There's this always awkward period in the industry following the release of a new console generation where developers find themselves trying to cater to two different markets of consumers - those who have made the jump over to the most recent hardware and those who haven't. History has shown that the gamers in the latter category have to be particularly careful as studios often take shortcuts or cut content to make this possible, which can leave them with an inferior product. I think many are still sore over Black Ops III releasing without a campaign on 360 and PS3 back in 2015 for example. I'm happy to report though that the PS4 version of Modern Warfare II isn't a significant downgrade. I did notice that character models can look a bit Cyberpunk 2077-y at times in the story mode and textures on the larger multiplayer maps regularly take a second to fully load in, but with no hiccups related to the actual gameplay and a lack of technical issues present outside of the visual variety this is still a perfectly viable option for people stuck on "last gen."
I've seen the single-player portion receiving a lot of praise online, and while I think the hype is a bit overblown I must say it is a solid offering on the whole. It sort of plays like a greatest hits compilation for Infinity Ward, delivering more or less exactly the type of thrills you would expect alongside plenty of callbacks, nods, and references to the original trilogy paired with the occasional, not so subtle easter eggs reminding us that titles like Ghosts were a thing at one point. There are some original flourishes however, such as a stage where you're jumping from and hijacking moving enemy vehicles Wheelman-style and, my personal favorite, an entire level where you're stealthily sneaking around crafting tools from junk littering the environment to survive like it's The Last of Us or something. Honestly, aside from the relative absence of true innovation the most disappointing aspect is the writing. Save for an exciting twist about midway through, the plot is a rather bland affair involving the hunt for a generic Middle Eastern terrorist who's stolen some missiles and none of the members of the 141 or their allies are as cool as the team at IW apparently thinks they are (except Alejandro who is G.O.A.T. tier).
As for the competitive half of the package, which has always been the lifeblood of the franchise, I've experienced the same moments of exhilaration with the fast-paced combat and RPG-level of depth in the weapon/loadout customization mixed with feelings of frustration at seeing other players get away with cheap tactics that inexplicably never work for me or losing an objective-based match because several of my teammates decided to leave right as we were about to secure a win that I typically do. There's some Battle Pass bullcrap now (the absolute worst thing Fortnite gave us), but it didn't bother me much. The biggest additions come in the form of a third-person playlist, the new perspective of which radically changes how you play, and the "Invasion" mode that's basically just a larger team deathmatch with AI bots on the Ground War maps and has become my new main go-to.
I've had better luck than most in the past when it came to avoiding the unpleasantness the CoD community is notorious for whenever using mics, but it appears the fortunate streak has been brought to an unceremonious end. It makes me wish muting others was easier. For whatever reason I never seem to be able to select the specific users who need it most, and have had to resort to silencing entire lobbies as a result. At least doing so allows me to dodge that long-running bug where the gamertags of those talking remain stuck on your screen until you logout.
The cooperative options are admittedly the area where I've spent the briefest amount of time, as the buddies of mine who do actually game with me rather than just taking up a spot on my friend's list aren't really fans of the series and every time I've tried to join randoms they've all bafflingly left as soon as the mission(s) started. A shame, because what little I've seen looked diverse, interesting, and nowhere near as crushingly difficult as MW 2019's Spec Ops was/is. Evidence points to there being something worth your time in this department provided you can assemble a reliable group of pals.
As much as Infinity Ward is definitely resting on and to a degree even recycling prior laurels, what's here shows they aren't completely out of ideas yet. Thus the brand remains a great way to get your first-person military shooter fix for another year. I know it will personally keep me occupied for a few months or so until I either get bored or the future updates eat away at too much of my free hard drive space like a few of its predecessors have (legitimately why I've skipped over the past couple entries). Although far from revolutionary, I continue to be impressed by how the shooting only seems to get smoother and I'd argue it has the best sniping of any installment to date. Plus, there's a high chance the right nostalgic notes will be hit for the veterans in the audience who followed the exploits of Price, Soap, and Gaz back in their heyday.
7.5/10
I've seen the single-player portion receiving a lot of praise online, and while I think the hype is a bit overblown I must say it is a solid offering on the whole. It sort of plays like a greatest hits compilation for Infinity Ward, delivering more or less exactly the type of thrills you would expect alongside plenty of callbacks, nods, and references to the original trilogy paired with the occasional, not so subtle easter eggs reminding us that titles like Ghosts were a thing at one point. There are some original flourishes however, such as a stage where you're jumping from and hijacking moving enemy vehicles Wheelman-style and, my personal favorite, an entire level where you're stealthily sneaking around crafting tools from junk littering the environment to survive like it's The Last of Us or something. Honestly, aside from the relative absence of true innovation the most disappointing aspect is the writing. Save for an exciting twist about midway through, the plot is a rather bland affair involving the hunt for a generic Middle Eastern terrorist who's stolen some missiles and none of the members of the 141 or their allies are as cool as the team at IW apparently thinks they are (except Alejandro who is G.O.A.T. tier).
As for the competitive half of the package, which has always been the lifeblood of the franchise, I've experienced the same moments of exhilaration with the fast-paced combat and RPG-level of depth in the weapon/loadout customization mixed with feelings of frustration at seeing other players get away with cheap tactics that inexplicably never work for me or losing an objective-based match because several of my teammates decided to leave right as we were about to secure a win that I typically do. There's some Battle Pass bullcrap now (the absolute worst thing Fortnite gave us), but it didn't bother me much. The biggest additions come in the form of a third-person playlist, the new perspective of which radically changes how you play, and the "Invasion" mode that's basically just a larger team deathmatch with AI bots on the Ground War maps and has become my new main go-to.
I've had better luck than most in the past when it came to avoiding the unpleasantness the CoD community is notorious for whenever using mics, but it appears the fortunate streak has been brought to an unceremonious end. It makes me wish muting others was easier. For whatever reason I never seem to be able to select the specific users who need it most, and have had to resort to silencing entire lobbies as a result. At least doing so allows me to dodge that long-running bug where the gamertags of those talking remain stuck on your screen until you logout.
The cooperative options are admittedly the area where I've spent the briefest amount of time, as the buddies of mine who do actually game with me rather than just taking up a spot on my friend's list aren't really fans of the series and every time I've tried to join randoms they've all bafflingly left as soon as the mission(s) started. A shame, because what little I've seen looked diverse, interesting, and nowhere near as crushingly difficult as MW 2019's Spec Ops was/is. Evidence points to there being something worth your time in this department provided you can assemble a reliable group of pals.
As much as Infinity Ward is definitely resting on and to a degree even recycling prior laurels, what's here shows they aren't completely out of ideas yet. Thus the brand remains a great way to get your first-person military shooter fix for another year. I know it will personally keep me occupied for a few months or so until I either get bored or the future updates eat away at too much of my free hard drive space like a few of its predecessors have (legitimately why I've skipped over the past couple entries). Although far from revolutionary, I continue to be impressed by how the shooting only seems to get smoother and I'd argue it has the best sniping of any installment to date. Plus, there's a high chance the right nostalgic notes will be hit for the veterans in the audience who followed the exploits of Price, Soap, and Gaz back in their heyday.
7.5/10