CARL'S POP CULTURE CORNER - CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II (PART ONE)

Three years after the critical and commercial success of 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' (2019), Activision released a sequel to the aforementioned first-person shooter game, aptly titled, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II', which as of this writing, smashed the sales charts by earning over $800m worldwide (within its first weekend). Fortunately, I managed to pick up a copy one week early (October 20th, 2022), and now, I'm going to tell you what I thought of it. Let's go!





The Set Up: The game begins roughly three years after the ending of the 2019 edition of 'Modern Warfare', where we play (briefly) as the Task Force 141 agent, Ghost, in order to pursue, identify, and hopefully, eliminate an Iranian general named Ghorbrani while he's staying in the fictional region of Al Mazrah. But not so long after this occurs, we receive a message that claims Ghorbrani's second-in-command, Hassan, has promised to avenge his death. So, to prevent this from happening, we sign up for a globetrotting campaign that takes us around the world, where we explore regions such as Amsterdam, Spain, Chicago, and the border between Mexico and the United States, among other international locations.

The Characters: Two of my favorite characters include the Mexican Special Forces agent, Alejandro Vargas, and the Task Force 141 rookie, John "Soap" MacTavish. This is because they both have the most well-defined personalities and have a lot to say about whatever is going on around them. They also take part in most of the action and are normally placed in some really dangerous, albeit exciting, situations.

The Missions: My favorite mission is set on the border between Mexico and the United States, where we play as Rodolfo, who along with Vargas, has to pursue Hassan through the neighboring streets, alleys, and houses, with the intention of capturing him alive. To me, this mission feels like it's been taken straight out of the 2015 movie, 'Sicario', because it manages to capture a similar authentic vibe that's fairly predatory in nature. Another one of my favorite missions is called, 'Operation Dark Water'. Although, in this case, just like a US Navy SEAL, we stealthily take over a derelict oil rig and retrieve some important information by sweeping each deck (one at a time) and taking out all of the enemies with the use of a variety of different weapons. Class.

The Graphics and Sound: Infinity Ward has done a really great job at developing the graphics for 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II', especially on next-gen consoles, because the environments, the weapons, and the characters look, move, and behave so authentically, it's sometimes hard to believe they aren't all real. I particularly like the way the weather interacts with its surroundings, like the reflection in a puddle of water, for instance, as well as the amount of detail put into the designs of the characters and the weapons they use. I can also say exactly the same thing about the sound effects, too. But in this case, I know for a fact that the gunfire is real as the audio was captured from real weapons and digitized accordingly. How's that for more bang for your buck?

The Conclusion: It took me roughly six hours to complete 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II', and overall, I'd say it was a pleasure to play as it managed to capture my attention from start to finish. Heck, it's filled with so many Easter eggs and references to previous installments, I'm sure that most fans will get a really big kick out of playing it as well. I've heard rumors that there is DLC coming down the road for the campaign to continue, so let's wait and see what happens there. In the meantime, though, please get ready for part two of my review, where I dive deep into the multiplayer and Special Ops modes. I will see you all on the battlefield. So, remember, stay frosty.

This article was written by Carl Hilliard. He's a fanboy from Ireland who loves delving into the wonderful world of popular culture. To find out more about Carl and his hobbies, please feel free to check out his Instagram and Twitter pages.