In five years, when people talk about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, there will be no confusion about which version they’re referring to. Unfortunately, this year’s Modern Warfare 2 campaign falls short, thanks to a lackluster story, botched mechanical innovations, and largely uninspiring mission design. While it remains visually impressive, it fails to live up to the high standards set by both the unforgettable 2009 original and its 2019 predecessor. Despite state-of-the-art gunplay and a few promising moments, the campaign spends too much time echoing the successes of Call of Duty’s past rather than establishing its own identity.
The six-hour campaign shifts the action from the Middle Eastern frontlines of the previous Modern Warfare to Mexico, where you face off against the Las Almas drug cartel. Sadly, the cartel members fulfill the same tired, stereotypical roles that have been seen in countless other games and movies, from Ghost Recon Wildlands to Bad Boys. Their involvement in an international arms deal, stolen U.S. missiles, and the complex interplay between various special forces feels formulaic and uninspired.
The story here is a significant step down from its predecessor. While Modern Warfare delved into the personal and moral consequences of military occupation, Modern Warfare 2 opts for more shallow, action-oriented fare. The characters are one-dimensional, and the plot is predictable within the first 30 minutes. Think less Kathryn Bigelow and more Michael Bay—big explosions, but little substance.
That said, there are still some base-level thrills to be found as you power through the story. As always, Call of Duty delivers cutting-edge graphics, with Modern Warfare 2 looking visually stunning from virtually every angle. Mexico offers plenty of scenic vistas, but it’s a brief visit to Amsterdam that truly shows off the game’s graphical prowess, thanks to meticulous attention to detail and impressive lighting effects.
The shooting mechanics are, as you’d expect, top-tier. Weapon handling is precise and satisfying, and the visual, physical, and particularly audio feedback are in a class of their own. Special mention should be made of the sniper and assault rifles, which feel better than ever. The game offers a seemingly endless collection of weapons, each with its own unique feel, although the mission design rarely favors one type of weapon over another, making different gun categories feel interchangeable.
Modern Warfare 2 continues the smaller-scale, more methodical combat of its predecessor. There’s less focus on chaotic, large-scale battles, and more emphasis on deliberate, room-clearing tactics. While this gives the game a distinct rhythm, it comes at the cost of the intensity that made some of the original game’s shootouts so memorable. I might have been more forgiving of this change if it weren’t for the introduction of armored enemies, who require you to shatter their helmets or vests before you can finish them off. These enemies initially feel like an interesting challenge, but they quickly become frustrating bullet sponges, breaking the flow of the action and undermining the realism that the smaller engagements try to build.
Mission design is varied, and there are some genuinely creative concepts, though a few fall back on tired, generic templates. Objectives like “hold the line” and “clear the area” are overused, though they’re thankfully outnumbered by more purposeful levels. Yet, Modern Warfare 2 struggles to deliver a standout mission—those iconic moments that have defined previous Call of Duty campaigns, such as “All Ghillied Up,” “No Russian,” and “Clean House.” The closest it comes to a memorable mission is Alone, a stealth-based level where you must escape a maze-like town full of guards. Starting unarmed, you scavenge for materials to craft smoke bombs, trip mines, and lockpicks to aid your escape. This has all the makings of a great Call of Duty mission, but it’s undermined by the fact that your character is injured and can only move slowly, making it more of a chore than an exciting escape. Its 40-minute duration feels excessive, and the pacing drags as you weave between guards.
Elsewhere, there’s an awkward car chase that pales in comparison to the thrilling sequences in Uncharted 4, and a brief but fun infiltration of a cartel boss’s mansion that channels a light Hitman vibe, as you navigate through enemy territory while disguised.
