Yesterday we got our first glimpse at the new reboot of Modern Warfare in the form of a 4 hour stream, and I’ve got to say I’m more hyped now than I was when they first announced the title!
Call of Duty has had a rocky couple of years, with last year’s Black Ops 4 being the black sheep in the family of rather mediocre games. While the game was met with fairly good reviews, it’s seeing the end of its lifespan, especially with Modern Warfare coming soon. Which is looking very promising, and hopefully the breath of fresh air we all are wanting and hoping for.
Over the past few weeks we’ve seen gameplay of the 2v2 gamemode and that, in itself, made the game look amazing. Yet the very limited scope of the 2v2 mode and maps really can’t show you just how awesome, or not awesome, the game can be. Thankfully we’ve received plenty of footage to dissect thanks to this premiere stream, and boy is it a doozy.
Calling this a love letter to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the team hopes to bring back the gritty, slower paced realism magic feeling to a series that has been ever so lacking in that department ever so much. Gone are the linear maps of Black Ops with it’s three lanes of rushing madness. Back are the more open, realistically structured maps that allow you to utilize every weapon in the arsenal to its full potential. This means key locations are back, providing you key spots that give your team an environmental advantage.
Back with the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare consoles used a Peer-to-peer system to match-make, forcing a limited player count onto your gaming session. On the PC, however, you had servers to choose from, and even rent your own for custom server settings. This means you could have as many players in a server as you could afford to pay for, though it isn’t recommended. The maps weren’t designed for that many players, and while a 10 on 10 would be fine, it got very chaotic with more players. Since Call of Duty 4, we haven’t really had a successful Call of Duty that allowed server rentals, and therefore relied on matchmaking even on the PC. This meant limited player counts once again, and in the latest Black Ops, that count was limited to 5 v 5. So, when they announced a 20 v 20 mode, I was super excited, but alas that doesn’t mean we’ll have custom servers.
A key feature of the new Modern Warfare is the weapon system. Your character is no longer the focal point, the character of the game, like in Black Ops 4, instead it’s your weapon. With the addition of a gunsmith option, you can now break down your weapon and customize it the way you want it to be, along with perks such as sleight of hand. Want to change calibers? Go for it, want to change the barrels? You got it! The average is 30 to 60 attachments per weapon, it’s insane. What’s more, is they unlock simply from using the weapon.
One thing that screams at you when you watch this gameplay is the time to kill or TTK. It’s extremely low, you can die so easily, and so quickly. To me, this is a godsend. I was a hardcore only player back on the original Modern Warfare. I’m not much of an arcade shooter person, so the most recent titles in the series have really turned me off. I am very delighted to see this low TTK, and I’m pretty sure this wasn’t even realism mode.
How often have you picked up a game to play with your friends only to find out they picked it up on another platform? Say you’re on the PS4, they got the Xbox version, or maybe you’re on the PC? Infinity Ward said don’t worry about it, we’re going to have cross-play on all platforms! That’s right, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, all in one lobby. I honestly don’t know how this will go over for the console players, because I truly think the PC has a very distinct advantage here. Only time will tell, but I’m very happy to see this feature, as I have friends that strictly play consoles, hype train for getting them to play with me again!
Overall this stream has truly made waves in the Call of Duty community. I don’t think many of us expected it to be this good, and its still a very early build of the game. Luckily for all of us, pre-order, and open beta’s are coming in September for all platforms, so we’ll all get to try out hands at the latest installment of Call of Duty very soon!
That’s all we have for you right now, check out the livestream below for all the juicy intel you can get your hands on!
