We thoroughly tested the remastered campaign for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Infinity Ward's great story mode sports its best version eleven years later.
Call of Duty has been especially marked by two installments that catapulted the mass public. Little can be said at this stage of Modern Warfare, the rough diamond of Infinity Ward that in the middle of 2007 revolutionized online gaming from every home. Xbox Live and PlayStation Network experienced their first big boom between shootings by Crash, Crossfire and Pipeline.
Two years later, evolution would come as a farewell. Vince Zampella and Jason West said goodbye to their offspring in the delivery that would establish the package of experiences that the saga would take from that moment. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was more and better. The King of the first person shooter did not leave a stick untouched: campaign to spend adrenaline, competitive multiplayer of weapons to take and cooperative in the form of special operations. Do you remember Makarov's house? It is one of the prints that will remain forever in the memory of the collective.
No less than a decade later, we received his remastering by surprise, although perhaps not in the way his fans would expect. Of these three aspects, only one has been transferred, the campaign, which is updated visually and adds certain elements that provide replayability.
Lead by half the world
Few doubts remained after the pros of the conflict change materialized. The global wear and tear of World War II was the perfect trigger for Infinity Ward to pose something different, current: reinterpreting the warlike conflicts that we live in today. Afghanistan, Iraq, globalized terrorism … Reality served fiction to transfer a spectrum of war that would help expand playable opportunities.
Because in the middle of 2009, Modern Warfare 2 was a real nuclear bomb for different platforms. From the overwhelming success in the most played title markers, to the frivolous controversy of the yellowing covers. He managed to reach all the extremes that are more common to us eleven years later. No Russian remains an omittable mission; In the event that you want to live it without intervening, you can pass the entire mission without firing, except for the final part in which the army appears.
Strictly speaking of the offer of this remastering, if the campaign is characterized by anything, it is by involving the player in a wide variety of scenarios and situations. His great moments were something else; They were authentic "moments" that to this day continue giving us the same adrenaline rush.
Close your eyes and think about the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the Siberian cold during the infiltration of the Russian barracks or the defense of Burger Town in the heart of Washington D.C. In the cold, it leaves us with the feeling of having attended a roller coaster of emotions in which we have raffled all kinds of projectiles for their almost six hours of duration.
Remastering
As with the remastering of its predecessor, the Modern Warfare 2 campaign would bring the visual improvements of this update of the graphics engine. We are talking about improvements in textures, modeling, sounds, effects and resolution. Seeing it live is a real treat, especially when taking advantage of HDR. It feels, as we said, quite current. Not so much compared to the last installment. Beenox Studio has been in charge of shaping this new version.
We also found small additions that briefly extend the narrative course. This is the case of the second mission, Team Player, in which we must secure an Afghan city in the hands of the enemy. In the original, we started out playing a Joseph Allen stunned by a recently hit bomb. The abruptness of the situation gave rise to an interpretation of how we had got there. Now, in the middle of 2020, we have already solved the unknown, and that is that a complementary scene has been added that introduces us to the mission in a more natural way. They are only just a few seconds that serve as a nuance upon arrival to the conflict.
Due to the reduction in its offer, a multitude of modifiers have been added that vary the experience. Linked to obtaining the 45 enemy intelligence data, we can change our Modern Warfare 2 with ranges of new shades, introduce challenges that increase the difficulty or simply add mechanics that are not included as a base.
The latter is the most fun. We can make the enemies have pineapples per head, that the physical ones change to the typical Ragdoll or that all the rival characters become invisible, among others such as infinite ammunition. Nor can we forget the museum, which returns with linked trophies and the same renovated models.
conclusion
In general lines we are facing a more than correct remastering. Lose as a pack due to multiplayer and co-op absences. However, the visual improvement updates a campaign that continues to maintain the quality it offered in the past generation. The multiple modifiers and the new trophy list make it easier to squeeze. It is appreciated to have arrived at a reduced price.
It is currently available on PlayStation 4. Meanwhile, Xbox One and PC users will be able to start enjoying it from April 30. Remember that the purchase includes a cosmetic pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone: the classic batch of Ghost's underwater missions.
