[00:02] Duty's Modern Warfare series, delivering a gritty and polished campaign featuring Captain Price and the assembly of the iconic Task Force 141. Despite the strong start, the series' sequels stumbled a bit, with Modern Warfare 3 in
[00:15] story and open-world missions that missed the mark. But with Modern Warfare 4, Infinity Ward returns the series' campaign to strength with a satisfying narrative and well-crafted missions for an epic conclusion to the rebooted
[00:28] >> Everybody sit down, SHUT UP, AND DO AS YOU'RE TOLD. >> Modern Warfare 4 single-player goes back to being a traditional and mostly linear experience that some recent entries have strayed from. There's only one
[00:41] far more engaging than previous attempts. Modern Warfare 4 doesn't introduce anything new or innovative, but it finds success with a consistently strong narrative and engaging gameplay built on nail-biting tension.
[00:54] mission objectives that feel like silly chores or ill-timed distractions. Every mission in Modern Warfare 4 carries urgency and drives the plot forward.
[01:10] narrative surrounding Captain Price and Task Force 141. But it also takes Call of Duty to Korea and introduces a fresh new cast of characters. The campaign stories for an over-the-top, globe-trotting affair across New York
[01:24] City, Paris, and Mumbai, in addition to several parts of Korea. This is the explosive, Hollywood-style action you'd expect from a Call of Duty campaign at a franchise in years. That includes the recent Black Ops entries. One half of
[01:39] Private Park, a young South Korean soldier who has never experienced real combat before. Private Park and his squad are forced to fight back to save their country when North Korea launches an invasion.
[01:58] the events of Modern Warfare 3 and the aftermath of John Soap MacTavish's death. In Modern Warfare 4, Captain Price is in a much darker place, going rogue to hunt down Makarov and also tie up any other loose ends with the
[02:10] villain's associates. This new outlaw version of Price ties back to one of the most telling quotes of Modern Warfare 2019, where he lays out his ethos on the line wherever you need it, sergeant." Price says. "End of the day,
[02:25] someone has to make the enemy scared of the dark. We get dirty and the world stays clean. That's the mission." That line is seemingly in a place no one could have foreseen, as Price is furious and more willing than ever to get his
[02:38] everyone allied with Makarov scared of the dark. Being on the run leaves Price with very few allies, though. In a desperate attempt to reach the Archer, played by Mads Mikkelsen, who is another threat linked to Makarov, Price makes a
[02:52] deal with Valeria Garza and the Cartel. Price hasn't a complete monster, but the civilians in order to achieve their mission.
[03:12] between the characters. Price is constantly trying to look out for collateral damage, but Valeria just comically taunts him, calling him puppy and old man as she operates with less strict rules. The extent to which Price
[03:27] is a contrast of Valeria becomes a key part of the story. After a chase scene act of violence, Valeria tells Price that he's still a good guy, but she's a notorious Cartel leader trying to get paid for delivering a weapon to the bad
[03:40] guy. So, how much weight can her words really carry? Price's Cartel team-up delivery is dangerous enough to shift the balance of power, setting in motion a much greater conflict. to make matters worse. Price also has a target on his
[03:55] back as the remaining members of his Task Force 141 team, Simon Ghost Riley and Kyle Gaz Garrick, are sent to capture or kill him. The manhunt for Price leads to a shootout mission called Going Dark where your POV switches to
[04:08] Gaz as he hunts Price inside of a dark hotel. At the start of the series, Captain Price served as a mentor and moral compass for Gaz. So, there's a lot of emotional weight to the mission as Gaz and the player see just how far
[04:21] third-party perspective. There are shocking moments and intense exchanges between the now fractured members of Task Force 141 that leverage the squad's long history very effectively. There's an emotional pull throughout the mission
[04:34] as Price begs Ghost and Gaz to back off and a bigger gut punch when Price says implies he will. These moments really nail down how Price's moral compass has broken. The events of Going Dark also set up a powerful moment in a later
[04:48] mission to bring the series full circle in a way I appreciated. The Korean invasion intertwines with Price's epic revenge tour, causing the new South Korean squad and US forces to team up. Although that may seem overwhelming,
