Modern Warfare 2: Campaign Remasteredjust released for PS4 and will be available on April 30th for other consoles. For a very reasonable $20,Modern Warfare 2’s campaign has been remade in glorious modern graphics for nostalgic players to re-live all over again. It is very understandable thatMW2 Remastereddoesn’t have competitive multiplayer, simply because 2019’sModern Warfareis alive and well with several classicModern Warfare 2maps already present in its playlists.
One thing inModern Warfare 2: Campaign Remasteredthat is a little disappointing is the exclusion of co-op missions, but the price is still right for re-living one of the best single-player FPS campaigns ever made.MW2 Remasteredis nowhere near the level of a complete remake, but it is at least an almost perfectly faithful recreation of the original with upgraded graphics, animation, and sound.
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When first compared to last year’sModern Warfarecampaign,Modern Warfare 2 Remasteredmight seem like a very far cry from the modern gameplay and storytelling of 2019’s game. It has been over a decade sinceMW2originally came out, and video game sensibilities have changed a lot in that time. However, it is also important to note that 2019’sModern Warfarewas meant to be a callbackto the type of campaign and tone thatModern Warfare 2exemplified.
Appearance and Mechanics
Modern Warfare’s campaignhas many missions that take place in moody, darkened levels that use light and shadow to evoke the feeling of covert operations and ominous tension. For better or worse,MW2 Remasteredtends towards bombastic action sequences and big, bright levels that push the action along at a breakneck speed. Both games have their scenic moments though, from windswept ice climbing inMW2to a night-vision raid on a claustrophobic house inModern Warfare.
Mechanically,Modern Warfare 2 Remasteredfeels its age as well. Some players will appreciate the old-school simplicity ofMW2running and gunning, but it seems like a missed opportunity to add some modern sensibilities like smooth traversal, leaning around cover, and the finely-tuned gunplay of 2019’sModern Warfare. Those things could not just re-create the game, but breathe new life into and make it feel fresh again. At the very least, new sound design and animation brings the game up to modern standards for presentation and playability.
Storytelling
There is a very good reason thatModern Warfare 2is considered one of the best single player stories in FPS games. It seems to perfectly mix high-octane action with a gripping fictional tale of global geo-politics, while somehow still presenting a relatively sobering picture of armed conflict. No one should accuseModern Warfare 2of gritty realism, but the tone of its story and the broad strokes of the tale feel all too real.
From thestill-controversial mission No Russian,to the frightening depiction of a full-scale invasion of the US east coast, the campaign manages to deliver action and intensity without glorifying violence too frequently. Interestingly, the controversy that arose overMW2’s No Russian mission was because of its brutally realistic depiction of acts of terror, while 2019’sModern Warfareactually caught flak for not portraying certain events brutally enough. Even though the more recentModern Warfaregenerally has a much darker and grittier tone, it drewcomplaints because its in-game depiction of white phosphorousdid not do justice to the actual brutality of chemical and incendiary weapons.
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By modern standards,Modern Warfare 2’s campaign still might take things a bit too lightly. Despite the complaints, 2019’sModern Warfaredoes a very good job of getting dark, gritty, anddepicting the horrors of war. In ten years the general consensus of what makes a good video game and how video game stories are told has shifted quite a bit, and it’s important to remember that. The bombastic action of 2009’sModern Warfaremight feel out of place in a modern game about brutal conflict, but back then that’s what was expected of an FPS game.
Last year’sModern Warfarewas actually an attempt to return to some of the darker themes that prevailed in earlier titles likeModern Warfare 2. Now though, the way that those themes are depicted reflects modern sensibilities on what makes a good FPS game and how darker subject material should be covered in games. The more recentModern Warfarecranks the realism up a notch and delivers a more gritty, intense tone, butModern Warfare 2’s remaster still tells a great story even without the lens of nostalgia. Even for all of its action, explosions, and violent set pieces, the main villains ofModern Warfare 2are those who profit from starting wars, while its heroes are those trying to end them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remasteredis out now for PS4, with a PC and Xbox One version launching on April 30.
