The Call of Duty franchise has seen many iterations over the last two decades since its initial debut. While the general formula for each game has largely stayed the same, with similar shooting mechanics, campaign pacing, and multiplayer modes being present throughout the franchise, each Call of Duty entry brings its own unique flair. For the most part, each sub-series in Call of Duty, such as the Modern Warfare or Black Ops series, remains largely the same from installment to installment. Every now and then, though, a Call of Duty entry comes along and shakes things up, which is exactly what Call of Duty: Modern Warfare did.
By 2019, the Call of Duty franchise had lost its luster, with the last handful of entries all blending into one. The introduction of exosuits in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare changed the series for the worse, resulting in the subsequent titles missing that distinct Call of Duty feeling. Returning as the savior of the franchise, Infinity Ward released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in 2019, stripping the series' gameplay back to its core elements and breathing life back into the franchise as a result. It may not be entirely perfect, but Modern Warfare's gameplay is some of the best in the series thus far, and the upcoming sequel, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, should certainly stick close to it.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) Has The Best Gameplay in The Franchise
When fans think of their favorite Call of Duty experiences, they tend to think back to the original Modern Warfare series, or the first few Black Ops games, or even all the way back to Call of Duty 2. It'd be difficult to find a Call of Duty fan whose favorite game is Advanced or Infinite Warfare, or Call of Duty: Ghosts. While these titles did introduce some interesting gameplay mechanics, they weren't the right for the Call of Duty brand, and fans' instinctual dislike of them was only natural.
Infinity Ward understood this perfectly, and made the genius decision to strip back Call of Duty to rework and redefine what made the series so iconic and beloved in the first place. Exosuits were removed entirely, as were any Specialists and character abilities. Instead, Infinity Ward let the gunplay speak for itself, and the moment fans got their hands on the game, it just felt right. That unmistakable Call of Duty feeling was back and better than ever.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare struck the perfect balance between old and new. While the gameplay was pared back in most aspects, returning the franchise to form, Infinity Ward added just enough to keep the series moving forward and to keep it in line with modern first-person shooters. Along with unparalleled visuals and audio design, Modern Warfare also added a lean mechanic, which only subtly changes the dynamic of firefights. This one mechanic is the perfect representation of the entire game's philosophy; it adds something brand new to the Call of Duty franchise, but it isn't so overt that it changes the core experience or makes fans feel uncomfortable.
When it came to the series' main draw, its multiplayer, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare had the perfect blend of standard, hardcore, and party modes, and its new maps suited the snappy modernized Call of Duty gunplay perfectly. The time-to-kill felt just right, and movement speed was increased just enough to make the game feel more fluid than ever while also still feeling just as weighty as a Modern Warfare game should. The create-a-class system was also better than ever, with streamlined UI making weapon customization incredibly simple, and constantly unlocking attachments resulted in one of the most rewarding progression systems in the entire franchise - once again hearkening back to the golden era of Call of Duty.
On the campaign front, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare had a fairly solid one. With state-of-the-art cutscenes and stellar voice work, Modern Warfare's story is one of the more compelling narratives in the franchise, and with a handful of returning fan-favorite characters, Modern Warfare acts as the perfect reboot. The pacing of the campaign was also pretty good, with a decent blend of slow-paced missions complimented perfectly with a fair amount of bombastic action sequences.
Since its release in 2019, two more Call of Duty titles have released, but neither one has managed to capture the same feel Modern Warfare. Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War attempted to add its own mechanics to the franchise, but this only bogged down the experience. The gunplay in Cold War also felt oddly weightless when compared to Modern Warfare, making it feel a little outdated. As the most recent release, Call of Duty: Vanguard didn't fare much better with critics or fans, with generally better received gameplay that was still not quite as hard-hitting or tight as Modern Warfare's offering a few years ago.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Should Stick Close to its Predecessor
In most video game franchises, innovation is a key part of success. It's usually the case that fans of a series will want a sequel to switch up the formula for the next entry in one way or another, whether that's through the gameplay or through story context. Follow-ups like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey were received so well because of their decision to switch up the franchise formula and produce a new but comfortably familiar experience. With Call of Duty, this isn't the case.
It's been proven time and time again with Call of Duty that once it has a good thing going, and fans are happy with the current formula, then it should just stick to it. Generally speaking, Call of Duty fans don't actually want all that much innovation between entries. With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare being such a success, it seems like a smart move for Modern Warfare 2 to just stay close to its predecessor, at least in terms of gameplay. While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will likely add a few new mechanics here and there, these probably won't affect the core gameplay all that much, and that's a good thing. Modern Warfare had some of the most fluid and responsive gameplay in the entire franchise, and it's better to just stick with a formula that's tried and tested than attempt something new in this case.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's campaign should also follow a similar formula to its predecessor, with enough slower-paced missions to give the player a break between adrenaline-pumping action sequences. From the look of the Modern Warfare 2 trailers released so far, it seems as though Infinity Ward is doing just that, with the oil rig mission having a slow-burn start before erupting into a large-scale firefight atop a cargo ship as containers slide across the deck wildly.
Similarly, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's progression system should closely follow its predecessor, as the rate at which players would unlock new attachments and camos for their weapons felt just right. Of course, Modern Warfare 2 will probably add in a slew of new modes, some of which have been leaked already, but as long as the game has the same amount of content as its 2019 predecessor, fans should be pretty happy from the get-go.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