Most of Modern Warfare 2, however, seems content to play it safe and relive past glories. There are two back-to-back missions that replicate the original Modern Warfare’s “Death from Above” sequence, where you rain down fire from a circling gunship. Another mission echoes Crew Expendable, as you storm a cargo ship, and yet another mirrors All Ghillied Up, where you hide in grass while enemies walk by. There are also multiple references to 2019’s Clean House, as you slowly clear rooms with your allies. These moments feel like a “greatest hits” album, but performed by a less confident band.
That’s not to say there’s no merit in these “covers.” The gunship missions require more precision than before, with targets often close to civilians. The Dark Waters cargo ship level makes good use of dynamic cover, as containers shift across a wet deck. Recon by Fire, a sniping mission, offers more tactical options, allowing you to choose whether to breach a building with explosives or use tear gas to flush enemies out into the open. I wish this backpack system had been used more widely throughout the campaign, as it shows Infinity Ward’s potential for introducing meaningful player choices. Unfortunately, it feels like a one-off novelty rather than a core feature.
Another new mechanic is the armor plate system, which appears in a single mission as a nod to Warzone but offers little strategic depth. If both the backpack and armor systems had been integrated throughout the campaign, it could have added an extra layer of decision-making to the gameplay, making combat feel less tedious when dealing with bullet-sponge enemies.
Finally, Modern Warfare 2’s campaign has a few technical hiccups. While performance is generally smooth, I encountered some low-res textures, especially on water, while playing on PlayStation 5. Worse still, I experienced a save corruption bug during the final mission, which caused the game to crash every time I loaded it. This forced me to replay the mission from the beginning, which was a frustrating setback.
While these issues aren’t game-breaking, they do detract from the experience. The shooting mechanics in Modern Warfare 2 remain excellent, ensuring that combat is always satisfying. However, the campaign struggles with a predictable story and mission design that often feels like it’s recycling past ideas instead of pushing forward with new, original concepts.
There are also several nods to 2019’s Clean House, where you’ll often find yourself slowly ascending staircases behind two allies, waiting for the right moment to strike. This results in a feeling of replaying familiar material, like a “greatest hits” album performed by a less confident band. However, that doesn’t mean these moments don’t have their merits or offer some fun.
The gunship missions, for example, demand far more precision than their predecessors, as targets are often situated close to civilians. There’s also a more deliberate pacing in how you use each of the plane’s three types of ammunition. In Dark Waters, the cargo ship level, you’ll encounter moving cover, as containers slide across the wet deck, adding a dynamic challenge. Recon by Fire, the sniping mission, gives you a backpack filled with various tools that offer greater tactical flexibility when clearing buildings. You can choose whether to breach doors with explosives or deploy a tear gas grenade down a ventilation shaft to flush enemies out into the open.
I would have liked to see the backpack system integrated more broadly throughout the campaign. While Call of Duty has traditionally excelled in linear scenario design, Recon by Fire shows that Infinity Ward can weave meaningful player choice into encounters. Sadly, this and other mechanics often feel like momentary novelties rather than core gameplay features that could enrich the experience.
Another example is the armor plate system, which is only used in a single mission. It seems more like a nod to Warzone rather than serving a substantial tactical purpose. If both the backpack and armor plate mechanics had been woven into the entire campaign, they could have added a layer of micro-decisions to each encounter, possibly making the combat against bullet-sponge enemies more enjoyable.
Lastly, Modern Warfare 2’s campaign is a bit buggier than expected for a Call of Duty title. While performance is generally smooth, I encountered occasional low-resolution textures, particularly on water, during my playthrough on PlayStation 5. Worse still, I ran into a save corruption bug during the final checkpoint of the last mission, which caused the game to crash every time I loaded it. I was forced to replay the entire mission from the start.
These issues aren’t game-breaking, but they are frustrating nonetheless. Still, Modern Warfare 2’s shooting mechanics remain in a class of their own, ensuring that each moment of combat still delivers a satisfying punch. However, despite the consistently solid gunplay, the campaign is held back by a predictable story and mission designs that rely too heavily on rehashing past successes rather than embracing new and compelling ideas for more than just a single mission.