I had a lot of fun with the campaign in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. The shooting is quick and responsive, and you have to react quickly as new threats come into view. I also liked how the missions change things up. Fighting through city streets is a different experience from taking part in a massive military assault, and there’s enough variety that I never felt stuck doing the same thing for too long.
The story didn’t grab me quite as much. Captain John Price is hunting Vladimir Makarov. South Korean soldier Park Hyun-Jun is caught up in North Korea’s invasion of his country. I enjoyed the conversations between Park and his squad, but the villains aren’t nearly as interesting. Some of the plot developments are predictable, and I was more excited about what the next mission had in store than where the story was heading.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 details
Platforms: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, XBOX Series X|S, PC, Digital XBOX/PC
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch 2
Developer: Infinity Ward, with Digital Legends on Nintendo Switch 2
Publisher: Activision
Genre: First-person shooter
Modes: Campaign, multiplayer, DMZ extraction
ESRB rating: M (Mature 17+)
The soldiers are more interesting than the villains
Park has more to worry about than the enemy soldiers he’s fighting. He’s following orders during North Korea’s invasion, even when he doesn’t agree with them. I enjoyed listening to the conversations between him and his squad because you get a better understanding of how they’re dealing with the war. That interested me more than another mission briefing or the next objective.
Price’s side of the story is quite different. He’s determined to track down Makarov, and some of the decisions he makes along the way are hard to justify. I liked seeing this side of Price because the campaign doesn’t automatically treat everything he does as right just because he’s one of the main characters.
Where the story disappointed me was with Makarov and the Archer. They’re important to what’s happening, but neither gets enough attention for me to become particularly interested in them. A few plot developments are also easy to see coming. It’s disappointing because I was enjoying what was happening with Price and Park.
There are also conversations where you can choose how to respond. I liked having that option, but the different answers rarely change what happens next. I wish those choices had more influence on the story rather than just changing a few lines of dialogue.
The firefights are the best part of the campaign
You’re constantly searching for the next target, and the weapons respond quickly when you find one. I enjoyed how the bigger firefights keep me on my toes.
The directed missions are good at getting you into the action without leaving you wondering where to go. The objective is usually clear, and the fighting builds around reaching it. I liked that you’re still responsible for the shooting when everything around you gets chaotic. You’re not just watching a big action scene unfold. That makes the large assaults more exciting, because you’re doing more than simply following the squad. There’s rarely a long stretch where nothing happens before the next encounter.
I enjoyed the smaller fights too. Without a huge assault taking over the screen, you can concentrate on the soldiers right in front of you. Those sections are a nice break from the bigger battles, and the shooting is responsive enough that they don’t need an explosion all the time to stay exciting.
Close-range combat isn’t quite as enjoyable. Some encounters require you to block an attack and counter at just the right moment. The timing isn’t always clear, which can make these fights frustrating. It’s especially noticeable when the regular shooting feels so responsive. With a gun, you can react to a threat without having to think about the exact timing of a button press. The melee encounters interrupt that rhythm. I don’t mind having a different way to deal with an enemy up close, but I wanted those counters to be easier to read.
Stranded slows the action down
Stranded changes things up by opening a larger area where you can tackle objectives in different orders. You can explore and search for supplies to improve your equipment instead of heading straight to the next objective. I liked having more control over where to go and what to do first, especially after several missions that follow a more direct path.
The supplies do have a purpose. Finding resources can let you repair or improve equipment before taking on another objective, so there’s some thought involved in deciding where to go. The problem is that exploring doesn’t always lead to anything particularly exciting. Travelling between objectives and searching for supplies can take longer than I’d like, and some stretches don’t have the energy of the other missions. I appreciated the change of pace, but I had more fun with the campaign’s directed firefights.
The battles sound great, but the picture isn’t always clear
The gunfire sounds excellent in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. When a fight gets going, explosions and weapons firing all around you make the battles sound intense. I also liked how you can hear your squad calling things out in the middle of the action. The music wasn’t particularly memorable for me, but the battlefield audio certainly was.
Some of the locations look great, especially the darker missions where the lighting makes the environments more convincing. Character faces also have plenty of detail during story scenes. The larger battles look impressive too, particularly when you’re fighting through city streets with so much happening around you.
That isn’t always the case on Nintendo Switch 2. Jagged edges and objects appearing late can make enemies harder to identify, especially at a distance. It’s frustrating when you’re trying to line up a shot and the picture isn’t clear enough to see exactly what you’re aiming at.
I enjoyed being able to play the campaign in handheld mode, but the smaller screen doesn’t make that problem any easier. Playing on the TV doesn’t get rid of it either. I still had a lot of fun with the campaign, although I would’ve liked a clearer picture during some of the busier firefights.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has enough action to carry the campaign
The villains didn’t do much for me in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, but the firefights made up for it. I was always looking forward to the next mission, and I enjoyed following Park and his squad even when the story went somewhere predictable.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast, responsive gunplay and exciting missions | Villains and some story developments are disappointing |
| Plenty of variety throughout the campaign | Exploring in Stranded can slow things down |
| Great battlefield audio and enjoyable squad interactions | Nintendo Switch 2 visuals sometimes make enemies difficult to see |
If you enjoy Call of Duty for its big campaign missions, I think you’ll have a lot of fun here. Don’t go in expecting the dialogue choices to change the story or Stranded to turn the whole campaign into an open-world shooter. The more directed missions are where I had the most fun. You don’t need to remember every detail from the previous games to follow the story, either. Just keep in mind that the Nintendo Switch 2 version has some noticeable visual problems, particularly when trying to spot enemies at a distance.
I’d have liked a better story, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from enjoying this campaign. The action is what I came for, and there’s plenty of it.
Overall assessment of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 3.5/5
Sound: 4.5/5
Lasting appeal/Replayability: 3.5/5
Overall rating: 4.0/5 (80%)
Ready to jump into those big firefights? You can buy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 at Best Buy Canada. If you’re interested in the extras, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Vault Edition is also available digitally for XBOX Series X|S and Windows, with the full game and bonus content included.
