Price is back, but what can you expect from him and 2019's 'Modern Warfare'?
On Friday (October 25), the wait will be over: the soft reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will finally hit shelves and digital marketplaces.
It comes just three years since the remaster of the series’ first entry–which debuted nearly 12 years ago to the day in 2007–was bundled with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
This third visit to the first Modern Warfare outing has already stoked a bit of outrage, given its lack of horde-based Survival Mode on PC and Xbox One, as it has PS4 exclusivity until October 1, 2020.
Still, with these fair criticisms aside, the game already looks like a worthy addition to the CoD franchise. In fact, it may be its best yet, even if it’s relying on a rehashed story to get there. Ahead of my review of the game’s campaign mode, and to get you up to speed if you've missed the announcements, here are all the officially confirmed features of Modern Warfare 2019.
What to expect from campaign mode
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare promises a “visceral and uncompromising” campaign that has been redesigned to be “edgy, culturally relevant and thought-provoking.” This potential wokeness aside, it also features the return of Captain Price–who’s been rebooted to the extent that even original voice actor Billy Murray has been replaced by English actor Barry Sloane, who originally rose to fame as a soap opera actor.
While Price has been heavily promoted, the actual player-character switches between London Metropolitan Police sergeant Kyle Garrick, a former British Army officer, and CIA officer Alex. Both are taking on a rogue Russian general inspired by Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, and levels take place between European cities and the “volatile expanses of the Middle East.”
There’s also a greater emphasis on playing styles; you can explore stealth options (even shooting lightbulbs to use darkness to your advantage) or, if you’re anything like me, you can go in guns blazing and just hope for the best. The infamous “No Russian” mission has been noted as a thematic influence for missions; a popular example of this is how you might need to decide, as a civilian woman moves sharply, if they’re reaching for a gun or their baby.
Screenshots from the campaign mode in 'Modern Warfare' look pretty damn stunning.
For what it’s worth, reports have noted its gritty depiction of civilians and disguised fighters, including child soldiers, so don’t be surprised if minors find themselves in the crossfire if you’ve decided against applying the mature filter. Expect plenty of talking points, and probably uproar, in the coming days and weeks.
Multiplayer goes big
Online, Modern Warfare seeks to re-establish its dominance as the go-to FPS with the promise of “new and innovative game modes,” but the thing grabbing most of the headlines is its real, unfettered crossplay between PS4, Xbox and PC. What’s more, less confident online players won’t fall behind so quickly, as there’s a unified progression system which takes campaign, multiplayer and co-op into account for levelling.
New multiplayer modes are incoming, most notably “Groundwar,” which takes place across huge maps and can support over 100 players; at the other end of the spectrum, a more intimate affair can be enjoyed with “Gunfight,” a two-on-two mode that brings the action close.
Speaking of maps, players will not only get a wider variety of arena styles, but they’ll be regularly given new ones for free throughout the year, with others courtesy of “Battle Pass.” More on that shortly.
Finally, tinkerers are also being catered to with the new “Gunsmith” weapon customization system; Infinity Ward claims it offers “the widest choice of equipment in the history of Call of Duty.”
A rich co-op focus
Modern Warfare has a major emphasis on co-op, including split-screen support for local play, on the campaign and with the return of Spec Ops mode, something that added incredible longevity to Modern Warfare 2 (and to a lesser extent MW3) with its debut in 2009. Chosen loadouts from campaign and multiplayer can be used; different roles are available, with class-specific perks.
If you’re on PS4, you’ll get Survival Mode–a “wave-based horde mode”–exclusively until October 1, 2020. Much like CoD’s famous zombie modes, you can play with three friends. Oh, and about Zombie Mode: there isn’t one in 2019 Modern Warfare, making it the first game in the series since Ghosts to omit it. Sorry about that. Let’s hope Survival’s worth the wait, especially for those playing on Xbox and PC.
Survival Mode offers a four-player horde mode - but only for PS4 players (for now).
Goodbye loot boxes, hello Battle Pass
Just two days ago, one positive announcement came from Activision: a new “Battle Pass” system will let players see the content they are earning or buying, effectively meaning the shuttering of the much-maligned loot box system.
It’s not deploying straight away, either, as the company goes on to explain:
The Battle Pass System for Modern Warfare will not launch when the game releases on October 25th. Here’s why: First and foremost, we are all focused on making the Day One experience awesome. Second, it’s important to us that everyone who is playing Modern Warfare has the chance to work their way through the new game and unlock all the rewards that are waiting for you. We expect to launch this system for Modern Warfare later this year.
While it might sound too good to be true, Activision has caveated this statement, noting that “there are still questions around how the economy will evolve throughout the post-launch, live seasons,” but that it was “committed to delivering a fair system” informed by “feedback and player engagement.”
Modern Warfare’s tech specs
Already, people are going absolutely nuts over just how good the game looks, and it’s all down to the new engine being used by Infinity Ward, which uses “the latest advances in visual and sound engineering.”
All early signs point to this being the most beautiful 'Call of Duty' yet - and by quite a way.
As such, it promises a “photo-realistic experience” at 60fps in 4K HDR (which I’ll believe when I see it), alongside volumetric lighting and full Dolby ATMOS support. On PC, which is distributed solely on the Battle.net platform, Modern Warfare has DirectX Raytracing.
Those all-important editions
Finally, much like its forefathers, Modern Warfare comes in three packages: standard, Operator and Dark Editions.
Standard is as basic as you’d expect, simply comprising a full copy of Modern Warfare (which is digital only on PC). Both special versions offer in-game digital items (three themed “operator packs” and a tactical knife), while the super-duper Dark Edition comes with a steelbook and, no joke, a “functional and wearable set of night vision goggles allowing you to see up to 65 feet (or 20 meters) in complete darkness.” Yep.
Once again, that all-important release date is October 25. Expect my take on Modern Warfare’s campaign mode shortly after that. Personally, I can’t wait to get started.
