Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

Fans of Call of Duty shouldn't have had to wait this long for the definitive edition of a classic.

Republished on Wednesday 27th February 2019: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is a fantastic update to one of the best FPS campaigns of all time

Put simply, Modern Warfare is no longer modern — though the combat and, in some ways, the action-movie story at its foundation are ageless, its level design and lack of campaign progression reveal its true age. But it’s not outdated, it’s classic, and the considerable effort that has gone into improving the models, textures, and effects have enhanced it enough that playing through the campaign again was rewarding. Multiplayer also benefits from the graphics upgrade, and its refreshingly old-school pace is fun and explosive in its own right. It might not have the same effect it did the first ti...

One of the most influential video games of all time gets the remaster it deserves, and is still impressively entertaining after all these years.

When it comes to Modern Warfare Remastered, it all boils down to one simple question: Is the game worth the $80 price tag required to play it? For those that truly loved the original release and are looking for an upgraded version with vastly improved graphics and audio, Modern Warfare Remastered is likely worth the price of admission. Gamers that are used to the bells and whistles of newer shooters may struggle to stay interested in Modern Warfare Remastered as long as enthusiasts, and may want to wait and see if Activision does eventually release a standalone version of the game at a more re...

It's been a long time I played through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's infamous mission, No Russian, and for the first time, I just walked. I didn't shoot a bullet until the final segment, and even that I did hesitantly. I distinctly remember playing through the game all those years ago and finding it fun, if anything. A digital playground to mow down faceless, lifeless beings, not even questioning the context. In the modern-day, it's much more harrowing. Maybe it's because of the prevalence of mass shootings, the horror of which gets echoed and repeated near-infinitely by social and traditio...

Full of ear-splitting energy, Modern Warfare 2's role in pioneering the cinematic, spellbinding first-person shooter can't be understated. With the world at a standstill, and with their careful and scrupulous translation of an undoubted classic, Beenox ignites the flare and call people back to this middle chapter, and where it all began for so many. Turns out Price was right, it's just like old times.

Modern Warfare 2 probably had the biggest shoes to fill in the series. Following up one of the most influential games of all time was a tall task and there was almost no way it could have lived up to that challenge. Now, almost 11 years later, CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 REMASTERED is in a similar predicament but with significantly more pressure, given the 10 installments the series has had since. And this remastered version buckles underneath the weight of not only its most immediate predecessor, but also most of those 10 entries.

There’s just so many moments that stick out, from sneaking through the ghostly ruins of Pripyat in “All Ghillied Up” to the invasion of a Middle Eastern dictatorship, capturing the zeitgeist of the mid-2000s. In many ways it was just as defining and influential as the multiplayer it accompanied, cementing the perfect partnership.

At the time, Call of Duty 4 was a complete sea change for the series, which until that point had existed exclusively within the theatre of World War II. Not only did it move away from that particular conflict - rich and deep a vein of source material as it is - but it also set the template for the franchise moving forward. In fact, it not only shaped the future of Call of Duty, but had a pretty major impact on the first-person shooter in general. It goes without saying that Modern Warfare was...