A year ago, Activision and Treyarch released Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which was one of the weakest games in the series. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that it contained the series’ worst story mode. Designed around four player co-op, it was a mess and not the fun kind. Getting through it was a slog, and it made me worry for the future of the franchise.
The multiplayer was better, but I had a hard time getting into it, and didn’t play it much after launch. The maps didn’t do a lot for me, and the experience just never hooked me. On top of that, I’m not much of a Zombies fan for whatever reason.
Fast-forward to now, and Activision has turned back to Infinity Ward for the newest instalment; that being Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The presumed final chapter of their rebooted Modern Warfare series, it has been advertised a ton and comes bearing lofty promises. Now that I’ve played through it, thanks to a somewhat early copy, I can assure those who are on the fence that it’s a return to form. As such, anyone who’s worried this will be another disappointment and forgettable experience needn’t worry about that.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 attempts to conclude a somewhat messy and overwhelming reboot story, and does a rather good job of it. In the process, it delivers what is easily the best campaign in recent years, and likely in quite a while. I’ve struggled to think of a better one, at least over the last couple of console generations.
Things begin in rather cinematic fashion, as a regiment made up of American and South Korean soldiers pulls up to a South Korean city and begins its nightly patrol. First, they hype each other up, and do so using some Wu-Tang Clan music. Then, they make their way to a local convenience store, in order to stock up on supplies, and get the newbie some stomach medicine. They joke about how he’s going to be feeling ill for the next while, and it seems like it may be a bit of a hazing thing.
Following their exit from the store, a strange noise pierces the sky before the power goes out in large-scale fashion. Then, explosives begin to fall out of the sky, causing fiery destruction and fatalities. The soldiers run for cover, then dodge explosions en route to a baseball stadium, and also a cafe, both of which are used for safety and gun-based rebuttal. You see, the North Koreans have abruptly invaded their southern neighbours and enemies, and it’s an aggressive and deadly invasion.
Throughout the beginning of this invasion, players take control of Park, a South Korean soldier who’s new to the series. On the younger side, he’s a brave, caring, competent and dedicated soldier, and someone who makes for a good protagonist herein. Don’t expect to play as him during every mission, though, because this story jumps around and has a few different playable characters from whom we experience things through first-person means. However, there will be more about that later.
This visceral, violent and chaotic mission begins a quality campaign, and starts to prove that this is a different beast from last year’s misstep. The following fifteen missions further cement that fact, and deliver one of the most enjoyable and well-made Call of Duty and military shooter campaigns in memory.
Park wasn’t part of the previous Modern Warfare reboot campaigns, which varied in terms of quality, nor was he part of its XBOX 360 era origins. As those who’ve spent time with them will know, characters like Price, Soap and Ghost are the faces of the series. Those heroes and their allies still had a story to tell and tie up, which is why a big part of this campaign features John Price as its protagonist. However, this isn’t the Price we’re used to, because he essentially goes rogue and off-grid.
The overarching story of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 deals with the invasion of South Korea by the North Koreans, as well as what’s gone on behind-the-scenes. It begins with the invasion, then goes back in time to chronicle Price’s diversion, and what happened in the days leading up to the attack. This involves a familiar villain, as well as a newcomer named the Archer. It also has something to do with a special weapon.
As Price, players will go into a grey area, and fight their way through a functional railyard, engage in fast-paced car chases in Paris, and also hop out to spew bullets in its streets. They’ll also utilize something that is new to the franchise, with that being hand-to-hand combat. It’s introduced early on, and plays a large role in a mission that takes place within a club and features burly security to fight. It fits, too, and is pretty well done, and not overly complicated. The gist is that this involves blocking incoming punches with the left trigger or L2, and then fighting back with the right trigger or R2. Watch enemy movements, react and then fight back. It’s pretty fun.
The fisticuffs make Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 feel more cinematic, personal and realistic. It’s done well, not overused and fits in seamlessly. They only factor into Price’s part of the story, and not always.
The other aspect of this campaign’s storyline involves change in the North Korean leadership. You see, the former Supreme Leader (who was treated like, and worshipped as, a god), has passed and his son has taken over the proverbial throne. He also has a sister, who is in a high ranking military role, which involves going out into villages to suss out defectors and make examples of them. That’s why one early mission involves playing as an unnamed soldier, who’s part of one of these searches and must go through a village in order to find evidence of people hoarding food rations, hiding books from other countries, and not following the rules. It’s a very adult, incredibly disturbing and downright shocking mission, in which some moral choices are made available to the player. I’m not sure if it’s possible for it to end differently, though, based on these choices.
The aforementioned mission is probably the best looking one in the game, as it’s downright stunning. That graphic beauty is in stark contrast to its content.
One of the things I disliked most about recent Modern Warfare campaigns was their reliance on large, open, missions that made it feel like I was playing a single player variation of Warzone. These felt like they dropped us into multiplayer maps, and created missions using them in order to save time. None of them were very enjoyable, either, and I worried that this game would carry that forward. It does, but not in the exact same manner.
