Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) – Season One Multiplayer Game Review (Xbox One / PS4)
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) – Season One Multiplayer Game Review (Xbox One / PS4)

What is it? Call of Duty is a massively popular first-person military shooter. The versus multiplayer component lets you join into online games to play a variety of modes that range from tactical objective-based scenarios where you work as a team, to all out deathmatch games as well as casually fun free-for-all modes.


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

I’ve always had a very up and down relationship (read my reviews for Infinite Warfare and Black Ops III) with multiplayer component of Call of Duty. Some years I try it out and I couldn’t stand playing for more than just a few days at best, and some years it becomes like a crack addiction that I just can’t shake. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) is thankfully the latter.

COD:MW sees a return to form for this global phenomenon, and immediately feels familiar to anyone who spent a lot of time playing the original Modern Warfare. In my opinion, the later titles really lost the plot in terms of killstreaks and abilities in a way that just made a gritty military shooter start feeling more like the next Unreal Tournament. The action feels frantic and fun, but simultaneously engaging and grounded.

Saving Private Ruan

COD controls are still the gold standard, and the visuals remain good looking but smooth when tested on the PS4 Pro, however some sessions on the base Xbox One definitely had noticeable frame drops that would affect your performance. Speaking of visuals, any games that include night vision just look so damn cool (not to mention realistic) and add a really fun element to the experience.

It’s strange to say, but while I’m all for the pacing of the gameplay feeling closer to the original Modern Warfare, I wouldn’t have minded just a little bit of extra spice to be added into the mix. What spice? Well, I honestly can’t quite put my finger on it but the feeling is there and I can’t seem to shake it.

Weapon unlocks include modes and a way to customise the guns which feels great and allows for awesome loadouts that work for every situation and mode.

Killstreaks range from care packages and radars, to hovering jets and choppers that wreak all sorts of havoc. Killstreaks have always been one of the biggest make-or-break elements in COD games for me, and I’m happy to say that they almost feel just about balanced this time around.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2019 Multiplayer Screenshot

There’s A Bridge Over The River. Kwaai.

With local servers available, the gameplay and latency when playing online is also smooth, with games moving to international servers if none are available locally for the mode you want to play.

A big plus is also that by moving towards payment models like a Battlepass and store, all of the DLC in the game which includes modes, maps and more is all provided completely free as time goes on. This allows everyone to enjoy the same servers and content and also provides a blend of new and classic maps to play on.

Inglorious Bliksems

COD:MW also takes an extra page from other recent shooters (most of which are free to play) by implementing a “season” system, and additional seasons promise further rollouts of content, the next of which being a big battle royale map and mad due soon after the time of writing.

As time goes on there seems to be more and more reason to jump onboard, and this system feels a lot more palatable especially after the lootbox-fest that Call of Duty: WW2 (read our review here) offered.

The Hurt Lekker

Another big feature of the title is crossplay, which also means that if you allow PC gamers into your matchmaking, you might fight tougher opponents but you rarely struggle to find games.

The PC gamers can be a problem in certain modes however. We usually hit a few rounds of the casual Gun Game mode for some fun, but just one semi-skilled PC gamer in the server is often able to absolutely ruin everyone else and win by a mile round after round. In other modes it’s not as problematic and for the most part it’s not been an issue. If you find yourself in an overseas server with 170-200ms ping AND the opponents are PC players… well then hold on to your butt.

Verdict:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) has the first COD multiplayer component that’s really gripped me since Black Ops 2. While the hardcore fans show up year after year, I don’t always recommend or enjoy the experience on offer. This time around I can’t get enough and I’m enjoying going back time after time.

 

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