Iconic since the franchise’s introduction, theCall of Dutygames have become a mainstay in the video game industry since 2005. While the initial three WWII entries in the franchise quickly became very popular, it wasn’t untilCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfarewhere the series was propelled into video game stardom. From there, following the video game mantra of every sequel being better than the last,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2came out to even more success in 2009.
Now in 2020,Modern Warfarehas since seen a remaster as well as a soft-rebooted new entry in the sub-series. Fans are wondering ifCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2will follow suit, and recent rumors seem to state a new remaster is coming. Likely following a similar design model to theCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered, here’s what fans can expect from aModern Warfare 2remaster.
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Untouched Gameplay
The beautiful thing aboutCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remasteredwas that it didn’t fundamentally change the gameplay. Other than several graphical facelifts and other quality-of-life updates to the UI,the campaign and multiplayer remained very true to the original. There were some camera updates, a specific example of which is sniper scopes actually showing the environment outside the scope instead of just a black background. There were also some minor updates to animations, like when moving in prone actually shows the player’s weapon instead of it simply disappearing off screen until the player stops moving.
Expect similar minimal changes to aCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2remaster’s gameplay. SinceModern WarfareandMW2are so closely related, a lot of the same camera and animation adjustments will almost certainly carry over. Aside from that, the biggest updates from the remaster will, similar toModern Warfare Remastered’s improved environments.
Environment Quality Improvements
The biggest change with any remaster, not justModern Warfare, is the improved texture and graphical fidelity. Generally the centerpiece of a remaster is what the players are going to see, so of course,Modern Warfare 2remastered would look great given a makeover. TheCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remasteredgraphical updates,especially in comparison with the original game, made some seriously great improvements to the original game’s aesthetics. Several environmental textures were updated in both the campaign and multiplayer with much higher levels of detail and fidelity.
LikelyModern Warfare 2will receive similar treatments to its campaign and multiplayer, while aiming for a stable 60 FPS and capability of true 4K resolutions. Especially withthe PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles coming later this year, frame rate and resolution shouldn’t be an issue. Even thoughMW2had a lot of improvements toCall of Duty’s overall attention to detail and design in 2009, a new facelift would make the added details even better.
Continual Multiplayer Support
A surprising focus forModern Warfare Remasteredwas the addition of operators and character customization, new weapons, and some additional modes. Many assumed that the remaster would simply “port over” the original game to the new consoles, but the developer went above and beyond when remastering the classicCall of Dutytitle. New additions to a game from 2007 was something very unexpected, andModern Warfare Remasteredreceived a lot of lovecompared to other remastered titles.
Modern Warfare Remastered’s multiplayer featured several brand new weapons, the option to customize individual character skins, as well as bring in fan favorite modes like “Kill Confirmed” and “Gun Game.” It even ended up havingthe massively popular “Prop Hunt” mode added to the game, where players take on the form of inanimate objects and have to hide from seekers. Setting a precedent for what could be coming later,Modern Warfare 2being remastered should receive similar care, with a slew of new weapons and modes made available in later games that could be added.
Likely Standalone Release
Perhaps the biggest stumble that came out withCall of Duty 4’s remaster was the way it was sold, which was less than ideal. Players who wanted to get their hands onCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remasteredinitiallyhad to purchase and installCall of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s deluxe editionin order to get the remaster.
This led to a lot of backlash from fans, considering the twoCall of Dutygames had diametrically opposing concepts that made no sense to be bundled together.Eventually the game was sold standalone, but it still couldn’t shake the sting it received from the initial backlash.Call of Duty: Infinite Warfarewas a futuristic game with tons of science-fictional elements like space travel and interplanetary travel, whereas the originalModern Warfarewas designed to be heavily grounded in realistic 21st century warfare. Activision will almost certainly not make that mistake again. Assuming aMW2remaster is on it way for 2020 or beyond, fans will likely be given the option to purchase it separately or can acquire it through a bundle with 2020’s mainlineCall of Dutyrelease.
Fans ofCall of Dutyshould already be excited for a possibleModern Warfare 2remaster, considering it was one of the most popular and successful titles in the franchise to date. As long as the game receives the same care thatModern Warfare Remasteredreceived during and after launch,minus some caveats, it’ll be great to revisitCall of Duty’s early golden days one more time.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remasteredis rumored to be in development.
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