[05:02] non-chronological story, the narrative flows well from mission to mission, through stealth missions, on-foot and vehicular chase sequences, slow-motion breach and clear segments, and even some satisfying action of manning a chopper
[05:17] gunner. There's also a clean house style mission with night vision goggles where you need to clear rooms with extreme trigger discipline to avoid shooting any civilians. Although the missions are mostly familiar, they remain effective
[05:30] a whole had me on the edge of my seat throughout. It doesn't necessarily do anything better than some of Call of Duty's most notable other campaigns, but doesn't need to reinvent the wheel to produce a thrilling single-player
[05:43] In this case, having a strong narrative and compelling characters carried me through the missions. Whether I was playing as Park or Price, I always felt only open world mission is called Stranded, and this is definitely one of
[05:57] Call of Duty's best attempts at a fully open world mission. You play as Park, his squad in a snowy and mountainous setting in Korea. Park needs to scavenge there are three main objectives on the map. You can choose to complete these
[06:13] objectives in any order. But more notably, you can fast travel directly to scavenging and exploration part of the mission. Doing this means that you won't your objectives, and it will mostly feel like you're navigating through a
[06:27] standard mission instead of going through a vast open world experience you to explore in Stranded, there are bags of supplies to scavenge all around the map, and there are sealed shipping containers with combination lock puzzles
[06:40] The supplies you bring back to your squad can be used to repair suppress weapons, craft lethal equipment, or utilize a mortar strike to help get the stealth, depending on your preferred play style. While I'm relieved the
[06:55] entire campaign isn't built on exploration, there wasn't a lure to the optional scavenging for weapon upgrades in Stranded. By undertaking a little of it, I looted enough supplies to secure Park a suppressed sniper rifle that
[07:07] proved its worth later. But for the sake of time, I fast traveled to my calling into question the value of even having the option. At the very least, the open sections introduce a replayability factor for those that want
[07:20] it. Modern Warfare II emphasizes boss fight style encounters where you only have your fists or a knife equipped and go toe-to-toe with an opponent. In these scenarios, of which there are a few, timing your blocks is critical, allowing
[07:32] your own. Admittedly, these aren't overly complex fights, but they serve as a good way to mix things up, and each tension to the scenario and the campaign overall, especially when they tie into
[07:45] the competing ideologies that character dynamics are built on. Modern Warfare 4 introduced in Modern Warfare 2, which allows you to ask your fellow soldiers choose to say nothing, but the banter usually adds a small layer of depth to
[08:00] the supporting characters and sometimes lightens the mood after an intense mission. It's a small amount of agency in what is essentially a roller coaster that is appreciated, even if it doesn't really amount to anything deeper. While
[08:13] I'm more emotionally invested in the Task Force 141 storyline, I still enjoyed all of the missions focused on the South Korean squad. Park is forced into the military through conscription, so being a soldier wasn't a choice or an
[08:25] act of valor. Initially, it seems like he doesn't want to be a soldier at all, but when war hits his doorstep, he still tries to push back his fear and make the best decisions he can to protect his people. Park also provides a nice moral
[08:38] balance to Price's side of the campaign, where nothing matters except his thirst Despite the campaign otherwise being a blast, the final boss fights of the game are a major disappointment. Neither fight feels particularly challenging,
[08:51] climactic moments, but the way the story concludes is satisfying all the same. Overall, Modern Warfare 4 wraps up the series with several shocking moments and ends on a high note. The pacing never falters despite the two interwoven
[09:05] storylines and alternating POVs, and the wide variety of missions and locations ensure that the story remains engaging. Modern Warfare 4 is another What distinguishes campaign from others is a feeling that the devs had more time
[09:19] to think through the experience to create something that can serve as a worthy conclusion for the Modern Warfare series. Because of that, Modern Warfare 4's campaign ranks as the best we've had since Modern Warfare 2019. Building on
