Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II multiplayer review – Specs and violence

It’s the end of the year, and like most normal people, I’m celebrating by hugging a corner, checking my vectors, and setting up a kill corridor for anyone that wanders into my range of vision. No, I’m not a disgruntled postal worker, I’m once again diving into Call of Duty’s multiplayer and spending a few nights engaging in intense firefights against people who I’ve never met in life but have sworn a vendetta against after they teabagged my corpse one too many times.

While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s main campaign mode is a solid mix of intrigue, big-budget digital explosions, and some fascinating level design, it’s the multiplayer that keeps this brand alive until the next Call of Duty arrives to start the cycle all over again. It’s Activision’s license to print money, and it’s not hard to see why, as right off the bat it’s exactly what you’d expect from this mode: Tight gunplay, huge maps to throw down in, and plenty of new modes in which to watch your buddy Johnny take a bullet.

Johnny… Johnny… JOHNNY!

But this year’s multiplayer suite isn’t sticking entirely to the usual Call of Duty rules of engagement, as there are enough meaningful changes on hand to make the mode stand out. For example, the weapon-tuning options border on the obscene with the amount of customization that you can tinker with, allowing you to unlock and craft ornate tools of destruction for your soldier of fortune. You can have a maximum of five attachments slapped onto your gun, with each part having an effect on how you play. From iron sights to help you accurately mail long-distance bullets to grips that’ll make it easier to unleash a volley of hip-fire spray when you run into a challenger, it’s all there and waiting to be played with.

A progression tree pushes you to play more with certain weapon archetypes so that you can unlock exotic variants, while certain skins require you to chase after weapon achievements in order to unlock them. It’s a healthy direction for Call of Duty’s fantastic weapon pool, rewarding your dedication with some fine cosmetics. It’s also deep, detailed, and luxurious tactical tinkering that you can play around with for hours as you marvel at your digital arsenal.

Of course, you’re going to need a few modes to play with your shiny new toys, and Modern Warfare II more than delivers in that category. Beyond COD staples such as deathmatch variants and Hardpoint, a few new match modes are making their presence felt. Prisoner Rescue riffs on Call of Duty: Cold War’s VIP Escort, fine-tuning that mode to be a fast-paced and nerve-wracking series of escort missions, Kill Confirmed is still devilishly good fun, and Control is where well-oiled teams will shine.

For players looking to engage in all-out warfare, though, Groundwar and Invasion are the areas of operations to be in. For Invasion, you’re looking at a gargantuan 20v20 Team Deathmatch mode where everyone feels like Jack Reacher thanks to the presence of AI-controlled hostiles that spawn into the map. Sure, some kid in Glasgow might run circles around me, but at least I can help my team by eliminating hostiles and slowly grinding points for my squad. I’m helping!

But Groundwar is the chef’s kiss emoji here, a giant slice of digital real estate where 32-player teams race to take control of five different capture points on a massive map. It is pure chaos at its best, a continuous firefight waged between demolition experts, cunning snipers, and gung-ho soldiers charging into the fray. Teamwork still makes the dream work as you chase down objectives, but that polished scale of anarchy makes for a fantastic excuse to ditch your real-life friends on a Friday night and settle in for some cooperative chaos instead.

This all makes for a satisfying experience this year, provided you don’t squint too hard at any lingering glitches in the Call of Duty matrix. We’re more than a week removed from launch by the time that this review goes live, and while some HEFTY patches have improved things, Modern Warfare II’s surface does have a few stray bugs floating about. Still, that’s nothing that another 50GB patch on Xbox Series X can’t solve, much to the chagrin of my ISP.

Alongside a thrilling selection of Spec Ops missions (more on that in another article), Modern Warfare II’s multiplayer is shaping up to once again be the biggest reason to grab this year’s edition in the long-running military-themed shooter. It’s as mechanically solid as ever, the weapon customization features are superb, and there’s some big fun to be had in some BIG maps. The gameplay has a satisfying amount of heft to it, there’s no shortage of modes on offer and a few performance issues only slightly hamper the overall experience.