Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 (Campaign)

 If you were to put a gun to my head and say play a Call of Duty game I would absolutely have no problem. I really like Modern Warfare, World at War and Black Ops and their campaigns are very enjoyable. Unfortunately, after 2010 I believe the series got a little too ridiculous, losing the focus on realism that had me playing previously mentioned games. The Science Fiction settings of the 8th gen titles made this worse and the series’ identity was sorely lost when it started pretending to be a knock off Titanfall. However, in 2019 a grittier game was marketed brandishing the iconic “Modern Warfare” title. Although no explanation was given at the time as to whether this was a reboot or a sequel, one thing was clear and that was Captain Price was back and Call of Duty would be heading in a darker direction than ever before.

The campaign in Modern Warfare tries desperately to offer a morally grey story that blurs the lines between good and evil. These blurred lines do fade rather quickly though as the villains are portrayed as being heinously evil almost immediately. The Russians play the antagonist role in the series again and here they are far worse than they have been before and the main villain Barkov does nothing to humanise himself in the entire game. This gripe aside, I did really enjoy the game’s campaign. There are some series standout moments like the terrorist attack in London which while brief is impactful and the pace helps you keep playing throughout. The missions Clean House and Going Dark also rank up as some of the best in the franchise with one being a slow, methodical clearing of a terrorist house where NPCs are innocent one minute and enemy the next, and a level that harkens back to All Ghillied Up from the original Modern Warfare only giving the player even more agency. On the other hand, a level called Highway of Death attempts to revise history by blaming Russia for attacks committed by America during the Gulf War, a choice which rightfully was lambasted after the game’s release.

Farrah Karim in my opinion is the greatest character the series has ever seen, combining strength with vulnerability. She has a clear motivation for doing the things she does and finding out about her made for some of the game’s best levels. Her gender also becomes a non-factor and is never brought up in the narrative. The rest of the cast play their parts too, with returning favourite Price leading the charge. I found Alex to be very witty and while Kyle Garrick does come off as a bit cliché, his identity did at least make me go “ahhh”. 

The main shooting in Modern Warfare is as good as it has ever been and in honesty that's as much as I need to say although I should add I found the game’s Veteran difficulty to be fairer than most of the other games which was a huge plus. The gameplay variations offered were clearly the main focus with the game switching regularly between the main shooting sections. Some levels have you flying remote control drones which are fun to control and missile strikes are an option at certain points in the game. I found the close quarters battles to be the most tense though as these seemed particularly dangerous given the cleverness of the AI. One of Farrah’s levels offers very little combat and features a boss battle that is probably the most suspenseful set piece in the series. A few levels earlier the game tasks you with rescuing a secretary through a series of cameras as you try to help her navigate an embassy overrun with insurgents which is also a standout moment.

Obviously the game looks and sounds amazing. Weapons sound brilliant and I love how they have an emphasised echo when fired inside containers. Silencers sound especially piercing too making those stealth kills all the more satisfying. The visuals are also almost movie-like at times with hair and facial expressions being modelled flawlessly. I’d recommend wearing a good pair of headphones and playing a high quality TV if you have the option.

Call of Duty: ModernWarfare 2019 was a nice surprise for someone who left the series behind a long time ago. It harkens back to my favourite entry in the series constantly but also gives itself its own identity with new standout characters and some of the series’ best set-pieces. While the villains do end up hampering the game’s commentary on war, I do think the campaign is great and worth a play if you are a fan of some of the 7th gen entries in the series like I am. 

Rating: Modern Warfare Rejuvenated

8/10