You see, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 features one open map mission in the middle of its campaign. It’s set in a very wintry part of North Korea, and involves one soldier going out to complete objectives in order to help his squad (who’ve bunkered down in the basement of a desolate, vacant and partially destroyed house) flee the area unscathed. This drops the player into a large, open map, with mountains, villages, outposts, scattered homes and bunkers to deal with. There’s a lot of country to cover, and this can be done by driving stolen vehicles, running, swimming and parachuting. It features Warzone mechanics; one of which factors into most of the campaign, with that being armor plates. I’ve never cared much for having to deal with them, or wanted them in a single player campaign, but they’re handled fine here. Sometimes they’re prevalent, and sometimes they’re an afterthought to change things up. They can definitely be helpful.
In this particular open map mission, there are a few different targets to go after, including a radio tower and a bunker. While it is possible to save time and fast travel to them, that will ruin the feeling of the mission, which is designed to make you feel like a lone wolf who’s up against bad odds. Each main objective also suggests that the player has specific weapons and tools equipped, like a silenced shotgun and a heartbeat sensor.
Those who take their time playing through this, the longest part of the rather lengthy story mode, will find that there is lots to do and discover. There’s a fuel truck to steal and bring back to ‘home base,’ multiple storage units to unlock by guessing the codes based on previously used ones, and a lot of yellow crates to find. That’s all in addition to the many houses, buildings and guard posts to explore, the letters and propaganda to find and all of the territory to cover. This is why the game saves one’s progress here separately, so that they can go back and continue exploring this mission’s rugged and snowy map.
As mentioned above, I didn’t particularly like the similar missions in the previous games. They felt tacked on, and like afterthoughts placed into the games to provide busywork, inflate their lengths and save time during development. I understand why they were included, but I don’t think that they did their games any good. However, that isn’t the case here. The one such mission found in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is well done, fun, and immersive. It actually kind of hooked me.
After last year, I was worried, but this ended up being a good campaign, and one of the best in memory. Although there were one or two missions I wasn’t a big fan of (including one where you have to defend multiple positions, and can jump between three different characters who are all on different parts of the map), it was very good and quite enjoyable. It felt cinematic, was designed for single player (as they all should be), and didn’t constantly make me change loadouts. I felt like I was playing through an action movie, and that’s all I’ve ever asked for, as someone who has admittedly always looked forward to the campaigns in these games more than anything else. Yes, I’m one of those folks, who seem to be in a true minority.
We were provided early access to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, because access to the campaign opened up about a week before release. We didn’t get it that early, but aren’t complaining whatsoever. The campaign wasn’t the only mode that became available early, either, as DMZ also opened up just before launch. It’s the tertiary mode found within this package, and will appeal to a certain type of gamer. I’m sorry, but I’m not one of those people, and that’s ok. To each their own! I also don’t need to, or expect to, love everything and can respect that others enjoy it.
DMZ is a cooperative mode that tasks players with deploying into a large, open map, and completing ‘story’ missions, dynamic operations and other objectives. This involves more modern Call of Duty mechanics, akin to what is found in something like Warzone, and requires choosing a loadout, packing supplies (bandages, med kits, explosives, smoke grenades) into a backpack of varying sizes and resupplying while out in the city.
The general idea is that you’ll start in a forward operating base, where you can do some target practice, equip a particular loadout or pick a free one, and then choose how to deploy (on foot, in the air, etc.) Therein, you’ll also choose the type of mission, be it a ‘story’ one that teaches you the ropes or a dynamic operation. Along the way, you’ll work alone or with a few others, to capture objectives, take out targets, collect resources, find better weapons, use a 3D printer to make more, and collect things like money, chemicals and fuel for vehicles.
Some folks will get very invested in DMZ, and that’s great. I’m more of a solo gamer, and have never really been able to get into such cooperative, or extraction, modes. I’ve also never really enjoyed Warzone, or played a lot of the more cooperative extraction shooters. I’d rather play through a single player campaign, and if I want multiplayer I’ll go back to regular Call of Duty multiplayer, or play NHL, or something. I also don’t have the time or energy to schedule sessions with friends, or anyone I meet online, in order to regularly play such modes. I respect that others enjoy them, though, and didn’t have any real issues when I tried DMZ. It’s just overwhelming, and too much for me.
Of course, most people buy these games to play traditional multiplayer, which is always the main draw of each Call of Duty instalment. I’ve been playing this series since the beginning and, while I always look forward to playing through the campaigns, I’ve spent many hours playing multiplayer too. Not as many these days, but I used to play the original Modern Warfare games a ton with friends. During college, I would frequently go over to a friend’s, have a few drinks and take turns (with two others) with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PS3.
