Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) (Xbox One/SX)

Nicht so gut wie Teil eins – oder der “echte” zweite. Trotzdem: Eine ordentliche Kampagne und ein Multiplayer, der Call of Duty zu alter Stärke zurückführt, lohnen sich dieses Jahr.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is certainly not a perfect game, but for all its flaws, it’s my favorite CoD game that I’ve played so far. The story mode was a blast, and the multiplayer is just as addicting as ever. It’s one of the best looking games we may have so far, and I recommend playing it on a next gen console or souped-up PC if you can to see it at its full potential.

Whether any of this is enough to put off an audience inured to Call of Duty’s detached depiction of brutal warfare is anyone’s guess. Plenty of people can put up with a bit of ugliness if there’s still a pretty good time to be had overall. For Modern Warfare II, the good time offered by its multiplayer and in glimpses within its campaign may be enough.

While I think this is better than 2019’s entry, charging $70-$100 for a game that’ll be good in a few months is not a gesture that I appreciate at all. If you can, I’d recommend waiting until massive changes come to flesh out this experience and iron out all the bugs. Right now, 2022’s version of Modern Warfare is bigger and slightly better, but going big without proper execution doesn’t translate to a winning formula.

The scaled-back maps definitely make for better pacing, the less hectic movement is not so overwhelming, and all the new maneuverability features make the game so enjoyable from match to match. No one should load into a match expecting this game to be anything like the original Modern Warfare 2, but all issues aside, this rebooted version's gameplay does serve as a positive successor to Modern Warfare 2019.

Modern Warfare 2 had big shoes to fill, but the campaign includes a large serving of nostalgia and a fun variety of missions.