[09:32] the success of the DMZ beta launched in 2022, Infinity Ward elevates the extraction mode with major upgrades for Modern Warfare 4, including a more dynamic map, an engaging social hub, in-depth story missions, and deeper
[09:44] progression, and new ways to experience the sandbox magic that can happen within a match of DMZ. In fact, most of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty innovation thanks to a satisfying gameplay loop,
[09:56] the extraction mode is the standout part of Modern Warfare 4. DMZ's new Hadjin map is a vast upgrade from the original Al Mazrah location. This is the largest map ever created for Call of Duty, out sizing Warzone Verdansk and even Call of
[10:10] Duty Black Ops 7's massive Avalon map, allowing for deeper exploration and greater map diversity. Hadjin is set in a fictional version of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, and the area provides a wide range of main
[10:23] and secondary points of interest. Al Mazrah's diversity of locations doesn't even come close to Hadjin's, which takes you through dense forests as well as a selection of city-based locations, such as military compounds, underground
[10:35] tunnel systems, and even an irradiated nuclear power plant. Updated NPC behavior and dynamic weather make Hadjin feel more alive than Al Mazrah. Rain or fog can roll in at any time, but aren't guaranteed in every match. Weather
[10:48] changes don't affect the entire map and are randomly localized to specific Hadjin from point to point. Fog can be beneficial for stealth as it hinders the view of everyone in the vicinity,
[11:00] limits your ability to check your surroundings. Rain on the ground or traversing through other water sources can create audibly slushy footsteps, skeptical about dynamic weather in games, but Modern Warfare 4's graphics
[11:14] are stunning, and it was impressive watching the fog roll across the coast occasion, driving through the dense fog allowed my squad to evade an entire convoy of enemies. With Hadjin, you'll see enemies moving through the world in
[11:27] a more organic way. At military bases, you might find soldiers doing push-ups outside in the yard while patrol cars full of enemies drive around the map. Drones search the sky in various locations. Suicide bomber robo dogs can
[11:39] chase you around and a boss level tank patrols the streets. The AI threats aren't smarter, but these behaviors and a wide range of enemy types provide a sense of immersion and make for engaging combat encounters. Changes to the
[11:51] more rewarding. You can load into a match with the intent of looting cash engaging in story missions, or matter how you choose to play, all of these actions count towards your DMZ
[12:05] player level, and you earn XP even if you fail to successfully extract. You'll multiplayer and Warzone, but you can only rank up your DMZ level by playing DMZ. Modern Warfare 4's DMZ has a bigger focus on mission prepping, and this is
[12:19] operating base feature. The FOB is your personal home base between missions. interact with various mission prep stations, meaning no one has to sit in their teammates get their loadouts ready. You don't need to load in and out
[12:34] of a firing range feature like you do in multiplayer, and there's a shooting range inside the FOB, so you can walk up and use it for target practice. Teammates are added to the FOB of whoever is hosting the party, so there's
[12:46] is also a crucial command center that evolves with you as you level up in DMZ. engaging gameplay loop as you're constantly trying to level up and unlock helpful stations and upgrades within your FOB, including a vendor, bounty
[13:01] board, dog tag case, and more importantly a 3D printer for crafting crucial gear. There are no buy stations on the map this year, meaning you can't purchase what you need during the match. This is a positive change that prevents
[13:13] powerful items right away. You'll have base weapons and gear to start, but your matches in order to get better equipment. This change puts more emphasis on looting and exploration, requiring you to search out guns and
[13:26] gear in match. At the very least, find the resources to craft what you need. Crafting is done through the FOB's 3D printer using looted materials to print essential items like backpacks, armor, and parachutes. DMZ also no longer lets
[13:39] you build custom weapons without paying to do so. Once you've reached level 10, you'll unlock the Gunsmith FOB station. This lets you buy and customize base small selection of guns until you scavenge weapon manuals to unlock more.
