The two weeks of open beta for the latest instalment in the Call of Duty franchise have come to a close, after players got their hands on the multiplayer side of the game for the very first time. With both casual and professional player bases giving their thoughts on the new title, here’s what we think after spending countless hours getting to grips with Modern Warfare.
The Maps
After stating that Infinity Ward would be straying away from a more traditional map design consisting of three distinct lanes, the three maps available on the beta had three areas that offered numerous ways to engage the opposition. Hackney Yard suited close-quarters combat, while Grazna Raid contained long sightlines that gave snipers the opportunity to control the map.
For the first time in the franchise, players had the ability to manually operate doors on a map. Whether they were sprinting through a building to ambush the opposition or were setting up a defence, doors added a new and refreshing element to the multiplayer experience. The only drawback was how loud they were when a player burst into a building.
The size of the maps suit the 6v6 and the 10v10 gameplay that was available. The addition of Ground War — an all-out 32v32 large-scale warfare on a massive map — was extremely popular with players despite the hectic nature of the new game mode.
Despite all the good, the spawns on every map on every mode were atrocious. There were several cases of players respawning in front of enemies, but improvements are being looked into by the developers.
The Look
In comparison to previous Call of Duty titles, the heads-up display (HUD) looks very clean, even after the return of the mini-map in the second weekend of the beta. Thanks to the mini-map not showing any form of enemy fire, it can encourage more strategic gameplay, but the majority of the time saw players hiding in corners and cashing in on flukes as opposed to outplaying their opponents.
The new game engine definitely makes the game feel different from previous titles, yet maintains the same Call of Duty gameplay and feel that fans have come to expect over the years.
The Weapons
Overall, the weapon balance did seem to be good after a few hours of game-time, but by the end of the two weekends, the M4 Assault Rifle and the MP5 and MP7 sub-machine guns were the weapons that were being used the most thanks to their minimal recoil and durability in all forms of engagements.
The weapons in Modern Warfare have unique qualities, and all feel very different when being used. For example, the AK47 AR has very high levels of recoil, while the M4 has little recoil and a faster rate of fire. The sniper rifles feel very good indeed. They feel very rewarding when you’ve scoped an enemy from the other end of the map, and are equally as punishing if the initial shot is missed.
The time to kill feels very fast, probably on a similar level to Call of Duty: Ghosts that was released towards the end of 2013. With no ability to heal and a large damage multiplier for headshots, perhaps players need to acclimatise to the new game, or the likes of the M4, MP5 and the MP7 are in need of a damage nerf ahead of the full release of the game on October 23.
Is It Any Good?
The short answer is yes, very good!
In conclusion, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare feels like a really good and consistent Call of Duty game, taking the franchise back to a more traditional setting with traditional movement mechanics. With a few tweaks here and there, this could be the best Call of Duty title that has been released in the last three years.
Debate has immersed the community after Infinity Ward opted to remove the minimap for Call of Duty Modern Warfare. After the opening week of the beta, the developer is looking at a compromise after the majority wanted it to make a return.
