You can cradle your gun against a corner to mount it for a more stable shot, which is something I'm using way more than I expected I would. I am now uncomfortably familiar with the measured differences between different gun optics and attachments, which feel more meaningfully different than ever before.

The guns have weight to them the sound design is better than ever before-I can actually hear where gunfire is coming from in a directional sense now. Modern Warfare is, and yes this sounds hyperbolic, the best Call of Duty has ever felt. To best approach this, I'm taking the most holistic approach possible for this review: this is the Soap (the good), the Price (the bad), and the Modern Warfare 3 (the ugly) of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. (And yes, characters still say things like 'This is the cost of war.') Spec Ops mode is dense in a bad way-the enemies you face are so bullet sponge-y that it feels nearly impossible to even finish a match of the PvE mode's operations. Its campaign is every bit as expensive-looking as you might imagine from the shooter's heyday. Its multiplayer boats the largest multiplayer maps in the series' history. | Caty McCarthy/USG, Infinity Ward/Activision BlizzardĬall of Duty: Modern Warfare is a weird beast of a game. Modern Warfare utilizes lighting to its advantage. When you roll credits on the campaign, you're treated to a short teaser and a notice that 'the story continues in Spec Ops.' Theoretically, it's easy to see how they all fall under the same umbrella, unlike with last year's Black Ops 4. There are still three big pillars-campaign, multiplayer, and the co-op Spec Ops-but they're more tied together now. This year's Call of Duty, from Infinity Ward, shies away from this treatment.

Eventually, Blackout was even splintered into its own standalone release on PC. Last year's Black Ops 4 had Zombies, standard multiplayer, and the big new addition that replaced its campaign: the battle royale mode Blackout.

This is all because, essentially, Call of Duty often feels like three games stitched into one. Some write about components of it individually before slapping a score over the big trifecta. How do you review a Call of Duty game in 2019? Some outlets, like IGN, split it up into different parts, treating each individual slice as a whole.

Boots on the ground cod