At the recent Call of Duty XP event, I headed to Los Angeles to play all the upcoming COD titles. I got the first hands-on with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s spacey multiplayer, followed by a trip in Infinite Warfare VR for the first time, then got the 1980s flashback on Zombies in Spaceland. I also played the oldest (and most controversial) title at XP, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer. It took me right back to 2007, in mostly positive ways. But first, take a look at some of the first footage of CoD: MW Remastered MP.
Return to Duty
At first blush, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer felt just like the game that created millions of COD fans close to a decade ago. As if no time had passed I was back with a team of soldiers battling terrorists on the Backlot map. I’ll admit that my skills were a bit rusty, but by the end of the Domination mode, I was right there with my team taking back control points.
The classic, burnout map looked great brought up to the visual standards of the PS4. The same could be said of the still fast-paced gameplay when I dove into Team Deathmatch on the Overgrown map. It didn’t look like an entirely new game, but you could tell the effort was there. Though with word that the remaster is digitally enhanced on the PlayStation 4 Pro, I wonder what extra level of polish will be discernable during the iconic action.
Too Old to Enlist?
It was just as fast and frenzied as before, and based on how many times I got killed, the skills translate over to the Remastered version of Modern Warfare. But the choice to so closely recreate the old gameplay also led me to feel a bit of disconnect. It’s obvious to say, but this recreation lacks all the updates to the action COD has seen since 2007. All the little (and big) touches that are missing can be clearly seen when you play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer right after a few rounds of Infinite Warfare.
After battling in space stations with highly customizable rigs and the much-expanded jumping abilities, Modern Warfare Remastered ends up feeling a bit cramped by comparison. You miss all the skills you’ve memorized in Infinite Warfare when you jump into the classic game, as well as wishing just for the comparably smaller changes in Modern Warfare 2. Given that COD: IW and Modern Warfare Remastered are packaged together, I’ll bet many players will find themselves jumping between the two games and noticing the difference.
Still, if you prefer the straightforwardness of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer, you’ll find just what you’re looking for when the entire Infinite Warfare bundle hits consoles and PC Nov. 4.