Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Beta impressions: Why is 3rd Person a thing?

After a successful Playstation-only first week, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta just finished its second week where full cross-play was introduced. While many things were the same from one week to the other, there were some interesting changes, some good and some bad. One thing is for sure, this beta only made people more excited to play the next installment. I played on a PS5 both weeks.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the remake that people have been waiting for. While Cold War and Vanguard were fun games in their own right, people wanted more Modern Warfare. I was personally excited for the return of modern military guns and equipment and gunplay, which feels drastically different from a Black Ops installment.

In terms of how the gameplay feels, there wasn’t much different from the first week to the second. It still feels like a combination of the fast movement and gameplay from Cold War with the gunplay of Modern Warfare. One complaint I have about a MW installment versus something like Cold War or Vanguard is that the first MW felt like your character was running through cold molasses. You felt too heavy, even with a speed build on your gun. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta still has the heaviness in the gunplay, but the running speed has improved considerably.

There was a level cap at 30 during the beta but it was enjoyable to continue trying to unlock guns. The weapon unlock system requires players to try and level up different weapons before being able to access another. My best example would be to unlock the Lachmann sub, which is an incredibly fast and effective weapon, you need to first level the Lachmann-762 to at least level 13 (which was miserable) which will then unlock the Lachmann-556. After you level up the Lachmann-556 to level 13, you would then get access to the Lachmann sub. I liked the challenge of utilizing different weapons instead of just leaning into the M4.

Third-person was back for the second week of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta and I still hated it. There have been plenty of players who wanted this mode to return but I cannot say that I was a member of that group. The transition from third player while moving to first-player while aiming is enough to make you want to hurl on a fast-paced small map. I’m going to need a filmed apology with tears for that mode.

Also introduced in week two were two large-scale battle modes: Invasion and Ground War (which was basically large-scale Domination). Invasion was a Team Deathmatch type between two teams of real players and AI and it was a lot of fun. The beta showcased a lot of small maps which didn’t allow a lot of opportunity for snipers but hiding along the rooftops on one of the two large maps was a lot of fun. Ground War was what I wished that Battlefield 2042 felt like. It was large, fast-paced and gave players the opportunity to use vehicles like tanks, trucks and helos.

A complaint I had about the first week was just how quickly matches started up. The game gave no time between matches to change up gun attachments or skill sets. I was hoping that would not be the case once full cross-play was enabled and while the delay between matches was a little longer, time in between matches was still pretty short. I hope that efficiency continues through the opening week of the game.

Overall, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 beta was insanely successful. Players were able to try and unlock a lot of guns, killstreaks and skills. There was a good variety of maps and modes available for a beta test and aside from the hilarious tendency for a character to fly into the air comically upon death, there were no game-breaking bugs to speak of. There were some map loading and lighting quirks, but again, this is a beta and those are easy fixes.

You still have time to pre-order Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 before its release on October 28th. I think this is going to be a positive installment to the franchise and cannot wait to play the full game.