Call of Duty: Modern Warfare PS4 | Review

By James Perry
| 29th October 2019
| PS4, Review
| 0

As we all anticipate the arrival of the eager Christmas decorations so do we anticipate the next installment from the first-person shooter giants Infinity Ward. And that moment has arrived with Modern Warfare, no not that one, a completely new one for 2019.

Now, these games have always teased the boundaries of what the public finds acceptable in games. Fictitious locations that bear a real resemblance that it would be silly not to compare the two. Modern Warfare takes this up a notch in their latest campaign, giving a real storytelling experience that will challenge you at times but hopefully shows storytelling can still exist in a modern FPS.

The campaign is a well-scripted 8 hours of fast-paced, night vision wearing and at times uncomfortable action. The flow between missions keeps you on the edge of your seat as you jump between the hustling London streets to Saint Petersburg or Verdansk to the made-up Middle Eastern country of Urzikstan. You will experience the story through the eyes of a number of different characters, each with their own backstory and reason to be in the game.

However, the campaign has its moments of controversy and uncomfortable playing which it gives fair warning about before you start the first mission. I do not want to give any campaign details away as you should play it for yourself but as Infinity Ward reflects the geopolitical wars, we are all too familiar with, it creates moments that some may be uneasy with and not only on one occasion.

That being said I believe these are in the game to portray the impact of war into our minds. To push that feel of ‘realism’ and ‘accurate’ reflections. Yes, you have missions where all-out combat is there, and you can enjoy that, but Modern Warfare really does bring the games war setting into the modern-day. It shows the sacrifices, dangers, and impacts of war. Even the small things of having civilians pop out from cover as you clear through a building, showing the quick decisive decisions you need to make.

This Modern Warfare has a campaign that could rival any in the series, an achievement that cannot be overlooked. Since Black Ops 4 decided that a Battle Royale was all we need, it was extremely welcome to see such an effort put into a campaign.

Once you get underway you will quickly be in awe of the visuals this game has. It is stunning and what we should expect from a AAA game. This is really highlighted when you go straight from a cutscene into gameplay in one smooth motion (no it isn’t quite God of War levels, but it is certainly a nice touch).

Add in the fantastic audio that you are treated too across varying mission landscapes and you have the complete gaming experience. Weapons feel powerful, bullets sound heavy when they hit enemies and the shooting mechanics as a whole on point.

Once you have caught your breath from the campaign you the multiplayer and it continues the fantastic experience the campaign started. Online is something the COD series knows how to deliver. This time around though we have a few changes that bring new challenges and experiences. Small maps now offer a 2v2 mode which really puts your skills to the test, nowhere to hide here. Then you have the new Ground War mode that brings vehicles into the game. Now when I played this mode, I couldn’t help but feel Battlefield in there. Maybe I prefer the fast-paced and condensed matches from a COD game, but I just felt like there was too much going on.

As always there is a whole world of unlocks and leveling to be done in the multiplayer. As always it will offer you something to do regardless of how many hours you sink into it and to be fair, it’s worth it. The gunplay feels great and over time you learn the maps and find your best style. I will certainly be jumping in and out of multiplayer for the foreseeable future.

Finally, once you have recovered from the campaign and collected all your gold weapon skins you might want to jump into the special ops. This is a co-op area of the game that perhaps continues the campaign story a little but offers you and a few friends the opportunity to attempt a new challenge together.

Missions will take place across a large map with multiple objectives around scanning, destroying and attacking. This was the only area of the game where I felt it wasn’t as polished as it could have been. There seems to be no logic to where enemies come from, despite any attempt to clear through everything neatly you can still get caught by enemies appearing from anywhere.

Final Impressions

Modern Warfare delivers is a well-polished first-person shooter that I hope has revitalized the campaign side to these games while still maintaining a deep multiplayer experience. Yes, you could argue the Special Ops area has let the game down slightly with how it is delivered but it is still an enjoyable experience. The game looks beautiful and sounds amazing which gives this campaign the platform it needs to tell a tough story. This game is well worth a purchase, it will not let you down.

*This Review Code was so generously provided by the publisher for review*

Developer: Infinity Ward Publisher: Activision
Release date: October 25, 2019
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
Platform Reviewed on: PlayStation 4 PRO