There are assumptions you can make regarding a new Call of Duty campaign, which is not all that surprising for a series that has released a new installment every year since recorded history began. At least, that’s how it feels. Cinematic action spectacle, special forces glorification, linear missions with surprise twists, turns, and even perspective changes. The world’s police called upon to do what they do best. The stars and the stripes blowing and swaying in the wind as democracy hangs in the balance.

Above all, with some of the largest game development studios working in tandem on one of the best-selling franchises of all time, you’ve got the added sheen of slick production values and a level of detail rarely seen in major releases. It’s the playable blockbuster action movie, where Hollywood magic and wizardry come in the videogame form of tight and intricate gunplay, wonderful animation, particle effects aplenty, and a real-world location like Amsterdam given a photorealistic interactive makeover. For what amounts to perhaps the shorted mission in the entire single-player campaign. Less than 10-minutes of screen time, an impressive flex.

With development led by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is the second entry in a planned trilogy remaking the popular Modern Warfare entries in the CoD series. It’s also a sequel to 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which was hailed as a somewhat gritty and realistic return to form. Even if you’ve never played a Call of Duty, or dipped in and out of the franchise every so often, you’ll probably be okay with not knowing who Task Force 141 and Soap MacTavish, Ghost, and Captain Price are before jumping into the campaign.

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It’s the playable blockbuster action movie, where Hollywood magic and wizardry come in the videogame form of tight and intricate gunplay, wonderful animation, particle effects aplenty, and a real-world location like Amsterdam given a photorealistic interactive makeover.

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They’re charismatic, fun, and the sorts of simple stylised characters you can’t help but like. Soldiers that not only kick ass on the reg, but they cannot be bought. So put away that suitcase full of cash because Price ain’t about to sully his mutton chops or crinkle his bucket hat for anything less than justice by the way of infiltration and he’s-got-you-on-his-scope action. This time around the gang is joined by Colonel Alejandro Vargas of the Mexican Special Forces. A man made of equal salt, grit, and determination.



Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s globe-trotting story is all about stopping a terrorist, of, err, Middle Eastern heritage, that’s got his hands on some stolen missiles. Even though that might sound a little boring, insulting, and by the numbers, it simply serves as the jumping-off point for Infinity Ward to create a sequence of compelling and varied missions adding up to one hell of a 6-or-so-hour interactive action movie. Popcorn stuff. From measured stealth missions that have you shuffling about to try and line up a shot so it can take out two bad dudes, to sitting in a chopper providing air support during a thrilling car chase, there’s a lot.

No matter the task at hand, outside of aiming down sights to take out enemies, the campaign switches gears and tone and perspective and objective so often that you’d be hard-pressed to become bored with what will happen next on account of the where and how. Visually, each mission does something different too, striking a balance between urban, and rural, and different cinematic lighting. One notable mission strips you of all weaponry so you need to sneak through rain-soaked and flooded alleyways and buildings scavenging for parts to create makeshift tools and weapons. It’s simple crafting, but it works.

Another sees you board an oil rig out in the middle of nowhere, and then a cargo ship where a storm is causing containers to shift from starboard to port crushing everything in their path. A clear nod to the Call of Duty campaigns of old.

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No matter the task at hand, outside of aiming down sights to take out enemies, the campaign switches gears and tone and perspective and objective so often that you’d be hard-pressed to become bored with what will happen next on account of the where and how.

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Call of Duty fans will no doubt pick up on some of the familiar settings, and outright ideas reimagined. Like Close Air which has you up in the air firing missiles and bullets down on little stick figures ala that iconic mission from the original Modern Warfare. Violence And Timing has you jump from truck to pick-up truck, taking out enemies, and dodging mines, in a nod to Indiana Jones and Uncharted. It’s silly and over the top. El Sin Nombre sees you infiltrate a cartel compound with some stealth-lite mechanics to try and score some “where’s the missile” info.

Some missions and environments are more expansive than others, and some even allow for dialogue exchanges and multiple ways to engage. But it’s far from open or even a departure for the franchise. What Modern Warfare II nails is variety, but it still fumbles when it feels like a simple on-rails shooter. Enemy AI is still a little sloppy and soldiers are still magnetically drawn to your vicinity and scope, but as far as linear and scripted first-person shooters go - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s campaign is entertaining throughout. And a nice little reminder that Call of Duty spectacle works well when it's done right.

And in a package that outside of a few visual glitches, is supremely polished and responsive, and it’s hard not to be impressed at regular intervals. Not only from a frame-rate perspective, which can easily push beyond 60 and even 100 frames-per-second on PC, but in the latency and how firing off a shot when you’re surpressed to then have that shot take out an enemy, feels spot on. In the end though, the story doesn’t quite live up to the variety on display, and you’ll know as much about the main villain in the closing moments as you do in the opening. Which makes the more serious and dramatic moments fall flat.