Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is an improvement over Activision’s last iteration of the game in just about every way. Sure, the campaign will never reach the lofty highs of the fondly remembered original, but as a gameplay experience in multiplayer, it’s substantially better across the board. The gunplay feels significantly better, it’s obviously much prettier, and almost all of its game modes are robust and well-thought-out. I don’t think many players would take issue with any of that, but I have no doubt the lion’s share of the community won’t agree with my next statement: Call of Duty Modern Warfare II’s slower and more tactical movement is a good thing.
There, I said it! I know, it’s a controversial one. I do, indeed, hold the unpopular opinion that the movement in Warzone 2.0 is actually quite polished, which is the polar opposite to the rest of the community it seems. Hear me out.
For those not up to speed, veteran CoD sweats claim that the now-gone slide-canceling mechanic in previous games resulted in a skill gap that has now been eliminated. Now, they claim, any noob can pick up CoD and top-frag servers by sitting in corners and camping. It’s all too easy, apparently, and the very essence of the CoD experience has been diluted for casuals.
What a load of bullshit! Firstly, there’s nothing objectively skillful about smashing the Y key on your controller to perform a slide-cancel and create a slight lead for yourself. Moreover, it’s far from the only way to create a skill ceiling in an FPS game.
Modern Warfare II is unquestionably a more tactical experience this time around. The community is, apparently aghast at the thought of this, but honestly, it suits me much better. Now, focusing on your positioning, using your tactical plays to your advantage, and improving your loadout is a stronger focus of the gameplay experience. Is a sniper holding an angle on you? Throw a smoke grenade. Better yet, toss a Snapshot Grenade to reveal his position, and then with armor-piercing rounds on your primary, shoot him through a nearby wall. It’s less arcadey, sure, but for my money, being tactical is so much more rewarding.
Personally, I find the whole notion of abusing a glitched movement mechanic as a basis for increasing a supposed skill-ceiling confusing — even if I appreciate it’s something that, once mastered, separates the veterans from the noobs. But Modern Warfare II still offers a skill gap — it’s just one based less on crazy-ass movement and more on big-brain tactics. My hope is that once people stop trying to play the new game and its Warzone spin-off like they did the previous one, they’ll come around to this same perspective. Basically, harden up and adapt, soldier!
Besides, it’s not as if Modern Warfare II’s movement is that slow. This is still an arcadey shooter with run-and-gun mechanics; we’re not out here playing CS:GO as we speed across Al Mazrah spraying people down with LMGs from the back of a quadbike, are we? There’s still plenty of margin for intense, fast-paced gunfights, and any veteran CoD player should be able to outshoot noobs with their superior aim anyway.
Ultimately, the sooner players modify their playstyle accordingly, the faster they’ll get on top of the meta. I promise once you start to prioritize positioning and playing more tactically you will reap the reward. You might even find yourself having fun out-playing opponents on tactics and aim alone. Stop resisting, CoD sweats, it’s time to let go of the movement era.
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