Just before the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta early access weekend started, I wrote an article based on my brief initial play test prior to it going live. It was simply titled “I might have been wrong about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.”
I’m not going to go over too much old ground, but the tl;dr was that I expected not to enjoy this year’s game at all based on past experience from the Modern Warfare reboot series.
But I am going to follow up after putting some hours in during said early access weekend on whether or not I was actually wrong. And yes, I was. Mostly. It’s not perfect by any stretch, but from what I’ve seen so far, I am actually looking forward to playing this year’s Call of Duty after all. But there’s still some stuff I don’t like.
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The good about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Everything I said previously I liked about Modern Warfare 4 still stands. Possibly more so having shifted from playing on console initially over to PC.
It’s easily the best-looking Call of Duty game in recent memory, for starters. The Silkworm map, especially, looks absolutely glorious if you turn up the graphics settings a bit.
But it’s the campaign I think that’ll really benefit here. We’ve only had a single mission, Entrenched, to play so far, but the visual appeal is clear, and it’s absolutely filled with atmosphere.
The most competitive players will always turn the graphics right down, but for the rest of us, it’s nice to be playing a Call of Duty that actually looks like a modern game.
The movement is also, I think, spot on. It doesn’t feel as crazy fast as Black Ops 7; you can’t jump up walls here, but it’s fast enough. And it’s only taken players a couple of days to figure out how to exploit it as best they can, be that positive or negative.
But combine the movement with the excellent gunplay, an aim assist that doesn’t feel like it’s doing all the work for you (at least in my opinion), and some solid weapons, and the core experience is very enjoyable.
I’m also a fan of the way Modern Warfare 4 handles its attachment unlocks. Once you get an attachment, it’s automatically unlocked for all of the weapons you can use it on.
The Apex attachments you unlock when you reach max level are also an interesting addition. It’s similar, I guess, to the prestige unlocks in Black Ops 7, except you don’t lose an attachment slot to use them. They go on top of everything else.
The menu design is also excellent, and overall it’s just a really solid player experience. Of particular note is more clarity on the server you’re connected to, and I’ve been seeing low ping across the board.
The bad about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
As good as the gameplay is, I’m not so much of a fan of the maps. There will be more at launch and in subsequent seasons, of course, but I don’t think what they’ve given us in the first beta is the best way to show off this game.
If I have to play Transit 213 again, I’m going to lose my mind. It’s another of those Call of Duty maps that are really small, where you’re constantly on top of each other, and it falls into what I call the brainrot category.
Silkworm, while looking amazing, isn’t overly fun either. The middle lane is essentially a long open street, so you force yourself down the outer lanes, which both have lengthy open runs, too.
Rooftops feels like it should be a good map, with a mix of external and internal sections paired with elevation changes. But there’s something about the way it plays right now that feels a little off.
Of the debuting maps, Cachette is a decent challenge, I feel, and I enjoyed Lotus the most by far. Both feel like they play more into a properly competitive, tactical way of playing rather than just running full speed at the opponents.
The meta also has not and will not change (outside of Ranked Play at least) from UAV spam. They’re so easy to get; you’ll be spammed constantly with multiple UAVs, and since they give away your positions, you become easy pickings. It also forces you to buy into that meta or be on the backfoot, and I’d rather use my streaks a different way.
I’d love to see Infinity Ward change the UAV so it’s harder to get, but I don’t see that happening. Add in the Personal Radar Field Upgrade and you may as well just walk around with a glowing beacon on your head inviting your opponents to take you down.
There’s also a healthy round of weapon balancing that needs to happen, and I’m sure it will, as it always does. Snipers are obviously strong, but they’re way too strong right now and too easy to use. Spawns are also pretty bad right now, but Infinity Ward is already working on that ahead of the second weekend of the beta.
Overall, though, I’m a lot happier with Modern Warfare 4 than I expected to be. Lots would say the last two Black Ops games were bad, and that’s their opinion they’re entitled to, but I’ve really enjoyed Black Ops 7 in particular. I usually do when it’s a Black Ops game.
But I’ve gone from trepidation and expecting not to play this year’s game (in part thanks to GTA 6 looming) to back on board the Call of Duty train. It’s a shame we’re not getting to see DMZ in the beta, as that’s the mode I’m most excited for, but I am curious to see how Warzone will be. At least we can try that out in the open beta, which begins on Friday, August 28.
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