I’m surprised by how I seem to be in the minority on this, but I particularly liked Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 after not loving Cold War’s maps and multiplayer, and spent a lot of hours playing its multiplayer. This included one day, during which I completed the campaign in the early morning and then played the multiplayer until later on that night. I loved most of its maps, really enjoyed its gameplay and also liked its operators, including the zombie. I hadn’t had that much fun with Call of Duty since Black Ops 3 and its archer operator, although Modern Warfare 3 also hooked me for a while. That’s because it brought the maps my friends and I repeatedly played on and loved during college, and which have probably never been topped. Hell, I even really liked the Black Ops 6 campaign.
I didn’t really ‘get into’ Black Ops 7, though, and disliked Black Ops 4 most before that. It didn’t even have a campaign!
The competitive multiplayer suite found within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is also a nice return to form, and a fun one at that. I took the time to play the beta, which I used to pass on due to being busy and having poor internet before, and enjoyed it. That was a good sign. Thankfully, the same ended up being true of the finished mode. It’s quite a bit of fun, and has good maps.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 introduces new multiplayer modes, including one where teams fight for control of a data spike, as well as another where each team’s members always spawn at the maps’ original spawn point. There is another where teams take turns attacking and defending bombs, and rounds end when something explodes or (most often) when one team’s five players are all eliminated. They’re pretty fun.
In previous reviews, I’ve shared that I’m boring and kind of set in my ways. Although I try new things, and sometimes really enjoy them, I’m a stalwart curmudgeon at times. This extends to Call of Duty, where I find that I gravitate towards three different multiplayer modes: free-for-all, kill confirmed and team deathmatch. I usually just play the first or the first two, and only check those off for matchmaking. I guess it’s because I grew up playing traditional deathmatches with friends and family.
Thankfully, the above-mentioned staples are a lot of fun herein. The maps are also quite good, and I find them to be much better designed, and a lot more enjoyable to play, than those from last year’s entry. There’s a Korean city, with lots of interesting lanes; a fishing village that is well designed; a bus graveyard that is fast and chaotic, like Nuketown; an abandoned wine warehouse and mechanic’s shop in France; a coal plant; a lithium refinery; a dense market and town in Mumbai; a nuclear reactor; connected rooftops and a big ship. I particularly liked the city, fishing village, Mumbai, France and bus graveyard maps. Conversely, I’ve struggled to enjoy the Rooftops map since the start (that being the first beta). The same few maps kept popping up though, including the ship. I’ve definitely played it most since launch.
The multiplayer found within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is challenging, and I’m admittedly not that good at it (my KDR is below 1.00, although it was above it in the previous games I played regularly). However, it isn’t as fast, or as sweaty, as that of Black Ops 7. The movement feels more traditional, the gunplay is good and I’ve become a hypocrite by enjoying the unlockable riot shield. I used to get mad at people who used them, but finally tried doing so myself. I think I’ll try not to do so too much though, as it kind of feels like cheating.
The perks, abilities and custom class options seem to have been toned back too, which is nice. One perk that I’ve been enjoying is one that puts a glint onto the screen when someone sees me from outside of my view. That’s been helpful.
Overall, I’d say that the multiplayer found herein is also one of the series’ better, most refined and most complete offerings. It doesn’t have much unnecessary fluff or nonsense. It isn’t flawless, but it’s very fun, and the only notable issues involve repeating maps, a slightly inconsistent TTK (time to kill) and a whisper of launch time lag that will surely be evened out.
As mentioned above, this is a very good looking game, and probably the best looking Call of Duty yet. It looks quite realistic, is very cinematic and has some great character models. It’s also very polished, although not perfect. I did experience one glitch during the open map mission, where my bomb drones kept spinning out of control from the start, making them mostly unusable.
As is the case with Call of Duty games, at least in the ‘modern era,’ familiar actors play roles in the story mode found within this one. The first one to appear is Luke Tennie, whose voice I instantly knew from (the second best current TV show) Shrinking. Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) also plays a major role, but is kind of underused. I also noticed Shawn Hatosy from the best show on TV (The Pitt). He’s great, and is good in this in a relatively small role.
The other actors do really good jobs, including the Korean actors whom I wasn’t too familiar with. Together, they all made it a believable and enjoyable experience that felt like a quality film. I have no complaints about the acting, and found the writing to be good, as well, unlike last time around.
I don’t need to say much more about the voice acting, as it’s obviously something I was impressed by. However, I should note that the music and sound effects in this game were both well done, realistic and generally excellent. I’m not a fan of rap music, but it was used well when it briefly appeared. The soldiers in the new unit bond with the Wu-Tang song. Otherwise, it’s a traditional, bombastic and explosive Call of Duty soundscape, full of bullets, grenades, bombs and destruction.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a nice return to form for a series that has had its ups and downs, especially recently. With it, Infinity Ward has delivered one of the best games in the series, and that’s especially true of the campaign. If you’ve been on the fence, or have passed on Call of Duty lately, this is a good time to return to it.
This review is based on the PlayStation 5 Pro version of the game, which we were provided.