By: Bryce L. Jackson

It may be premature to “review” a beta version of a part of a game, but I had a few thoughts on the COD: MW Multiplayer. I took hiatus from the COD series after being underwhelmed by WWII and completely turned off by BO4’s existence. When the rumors of a Modern Warfare “reboot” were confirmed, I was ske[tical but open to what Infinity Ward would do.

The gameplay felt familiar, yet different. It is typical Call of Duty, but slower and heavier. It wasn’t something too hard to adjust to as a COD veteran. I paid attention to influencer’s gameplay visits and pre-aimed more but I didn’t camp, which there was a lot of. A barebones gun feels more noticeably “bad” at the start and the grind to get upgrades can feel hard but that’s I see that as a good thing. The gunsmith is good in theory, but in practice, isn’t too different from past Create-a-Class loadout editors, other than there being gun perks. The ability to edit mid-game I thought was great after being dissatisfied with an optic or some other attachment

During Weekend 2 was the Cross-Play beta and as a console player, I felt the difference. In normal lobbies, I tend to be fine on the final scorecard and K/D ratios. In crossplay, I suffered. To no one’s surprise, PC/keyboard and mouse players held the advantage in gunfights. As an idea, cross-play is good but I feel that after a few months, the console players will return to their respective corners of the servers and play amongst themselves.

A few downsides I had with gameplay came from things I feel were unique to my gameplay style. Modern Warfare introduced the ability to change the fire rate of assault rifles on the fly. I liked having that option that I can use for long-range engagements. My issue was that there was a delay in the process of switching back and forth quickly. The delay from semi-auto to full-auto/burst fire to ADS felt sluggish and got me in trouble on a number of occasions. I also have a history with Marksman rifles, particularly the EBR14 or M14, given what name the game uses. I was unprepared for the level of recoil i experienced and the smoke from firing that hindered follow-up shots. All in the name of added realism so I’ll have to get accustomed again if i want to be known as a marksman. In 32v32 Ground War, I encountered a glitch where the enemy was in the skybox and I couldn’t see them or challenge them. In TDM game I had 2 Warthog killstreaks stuck in the air and was unable to call in my personal drone. These glitches eventually caused a game crash. None of these things I’m not that critical of because it is a beta after all.

Overall, I was satisfied with what I saw from the two multiplayer beta weekends. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s multiplayer is good and aims to respond to the community’s pleas for a more realistic and grounded gameplay. Also, at least for now, there are no flashy frills, trinkets, skins or anything of the sort. Doesn’t mean it won’t be in the full game because this is an Activision game