Modern Warfare 2: Campaign Remastered just released for PS4Â and will be available on April 30th for other consoles. For a very reasonable $20, Modern Warfare 2's campaign has been remade in glorious modern graphics for nostalgic players to re-live all over again. It is very understandable that MW2 Remastered doesn't have competitive multiplayer, simply because 2019's Modern Warfare is alive and well with several classic Modern Warfare 2 maps already present in its playlists.
One thing in Modern Warfare 2: Campaign Remastered that is a little disappointing is the exclusion of co-op missions, but the price is still right for re-living one of the best single-player FPS campaigns ever made. MW2 Remastered is nowhere near the level of a complete remake, but it is at least an almost perfectly faithful recreation of the original with upgraded graphics, animation, and sound.
When first compared to last year's Modern Warfare campaign, Modern Warfare 2 Remastered might seem like a very far cry from the modern gameplay and storytelling of 2019's game. It has been over a decade since MW2 originally came out, and video game sensibilities have changed a lot in that time. However, it is also important to note that 2019's Modern Warfare was meant to be a callback to the type of campaign and tone that Modern Warfare 2 exemplified.
Appearance and Mechanics
Modern Warfare's campaign has many missions that take place in moody, darkened levels that use light and shadow to evoke the feeling of covert operations and ominous tension. For better or worse, MW2 Remastered tends towards bombastic action sequences and big, bright levels that push the action along at a breakneck speed. Both games have their scenic moments though, from windswept ice climbing in MW2 to a night-vision raid on a claustrophobic house in Modern Warfare.
Mechanically, Modern Warfare 2 Remastered feels its age as well. Some players will appreciate the old-school simplicity of MW2 running and gunning, but it seems like a missed opportunity to add some modern sensibilities like smooth traversal, leaning around cover, and the finely-tuned gunplay of 2019's Modern Warfare. Those things could not just re-create the game, but breathe new life into and make it feel fresh again. At the very least, new sound design and animation brings the game up to modern standards for presentation and playability.
Storytelling
There is a very good reason that Modern Warfare 2 is considered one of the best single player stories in FPS games. It seems to perfectly mix high-octane action with a gripping fictional tale of global geo-politics, while somehow still presenting a relatively sobering picture of armed conflict. No one should accuse Modern Warfare 2 of gritty realism, but the tone of its story and the broad strokes of the tale feel all too real.
From the still-controversial mission No Russian,to the frightening depiction of a full-scale invasion of the US east coast, the campaign manages to deliver action and intensity without glorifying violence too frequently. Interestingly, the controversy that arose over MW2's No Russian mission was because of its brutally realistic depiction of acts of terror, while 2019's Modern Warfare actually caught flak for not portraying certain events brutally enough. Even though the more recent Modern Warfare generally has a much darker and grittier tone, it drew complaints because its in-game depiction of white phosphorous did not do justice to the actual brutality of chemical and incendiary weapons.
By modern standards, Modern Warfare 2's campaign still might take things a bit too lightly. Despite the complaints, 2019's Modern Warfare does a very good job of getting dark, gritty, and depicting the horrors of war. In ten years the general consensus of what makes a good video game and how video game stories are told has shifted quite a bit, and it's important to remember that. The bombastic action of 2009's Modern Warfare might feel out of place in a modern game about brutal conflict, but back then that's what was expected of an FPS game.
Last year's Modern Warfare was actually an attempt to return to some of the darker themes that prevailed in earlier titles like Modern Warfare 2. Now though, the way that those themes are depicted reflects modern sensibilities on what makes a good FPS game and how darker subject material should be covered in games. The more recent Modern Warfare cranks the realism up a notch and delivers a more gritty, intense tone, but Modern Warfare 2's remaster still tells a great story even without the lens of nostalgia. Even for all of its action, explosions, and violent set pieces, the main villains of Modern Warfare 2 are those who profit from starting wars, while its heroes are those trying to end them.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is out now for PS4, with a PC and Xbox One version launching on April 30.
