There’s a surprising thread of nostalgia running through this sequel to 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot. After carving its own path for much of the game, it starts to dreamily reminisce about 2007’s Modern Warfare by revisiting classic missions, including ‘All Ghillied Up’ and ‘Death From Above’. The former is a standout: a long crawl through Spanish countryside culminating in a beautifully executed sniper sequence. The latter is an expanded tribute to the infamous aerial bombardment adventure, now with even more formidable destruction courtesy of modern physics hardware.

Not content with delivering a standard FPS experience, much of the game dabbles with other genres to mixed effect. There’s a brief reconnaissance mission set in a stunningly detailed Amsterdam street. A convoy battle tries to emulate similar winning efforts from the Uncharted series but the game engine isn’t up to it and seems to be fighting the player alongside the enemy. Later tasks are inspired by Hitman and The Last Of Us; neither effort comes close to those games, and their imprecise systems can become frustrating. When it concentrates on what it does best, though, it delivers big time. There are some stunning environments, including a rural Mexican village which segues into an impressively expansive mountain area. And a night-time raid across the US-Mexico border wall is an atmospheric triumph.

The standard multiplayer generally retains the series’ three-lane structure, although some new maps (including one set at the aforementioned border and filled with explosive cars) smartly mix things up. With the huge success of Call Of Duty’s battle royale, Warzone, and its enormous player counts and vast maps, it almost seems like a novelty to indulge in short multiplayer battles with regular bursts of spawn/kill/die action. The Special Ops co-op mode also makes a return, although it’s less distinct than previous entries and it hews irritatingly close to Warzone’s expanse. It’s strange to see Call Of Duty so circumspect but overall this is an impressive package. 

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II is out now on PC, PS4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.