It’s been rumored for quite some time now, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is a real thing. Even though it’s missing some of what made the original game such a highly regarded classic, this remaster is worth the price of entry.
The original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was a juggernaut when it released in 2009. Its campaign was action packed, akin to something you would see in a Michael Bay movie. Sure it may have been mindless entertainment, but it still holds up to this day as one of the best campaigns the franchise has ever put out. The new remaster brings that campaign up to modern levels of beauty with everything being updated. We get vastly improved lighting and textures, character models, and even some new animations for things. The original game looked great back in the day, but it looks so much better now.
Scenes like the opening of the mission “Cliffhanger” which sees you climbing up an icy mountain with Captain Soap MacTavish look gorgeous with the newly improved lighting and textures. The mountain vistas and the ice that covers them look far more realistic than they did before, and I thought they looked pretty great back in 2009. Then there’s the detail in Soap’s character. He looks so much better than he did before thanks to all the updated tech that this game brings to the table.
Another scene that impressed me was the opening of “Of Their Own Accord.” When I stepped out of the underground bunker and see the destruction that’s been caused to Washington D.C., I couldn’t help but be in awe at the beauty of it all. Everything looks so much more broken and realistic that I felt hurt seeing the city like that. It’s the effect that the game had on me when I first played it, and even after multiple playthroughs of this campaign over the years it still hits me just as hard, if not harder.
For those that are wondering, yes the infamous mission “No Russian” is still in the game. Just like before though, you are given the option to completely skip over this mission before the campaign even begins if you aren’t a fan of what it entails. Something else that’s also in the game is the Museum. It’s a fun little area that you can explore and interact with once you beat the game. I’m surprised that it was brought back because of how little there is to do in it, but it is a nice addition to have. There are also multiple pieces of Intel to collect across the campaign, but unlike in the original game, collecting them unlocks different modifiers that you can apply to the game. These range from visual filters to silly mods to challenge amplifiers, so there’s incentive to replay the campaign to unlock them all and use them.
The one thing that many people aren’t too happy about regarding this remaster is the lack of the cooperative Special Ops mode or the online multiplayer. Activision has stated that they have no intention of adding them to the game because they don’t want to segment the player base of the current Modern Warfare and free-to-play game Warzone, but they will be adding classic maps and weapons to the current game in an effort to build out the universe. This may appease some fans, but those that are longing for a return to the classic Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer will be disappointed and probably find the remaster to not be worth it. I can’t fault them for that either because it’s a $20 purchase for the standard 6-hour campaign. It’s not a steep price point, but some may not see the value in it.
Overall, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is a great update of an even greater game. Sure it’s just the campaign, but it’s one that’s iconic and holds up well 11 years later. It’s my favorite game in the series and I walked away really impressed with it. I’m so happy that developer Beenox treated the game with such a high level of care and respect because it completely deserves it.
TheComfySpot 