From the limited experience offered by a beta, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II appears to be exactly what is promised by such a title - an iterative follow-up to the 2019 quasi-reboot of 2007's iconic Call of Duty 4. The open beta for MW2 will truly be open starting September 24, 2022, when players on all platforms can give the next entry in the long-running FPS franchise a test run free of charge. Only those on PlayStation 4 and 5 were able to try Infinity Ward and company's latest on the first of two extended weekends of the beta, and even then, the first two days were reserved for those who had pre-ordered the game. Such restrictions may be indicative of the overt monetization players will find in the full release of perhaps 2022's biggest FPS, but the gameplay itself is a promising next step for Call of Duty, though Modern Warfare 2 doesn't appear to boldly break the mold.
As far as innovation goes within the tried and true Call of Duty formula, 2019's Modern Warfare is perhaps the most ambitious step the series has taken. Alongside the continually successful battle royale, Warzone, MW 2019 introduced a new flavor of gunplay - one not necessarily revolutionary, but with more weight and impact than games past. Herein lies the true draw of Modern Warfare 2: a bona fide successor to what many viewed as biggest upgrade to Call of Duty's gameplay since perhaps the original Modern Warfare in 2007. However, the MW2 beta's surrounding systems only serve to obfuscate the game's potential, and there's a lingering feeling that it may have been designed to heavily favor the upcoming and highly anticipated Warzone 2.0.
Call of Duty's ludicrous naming conventions included, Modern Warfare 2 delivers what is expected. The beta offers a handful of game modes to be played across four maps, although Valderas Museum appears to have been removed from the rotation for most of the first weekend due to bugs. The Call of Duty mainstays of Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Search and Destroy join brand new game modes Prisoner Rescue and Knock Out. The beta is also premiering MW2's third-person mode in a Moshpit playlist that includes the TDM, Domination, and Hardpoint game modes. A handful of weapons are available to experiment with, and their variety satisfies the cursory tinkering in MW2's Gunsmith, bolstered by the new Weapon Platforms system.
Modern Warfare 2's Beta Gameplay Feels Polished
Modern Warfare 2, like its predecessor, feels more visceral than other entries in the series. The punch of firing a weapon is buoyed by Modern Warfare 2's in-depth Gunsmith progression, which the beta doesn't quite show off in full, only giving players access to one Weapon Platform. The M4 Assault Rifle is the first in a family of weapons that all share attachments. Using the M4 will unlock certain attachments, but others exclusive to that weapon platform might require a few levels to be gained on the M16, for instance. There are universal attachments as well, usable on every Weapon Platform, but with the beta only allowing players to attain rank 16 in the first weekend (increasing to rank 30 for the second), long term progression and unlocks are unclear.
Even the Weapon Platform progression that can be seen raises questions. Every new Receiver - the base gun that is built upon, such as the M4 or M16 - gains levels shockingly quick. Only two or three games of middling performance are required to get a weapon to its max rank. Modern Warfare 2's gameplay at launch might slow down progression, but the beta's rapidity makes the entire system almost superfluous. Ranks are so easily earned it can feel unsatisfying, but it does provide a major boon to variety. Running out of new components to try encourages one to switch Receivers, which in turn highlights Modern Warfare 2's greatest strength so far - the actual gunplay.
Call of Duty's gunplay has long been tightly designed, but its tendency to land on the arcade side of the FPS genre has often resulted in what feels like peashooters with linear recoil patterns. This isn't to say shooting a gun in MW2 is difficult, but weapons rattle when fired and muzzle flashes obscure sight lines. The weight of firefights is enhanced by the DualSense, but even if the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on PlayStation's updated PS5 controller are disabled, the visual and aural effects are quite satisfying. Minute-to-minute, Modern Warfare 2 is quite enjoyable, even if the experience can be punctuated by the frustrations often unleashed by Call of Duty's penchant for unmitigated chaos in the standard multiplayer.
MW2's New Game Modes Have Potential
The return of third-person in Modern Warfare 2 unfortunately feels like a novelty, with the game - as expected - clearly designed around the usual first-person perspective. However, the two entirely new game types, Prisoner Rescue and Knock Out, can be incredibly engaging with the same competitive spin as Search and Destroy. Both new modes have elevated stakes with the player unable to respawn, but they allow for one revive per player per round, which can lead to fun back-and-forth as teams recover or vie for an objective. Prisoner Rescue and Knock Out both reward players that have explored Modern Warfare 2's new maps, as turning the tide can often result from knowing ways to reach downed teammates without encountering opponents.
One major issue the beta raises is MW2's time to kill (TTK). It seems incredibly short, and in the game modes mentioned above, this can lead to frustration as it often feels like death comes before a chance to fire back was given. This also exacerbates the issue of spawning near an enemy while playing TDM or Domination. While infrequent, this long-standing issue with Call of Duty's smaller maps remains, especially when a dominant team has established itself. The short TTK almost feels designed in favor of Warzone 2.0, assuming the Armor Plates system makes a return in some capacity. It's impossible to say Modern Warfare 2 was developed with Warzone 2.0 and its new mechanics as the top priority, but the free-to-play battle royale's imminent release seems to loom over the beta; it's even featured on the beta's main menu, even though it's unavailable.
Modern Warfare 2's main menu itself, assuming the beta's will resemble the final product's, is also an odd sticking point. Players launching the beta are greeted by a nearly full-screen advert for pre-ordering the game. Scrolling through this section leads to some helpful tips and an explanation of new mechanics or game modes, but one can't help but feel these banners will be singularly used to push the latest battle pass and cosmetic bundles. While such practices are expected in a free-to-play game like Warzone, its heavy integration in MW2, which carries a $70 price tag, is disheartening to say the least. The result of the beta is two-fold: while Modern Warfare 2's gameplay shows promise as a true iteration on the series' style, it continues to feel as though Warzone is Call of Duty's true future. Aside from a handful of expected bugs and crashes, though, the beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is a promising first foray, and those who relished the gameplay of its 2019 predecessor will likely find similar enjoyment.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II releases on October 28, 2022 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Screen Rant was provided with beta codes for the purpose of this preview.