Review – Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare – What they do, they do well

Would you believe they’ve now released sixteen Call of Duty games! At some point we need to discuss whether the franchise is being used as a money laundering operation… but until such a time we’ll continue to enjoy the run-and-gun first person shooter that arguably defined the current generation of gaming. The latest release in the series, Modern Warfare, a throwback to the glory days of the COD franchise is set in a realistic modern day environment that has come as a breath of fresh air amidst a gaming industry that has done futurism to death.

The first thing I want to raise for those of you looking to purchase and naturally play the game straight off the bat – the download of this game is HUGE. It takes up something like 120GB and will take you hours to download and install. Manage your enthusiasm accordingly.

I’ll jump right into the multiplayer experience of Modern Warfare as that’s where I’m sure most of you will spend your time – one feature that’s brand new to the franchise is the inclusion of cross-platform play. That is to say if you’ve got an Xbox and your best mate is a Playstation or PC gamer, you can all play together! An exceptional step in the right direction! One note that we’ve picked up from Fortnite however is that is seems PC gamers, as per the accuracy of a keyboard & mouse versus a controller, have a significant advantage. So if you’re one of the better players in the game, you might want to consider disabling cross-platform play.

Naturally Modern Warfare is a visually more beautiful game than previous iterations, the graphics at the top end are actually so intense I found a few frame-rate drops on the PS4 cutscenes – the gameplay however was smooth. The revamped visuals extend from the environment you’ll find yourself in, to the intricate details of each gun. The title’s audio is phenomenal, with a wide variety of weapon sound effects and an array of character voice overs interacting create an additional sense of realism.

The gun customization is something to admire. The range of base weapons is great, but the customization of every aspect from barrel, to the assembly of scopes and variety of grips available – your loadout feels more personalized than previous Call of Duty games. More reminiscent of a Tom Clancy style shooter, which is a much more tactical, individual play-style.

You’re greeted by quite a few game modes in Modern Warfare, with the traditional team deathmatch, Dominition, FFA, etc – and an exciting new ‘dark mode’, that thrusts the map into darkness, forcing you as the player to rely on night vision goggles and ultimately changing the landscape of play. Similar to the ‘hardcode’ mode of days past, the ‘Realism’ mode of this game will remove all of your heads up display and intel that reminds you that you’re in a game such as minimap.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is also home to a short but somewhat interesting campaign mode. We at EFTM are insistent that you should follow the age-restrictions for video games (or otherwise at your own discretion), as they’re in place for a reason. In the instance of Modern Warfare, you’re presented with some rather confronting scenes, such as suiciding bombings and hostages held at gunpoints – real-to-life terrorist scenarios. The campaign capitalizes on the ‘shock’ factor to keep the player entertained and while this is exciting for veterans of the series, the game will draw plenty of young players that should heed some warning when presented with this imagery.

You’ll also find the game is home to a mission-based cooperative mode that allows you to play with your friends to meet your objectives. It’s just a more exciting way to experience all that the title has to offer.

All things considered, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is another COD game – what they do, they do brilliantly. It’s a great run and gun shooter with exciting new graphics and weaponry to choose from. It’s a solid entry into the franchise and we expect it will continue to be well received by the fans.

You can pick up Modern Warfare for $79 from JB Hi-Fi or otherwise through the Call of Duty store for varied price points.