[13:52] but you'll need to pay to unlock attachment slots as well as each individual attachment you want to include. Slots also get more expensive, fully customize a single gun that you risk losing every time you load into a
[14:06] match. You can choose to load into a match with a free random loadout consisting of the most basic gun and supplies, but ultimately the Gunsmith change adds more weight to your decision to risk something expensive or play it
[14:18] safe with less effective gear. Modern Warfare 4 also gives you three different trait trees you can invest in. Warfighter, Scout, and Survivalist. The powerful they become and the more upgrades they can acquire. But dying in
[14:31] Hadjin means you've lost that specific operator inside the DMZ zone. This time into leveling up an operator and upgrading their traits, but they're not permanently lost. You have the option to spend in-game money to send an evac team
[14:45] to rescue them from Hadjin. This can get pricey if they are a high-level option to salvage something from your loss. There are often several layers of complexity to extraction modes, so they can feel overwhelming and confusing at
[14:58] deployment options are no different in that regard, especially with all the new bells and whistles baked into the mode. You're on-boarded with a brief tutorial mostly teaches you how to follow mission markers and heal yourself after a fight.
[15:12] Beyond that, DMZ offers various mission types to choose from, and it's initially type offers. There are currently only six main story missions available, but they are engaging multi-step story objectives. One mission sent us on a fun
[15:25] casino heist where we had to locate and breach a vault, hijacking as many bags of cash as we could before irradiated gas spread throughout the vault. Another tasked my squad with locating a hostage in a hospital who was handcuffed to a
[15:37] gurney, and we had to wheel them out to an X fill location while enemy forces was more than six missions, but they are a blast to play and you can opt for different strategies to complete them. The charm of DMZ remains the random and
[15:50] nature of the mode and the living world of Hajin definitely elevates the unpredictability, allowing every play through to feel unique.
[16:02] still many ways to play and level up. too, which is the growing divide between players in extraction shooters. Some players believe the game should always have a PvP focus, while others want the
[16:15] extraction experience in a PvE environment. DMZ attempts to appeal to both sides. Killing players now activates a heat level, which is similar to the wanted system in GTA, and you'll earn a marked bounty on your head. The
[16:27] wanted bounty grows. Hajin has bounty players in the match who are marked as wanted. The bounty board lets you either pay cash to reduce your own heat level or you can buy intel to locate the other
[16:41] wanted players. This feels like a great way to cater to the PvP focus extraction other down for large sums of money. While passive players can stay off the radar if they avoid killing other operators. Another major change this
[16:53] year is that DMZ is no longer a free-to-play mode tied to Warzone and instead is packed into Modern Warfare 4 as part of its $70 price tag. While losing a free game is always a bummer, the amount of upgrades packed into DMZ
[17:05] do feel worthy of a premium buy-in. While it's not pay-to-win per se, DMZ does also provide additional benefits to players who purchased the pricey Vault Edition of Modern Warfare 4. This gives them access to an additional operator
[17:18] slot, two medium-size backpacks, two armor plate carriers, and other beneficial but single-use items. For addition owners, getting these freebies isn't a major concern as the specific items don't have a huge impact on
[17:30] whether or not you lose a fight against them. However, this gets tackier when there's always the worry that it's a downhill slide towards further bonuses that do become pay-to-win. Hopefully, this doesn't lead to players getting
[17:43] bigger advantages such as UAVs or high-rarity guns. In-game bonuses are best handed out as cosmetic items like operator and vehicle skins. Once you get past the confusing mission lingo, DMZ settles into a sandbox experience with
[17:55] high-reward extraction shooter. Despite the original DMZ being an engaging features and weak missions, but you can see how it served as the building blocks for Modern Warfare 4's more robust and engaging gameplay loop. Much of the
[18:09] magic comes from the chaos that builds as you fight or flee through dangerous areas of Hajin, and the new progression layers make it easy to get lost in the world of DMZ. Overall, Infinity Ward has elevated Call of Duty's extraction
