Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Beta first impressions: The good and the bad

Ever since 2020, I have had to listen to my husband complain about how that year’s Call of Duty just wasn’t as good as Modern Warfare. Cold War was too fast and bouncy. Vanguard was another WWII game and didn’t play as well as Modern Warfare. Where I personally enjoyed each game that was released, I had my own little Negative Nancy on my shoulder whispering how much they missed new content for Modern Warfare. The wait is over with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta this last weekend. We got a taste of what is to come with this highly anticipated release, but was it delicious?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set to release October 28th but the beta that began on September 16th was exclusive to Playstation pre-orders (it eventually opened to all PlayStation gamers). That beta ended on the 20th and Xbox and PC pre-orders can join the second beta test beginning on the 22nd.

When the beta first began, there was only one map available and Team Deathmatch. As the beta continued into the weekend, Search and Destroy, Prisoner Rescue, Domination and Knock Out modes were added to the lineup. Also added were four more maps making the playable maps Farm 18, Valderas Museum, Mercado Las Almas and Breenbergh Hotel.

Because this is a beta, glitches, connectivity issues and framerate drops are supposed to be a common occurrence. However, I was extremely impressed with how quickly matches were set up. No sooner would the match end, that another one would queue up. I didn’t even have time to mess with any gun or killstreak I may have unlocked in the previous match. If anything, the matches queued up TOO fast.

Each player starts out with three basic loadouts: assault-rusher, hunter-stalker and tank-sentinel. The more you play, the more weapons and killstreaks you can unlock. The M4 and Kastov-74U were favorites of mine as powerhouses but the M4 is a beast. As you play with each weapon, modifications will open up. You can equip up to 5 mods. My M4 loadout includes a Tempus P80 Strike Stock, an XTEN Grip, a 7.5” Tempus Firebrand Barrel and 5.56 Armor Piercing ammunition. This loadout makes for an ultra fast M4 with a damage boost and very little recoil.

The tactical and lethal loadouts are unlocked the more you play with the shock stick and Semtex being a favorite. After playing Vanguard and using WWII equipment, it’s really nice having some newer tech. The biggest change has been the perks part of the loadout. Normally, each loadout would offer a couple slots for perks available in game but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 offers perk packages. There are pre-made packs in Assault, Phantom, Hunter and Deadeye but you can create your own perks package. With this new perk system, each player will start the match with two base perks. As you play and earn more points, a bonus perk and an ultimate perk are unlocked. Just like with killstreaks, things reset upon death.

The gunplay in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta feels like a balance between the fast-paced Vanguard and the weighty feeling of the last Modern Warfare release. I have said many times that Modern Warfare feels like I am trying to run through maple syrup. Modern Warfare 2 still feels more sluggish than Vanguard but a marked improvement to its predecessor. You can almost feel the weight of the gun through the controller but the character just doesn’t move as quickly as I want it to.

There were a few operators to choose from but the best part is they scrapped the stupid operator issue they had with Vanguard. No matter which side you were on, you could be any operator which made it difficult to tell teams sometimes. Gone is that stupid thing and back is the two teams, two sets of operators process. It just makes more sense. Something that doesn’t make sense is just how slow the grenade animation is. It sucks. That is all.

The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta will be really put to the test come September 22nd when cross play is enabled. There we will be able to see how the servers will handle triple the player base. You can still get in on the beta starting the 22nd by pre-ordering Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on any of the available platforms. See you on the battlefield…so to speak.