A full playthrough of the whole Modern Warfare 2 mission during Summer Game Fest 2022 gave fans a ton of exciting details about the title.
Infinity Ward's beloved Modern Warfare sub-series took Call of Duty players out of World War II and brought them into a realistic approximation of modern-day combat. 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare introduced a fascinating cast of soldiers embroiled in a bloody fight against a Russian ultranationalist group, and over the course of two sequels these companionships and conflicts evolved and changed through intense single-player campaigns. In 2019 Infinity War rebooted the sub-series with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which brought back the original trilogy's core characters and villains while adapting it for the modern age.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 looks to be both a follow-up to its 2019 predecessor and a retelling of 2009's Modern Warfare 2. Iconic characters like Ghost and Soap return in Modern Warfare 2, despite the fact that Simon "Ghost" Riley died in the 2009 version of the story, creating a sense of familiarity for long-time fans. The shooter's plot will obviously be quite different from the original game, and modern innovations will be able to reinvigorate the title in of gameplay and presentation. While the multiplayer modes in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 are still largely a mystery, the Summer Game Fest 2022 playthrough of the mission "Dark Water" revealed plenty of details about the title's storyline, first-person shooter gameplay and upgraded engine.
What "Dark Water" Reveals About The Plot of Modern Warfare 2
In many ways, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's "Dark Water" mission seems to be a reinterpretation of both the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare mission "Crew Expendable" and Modern Warfare 2's "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday." The iconic "Crew Expendable" mission from 2007's Call of Duty story campaign sees John "Soap" MacTavish, Captain John Price and their team infiltrate an Estonian freighter ship in search of a nuclear device. The aquatic mission starts with the team silently roping down onto the ship's deck, but it ends in a bombastic action setpiece as the ship begins to sink following an airstrike. This exciting mission set the tone of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and its breathtakingly intense sequels, and Modern Warfare 2 followed it up with "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday." This mission saw the player infiltrate an oil rig alongside Task Force 141, which is obviously similar to "Dark Water."
The fact that "Dark Water" so closely matches "Crew Expendable" suggests that the title will be a loose adaptation of 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and its beloved sequel despite rumors that Modern Warfare 2 would involve the drug cartel. The Summer Game Fest 2022 mission playthrough has Task Force 141 rope upwards onto an oil rig, not down onto a ship, but the similarities to "Crew Expendable" are otherwise blatant. Both missions see a squad, which both feature MacTavish, Price and Gaz, silently infiltrate an aquatic structure for a nuclear device before escaping in dramatic fashion. The threat of nuclear war suggests that the title will once again feature Russian terrorist Victor Zakhaev as its primary antagonist, rather than drug cartels or other domestic threats.
"Dark Water" Finally Shows Modern Warfare 2 Gameplay
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sub-series does feature an exciting plot, but the franchise's first-person shooter gameplay is the biggest draw for fans. 2007's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reinvigorated and reinvented the FPS genre with a heavily-scripted and ruthlessly intense single-player campaign that brought players across the world for fast-paced firefights and big action setpieces. Reactions to Modern Warfare 2 were mixed following the game's recent gameplay reveal trailer, but the Summer Game Fest 2022 playthrough of "Dark Water" suggests that Call of Duty campaigns are back and more awe-inspiring than ever.
The full Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gameplay reveal showed off a recognizable Call of Duty campaign mission, suggesting gameplay that remains similar to 2019's Modern Warfare. The single-player mission sees players stalk through an oil rig with silenced weapons, picking off lone enemies or small groups before Task Force 141 is discovered and the mission goes loud. "Dark Water" seems to put a heavy emphasis on environmental effects, too, as demonstrated by the segment with shifting cargo containers. The ocean waves create dynamic moving cover for both the player and enemies, making for an intense and exciting firefight. An enemy soldier is also knocked off-balance by a blast of water in another memorable moment. Classic Call of Duty maps brought fans to exotic locales, but Modern Warfare 2 looks to truly take advantage of these settings to directly affect gameplay rather than simply giving the same map layout a new coat of paint.
Modern Warfare 2's New Engine Is A Game-Changer
The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 gameplay showcase also shows off the title's groundbreaking modern engine. While watching the "Dark Water" mission playthrough fans are presented with photorealistic graphics, advanced world volumetric lighting, 4K HDR resolution and a new GPU geometry pipeline. A brand-new artificial intelligence system also lets both enemies and allies behave realistically throughout the single-player mission, creating a whole new level of immersion during combat. Sound is particularly impressive in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 single-player demonstration, with the voices of allies carrying realistically around corners and through walls, and fire illuminates the level geometry in a convincing way. The graphics power of Modern Warfare was impressive back in 2019, but "Dark Water" shows off an entirely new level of realism.
The Summer Game Fest 2022 playthrough of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 level "Dark Water" shed new light on the highly-anticipated first-person shooter. The title's multiplayer mode has yet to be revealed, but its recently-revealed campaign mission hints at a number of exciting innovations. The game appears to be a loose adaptation of 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, though there are sure to be differences between the two plots. Modernized gameplay will let players partake in breathtaking action setpieces, and the updated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 engine will immerse fans in a photorealistic world populated by complex artificially intelligent soldiers.
Source: Call of Duty/YouTube
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