The “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” series has always held a prominent place in the hearts of gamers around the world. Since its first appearance in 2007 with “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” the franchise has revolutionized the first-person shooter genre by offering an intense and immersive gaming experience. The original trilogy, which includes “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” (2009) and “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” (2011), cemented the success of the series, becoming a “must have” for the genre with its compelling narrative, dynamic gameplay and modern warfare scenarios that have captured players’ imaginations.
As technology and public expectations evolved, it became clear that even a successful series like “Modern Warfare” would have to renew itself to maintain its relevance in the video game landscape. Thus, in 2019, fans witnessed the launch of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” a reboot that rewrote the rules of the game, taking the series to new levels of graphical and narrative realism. This reboot kicked off a new series of titles, continuing with “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” (2022) and “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” (2023), each of which built on the legacy of its predecessors while making significant innovations.
In the sphere of video games, few series have had the cultural and commercial impact of “Call of Duty.” Among its countless iterations, the “Modern Warfare” sub-series has always held a special place in the hearts of fans. With the reboot that began in 2019, this series has rediscovered its essence, offering gamers a revamped experience but true to the original spirit.
Let’s explore in this post these three reboot games in detail, analyzing their features, how they expanded and enhanced the original experience, and how they were received on different gaming platforms, from the perspective of the best reviews at the moment on the net.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
Graphics and Atmosphere
First Modern Warfare game marked an impressive evolution in the graphics of the series. The game shone with its visual realism, detailed textures and impressive light and shadow play. The tense and immersive atmosphere convincingly captured the gravity of contemporary military operations.
Gameplay and Narration
The gameplay remained true to the series’ fast-paced roots, but with significant additions. The implementation of a gunsmithing system allowed for unprecedented weapon customization, significantly affecting the gameplay style. The narrative shifted the needle toward a more raw and realistic depiction of modern conflicts, with a story that touched on sensitive and often controversial topics.
Multiplayer and Innovations
Multiplayer received widespread praise for its balance and variety. Modes such as Gunfight offered intense and fast-paced experiences, while classic matches retained the charisma typical of the series. Support for cross-play was a major step forward, breaking down barriers between game platforms.
Performance on PC and Console
PlayStation 4 & Xbox One: The game offered solid performance on these consoles, maintaining good graphics quality and stable framerates in most cases. However, some hardware limitations led to compromises, such as a dynamic resolution and reduced graphic details compared to the PC versions.
PC: On PC, the game shined due to the ability to take advantage of more powerful hardware. Supporting higher resolutions and higher framerates, it offered the most impressive visual experience. Customization of graphics and control settings added further value.
Cross-play: A significant feature was the introduction of cross-play, allowing players on different platforms to play together, an important step for inclusiveness and accessibility in online gaming.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Graphics and Design
2022 saw further improvements in graphics, with emphasis on environmental details and character animations. This made the game world even more realistic and immersive.
Evolved Gameplay
Modern Warfare 2 introduced new gameplay mechanics, such as the advanced cover system and increased interaction with the environment. These innovations expanded players’ strategic options, making each confrontation more dynamic and unpredictable.
Story and Campaign
The storyline continued in the direction of its predecessor, with a well-written and engaging narrative. The characters, already well-known and beloved by fans, were further deepened, adding layers of complexity to the story
Performance on PC and Console
PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X/S: on these next-generation consoles, Modern Warfare 2 offered significant improvements in graphics and framerate. Faster loads and more stable performance defined the experience on these platforms.
PC: once again, PC gamers with high-end hardware enjoyed the best visual quality and performance. Support for ultrawide screens and high refresh rates further enhanced the experience.
Cross-generational compatibility: importantly, cross-generation compatibility between different console generations ensured that players could enjoy the game regardless of their console.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
Graphics and Setting
Continuing the trend, the graphics in “Modern Warfare 3” were even more refined, with spectacular environments and an even greater variety of scenery. Every place visited in the game was rich in detail and vibrated with a life of its own.
Innovative Gameplay
The introduction of new game modes and improved artificial intelligence of enemies made this chapter the most dynamic and challenging. Additions to gameplay enriched both single-player and multiplayer modes, providing a more varied and satisfying experience. However, it seems that not all users think so, as we will see below.
Narrative and Conclusion
The story reached an exciting climax, with a narrative that was able to satisfactorily conclude the storylines begun in the previous titles. The game’s ability to balance spectacular action and moments of intense storytelling created a memorable gaming experience.
Negative Points
Despite the aforementioned innovations, in this title many users complain that the combat system, although it has more maps and a slower unlocking system, has on balance remained that of the previous title. In addition, several complain that this game seems to have been made in a hurry, just to almost meet deadlines.
Performance on PC and Console
PlayStation 5 & Xbox Series X/S and PC: this title took full advantage of the capabilities of next-generation consoles and high-end PCs, offering improvements in both graphics and performance. On consoles, support for haptic feedback and adaptive triggers (particularly on PS5) offered a deeper level of immersion.
Cross-platform Play and Progress: important to note the continuity of cross-platform support, which has enabled a larger and more diverse gaming community. In addition, shared progression across platforms has been a popular feature among players.
Reboot Development
Pre-Reboot Context
Before the reboot, “Call of Duty” was expanding in different directions, with some titles pushing into an increasingly sci-fi future, such as “Advanced Warfare” and “Infinite Warfare.” Although these games were technically advanced and popular, some fans expressed nostalgia for the more grounded and realistic style of the first games in the “Modern Warfare” series.
Reboot Decision
The reboot was a conscious step by the developers to return to the roots of the franchise, renewing it for a modern audience. The idea was to recapture the essence of the original “Modern Warfare,” retaining its atmosphere and themes but reinventing the story, characters, and game environment to reflect the contemporary world. This introduced significant technical and graphical improvements. With the use of new graphics engines, the series was able to offer unprecedented visual realism by improving textures, lighting, and physics. This resulted in a more immersive gaming experience, making players feel part of a believable and detailed game world.
Refined Gameplay and Narrative
A major focus has also been on refining gameplay. The developers listened carefully to feedback from the community to better balance the gameplay, refining the shooting mechanics and introducing new strategic elements. This has resulted in a more tactical and varied gameplay experience than its predecessors. Although some iconic characters, such as Captain Price, have been retained, their stories have been rewritten to fit a modern context, addressing current issues such as global terrorism and asymmetric wars. The plot has been made more mature and complex, with an emphasis on the moral nuances of modern wars.
Introduction of Cross-Play
Finally, an important update was the introduction of cross-play, allowing players on different platforms to play together. This move marked an important step toward a more inclusive gaming experience and significantly expanded the player base.
Final Considerations
The reboot of the “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” series stands out as an emblematic example of how a franchise can evolve and adapt, maintaining its original essence while meeting the needs of a modern audience. This series, relaunched with titles starting in 2019, has done more than revamp the graphical and technical aspects; it has transformed its narrative and gameplay approach to reflect the complexities and moral nuances of contemporary conflicts.
With the introduction of features such as cross-play and advanced weapon customization, it has adapted to accommodate a global and diverse audience, thus managing to remain not only relevant but also pioneering in the wargaming landscape, providing players with a deeper, mature and reflective experience, reflecting the shift in social perceptions of war and demonstrating the potential of video games as advanced tools for storytelling and cultural interaction.
How about you, what do you think?