, animations, and AI.
There's a snap to the SMGs, a real throttle to the Assault Rifles, and those Sniper Rifles pack one hell of a punch.
There's a greater emphasis on placement and positioning, particularly as enemy combatants show no fear in intuitively pushing flanks.
I tend to typically stick to whatever weapon I'm equipped with in Call of Duty games, but here I found myself going out of my way to sample the entire arsenal.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 makes you fragile, but gives you all the tools you need to become powerful.
Back in action (Image credit: Activision) The Modern Warfare 2 campaign doesn't rewrite the rulebook, as its predecessor did so astutely in 2019, though it does attempt to reinforce the rules of engagement.
Move slowly and shoot quickly; think tactically and take any advantage that you can find.
This is the bedrock of a frequently awe-inspiring 17-mission tour of Mexico, Spain, Amsterdam, and beyond.
Not to mention the foundation for the forthcoming multiplayer, DMZ, and Warzone 2 experiences – each reportedly built atop the IW 9.
0 game engine, and the refined set of Modern Warfare 2 mechanics and systems introduced throughout the campaign.
In many respects, Modern Warfare 2 has been entrusted with showcasing the future of the Call of Duty franchise.
That's a lot of weight for Infinity Ward to bear, though the studio shows no signs of buckling beneath the pressure.
If anything, the Modern Warfare 2 campaign demonstrates that the series is heading in a good direction after a difficult few years.
Black Ops Cold War was a misfire and Vanguard a stopgap against irrelevancy in an increasingly competitive market, and yet here we see a shooter that is firing on all cylinders.
For Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2 is a shining light in the dark.
It's worth pausing here to talk about the visual fidelity of Modern Warfare 2: It is genuinely astounding.
Infinity Ward has delivered one of the best looking new-gen experiences available, and I'm struggling to think of another game that better demonstrates the power of the Xbox Series X.
Cutscenes are rendered at near photorealism while character models find firm ground in the uncanny valley; the use of light and shadow is truly awesome, as too is the contrast drawn through night and interior levels; and both the topography and terrain of mission environments feel true to life, with Infinity Ward doing all that it can to mask that its playspaces are little more than wide corridors with incredible draw-distances.
Modern Warfare 2 campaign impression (Image credit: Activision) In the past 19 years, Call of Duty campaigns have had us do it all – from sniping at enemies between asteroids in zero-gravity, to dying slowly in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion.
Modern Warfare 2 isn't able to produce any scenarios that are all-together new, but it does make some old favorites feel fresh again.
The campaign opens with a new rendition of the best Call of Duty: Modern Warfare mission, a tense push through claustrophobic safe houses lit by the grainy-hue of night vision goggles.
And, thankfully, Modern Warfare 2 never veers towards its predecessor's worst impulses from there, steering clear enough of QTE torture scenes.
Instead, you'll find fantastic versions of 'All Ghillied Up' and 'Death from Above'.
Incredible assaults on a variety of military compounds, and a tight mixture of scenarios that work to emphasize the shift in strategy required to survive close-quarters combat, mid-range engagements, and long-range encounters.
It's also worth noting that MW2 doesn't produce anything as thematically ambitious as Call of Duty: WW2's 'Liberation', nor anything as overtly controversial as 'No Russian' – which thrust the original Modern Warfare 2 into the headlines back in 2009.
(Image credit: Activision) "The Modern Warfare 2 campaign doesn't rewrite the rulebook, although it does reinforce the rules of engagement" That said, Infinity Ward has worked hard to imbue a bit more spirit into this story.
The stars are undoubtedly Soap and Ghost, with Price and Gav left largely to the sidelines so that Modern Warfare 2 can explore a budding friendship within Task Force 141.
'Alone' sees the pair trying to navigate hostile territory without equipment – one of the numerous stealth-focused missions found throughout this campaign – while sharing career advice and military jokes, with timed dialogue options allowing you to control the tenor of the conversation.
Later, you guide Ghost through a compound via CCTV cameras, the two sharing kind words of expletive-riddled encouragement throughout.
It's a fun creative decision which speaks to the change in tone between the two Modern Warfare remakes.
Where the first was clearly inspired by Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, and whose narrative direction was under the supervision of former Naughty Dog writers who have since exited production, this sequel feels more in-line with a good Micheal Bay movie – it moves at a fast clip, and there's always an opportunity for heightened heroics around every corner.
Modern Warfare 2 rarely lets you linger in any one moment for too long, developing a fairly thunderous pace as you reach its midpoint.
Which is probably for the best, given that this is yet another unflinching celebration of the military industrial complex – this time featuring some messy drawings of border relations, and caricatures of Mexico and its cartels.
Full review coming soon (Image credit: Activision) The Modern Warfare 2 campaign doesn't offer anything you haven't seen from Call of Duty before, nor is it able to quite reach the heights of its namesake, but it was never going to and that's okay.
Times have changed, and the FPS market is decidedly different in 2022 than it was in 2009.
Like the Modern Warfare reimagining before it, Infinity Ward has used the past as a point-of-reference rather than a blueprint, and the resulting experience is thrilling from start to finish.
We're yet to play the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer outside of beta tests.
I'm keen to see how the faster TTK and weightier weapons handle on the live servers, so look for my impressions on the entire package after October 28, 2022.
In the meantime, there are worse ways to spend this week than with the campaign; you'll need to put down a digital pre-order to get early-access, but there's a lot of fun to be had here if you do.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign was reviewed on Xbox Series X, with a code provided by the publisher.
