CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II
The struggle is real… familiar.
Activision’s shooter series has now been around so long that this is the second entry to bear the same title; Roman numerals are the only thing that separates it from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2.
While that game’s infamous ‘No Russian’ level tasked you with taking part in a mass shooting as an undercover CIA asset infiltrating a Soviet terrorist group, there’s nothing quite so controversial in its almost entirely unconnected namesake.
That said, it wouldn’t be a Call Of Duty game without some purposeful provocations: a scene set in a Texas residential area, in which you’re asked to ‘de-escalate’ civilians by pointing your gun directly at them, has understandably caused some consternation. Still, developer Infinity Ward’s sequel at least pays lip service to the idea of US military intervention not necessarily being an unequivocal good. Its depiction of contemporary conflict is laced with a welcome cynicism, as thin-lipped, cold-hearted leaders send troops into situations where it’s clear the West’s own hands aren’t exactly squeaky clean.
Modern Warfare II’s sprawling campaign gathers together a series of previous Call Of Duty protagonists, including Gaz, Price, Soap and Ghost, and pitches them into a succession of levels that at times feel like a particularly handsome greatest-hits package. Echoes of ‘Clean House’ from the original Modern Warfare are rife in one taut terrorist takedown, though 15 years later the domestic settings we’re infiltrating look all the more disturbingly real.
But during a short stop-off at an astonishingly detailed recreation of Amsterdam, you’re reminded that sightseeing is firmly off the agenda: the mission boundaries are narrow, and if you stray from the script it’s game over.
For long stretches, it’s a little too keen to riff on past glories. But in the story’s back half, Infinity Ward shrewdly mixes things up by taking inspiration from elsewhere. There’s an exhilaratingly silly convoy pursuit in which you bounce between vehicles, Uncharted-style, while another mission nods to another Naughty Dog game, echoing The Last Of Us as a badly wounded soldier crafts improvised weaponry to deal with armoured opponents. Perhaps best of all is a mission involving thirdperson stealth by proxy, as you switch between CCTV feeds, marking enemies for the aptly named Ghost to silently execute. It’s perhaps too little too late to save this from being one of the developer’s weaker campaigns, but these set-pieces offer a glimpse of a brighter future for this ageing franchise.