[18:21] shooter mode with engaging features and riveting gameplay. After 2 years of Black Ops games, the removal of omni movement creates an adjustment period modes. That system made it easy to sprint, jump, dive, and slide in any
[18:35] direction, but Modern Warfare 4's movement offers fewer options. Several times I caught myself trying to perform a wall jump or attempt a backwards dive overcame this omni movement muscle memory, Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer
[18:48] felt a lot like Modern Warfare 3's. Modern Warfare 4 ditches the advanced omni movement system without compromising the overall feel of high-speed movement. While multiplayer offers the familiar fast-paced action
[19:00] Call of Duty game, a more significant innovation lies in the fresh and ever-changing Kill Block map. The less agile, more grounded approach to movement sounds like it could be a step backwards, but it isn't necessarily a
[19:13] bad thing. Modern Warfare 4's movement is still fast and responsive. Infinity and sliding mechanics this year, including the ability to seamlessly transition from mantling over objects into a slide. And there's also a supine
[19:26] low-hanging obstacles. These new movement tweaks allow you to chain satisfyingly fluid way. Players that want to opt for a more methodical approach can still play slowly and hold their ground without being too over
[19:40] whelmed by fast-moving and agile sweaty players. Ditching omni movement has removed the irritation of facing any omni movement kings who hop, flop, and this movement system feels like a great middle ground between the players who
[19:54] want the fast and twitchy approach of the new era and the old-school players There's also the new ability to climb up pipes, which sounds silly, but this is Modern Warfare 4's way of making elevated areas just as accessible as
[20:08] they were with the wall jump back in Black Ops 7 without undermining the grounded contemporary setting. You can't wall tap into a window anymore, but you an enemy on an upper level. Climbing pipes is a risk that leaves you
[20:21] vulnerable, but it's a quick shimmy up, so you're not in danger for long. Pipe climbing is a smart way to provide verticality in Modern Warfare's setting, which players have come to expect now. As for maps, there's a solid variety of
[20:33] medium-size standard maps set under the bright lights of New York City, in a snowy region of Korea, and in a colorfully decorated village in Mumbai. war maps played on chunks of the DMZ mode's Hajan map for bigger infantry
[20:49] battles and the addition of vehicular warfare. The diversity in battlefield is and shouldn't get boring quickly. However, the real standout is Kill Block, Infinity Ward's ambitious Gun Fight map. Kill Block is a blast to play
[21:02] and is easily one of the best innovations of this rebooted Modern Warfare series. It's a modular map where every new configuration keeps you on your toes as you can't anticipate which three pieces will get stitched together.
[21:14] The map chunks also include iconic designs. So, for long-time Call of Duty fans, they get the treat of enjoying classic maps in new ways. For example, a piece of Shoot House might be combined with a section of Storage Town from
[21:26] Warzone's Verdansk and Highrise from the original Modern Warfare 2. Kill Block features matches of 10 V 10 and 6 V 6 Gunfight. But, I hope this map is eventually integrated into standard game modes, too. The Gunsmith weapon
[21:39] customization feature returns in Modern Warfare 4, and it adds the new virtual gunny assistant to help you build loadouts. This isn't some wonky AI feature as the name evokes, but a set of pre-built loadouts the developer has
[21:51] baked into the game to help suggest weapon builds based on playstyles. For rifle, gunny can suggest builds depending on whether you want the gun customized for short range, to be balanced, or for long-range combat. This
[22:04] suggest attachments I liked or thought were the best overall builds, but I players looking to jump into matches faster without needing to worry too much about crafting the perfect meta weapon build. Another positive change for
[22:18] weapon customization is the addition of apex attachments. Every primary and secondary weapon, excluding launchers, has one unique add-on designed to drastically change how the weapon is used, similar to the weapon conversion
[22:30] games. But, in Modern Warfare 4, they don't cost an attachment slot. So, you can have a five-attachment build and still attachment. This creates more of a reason to try something unconventional
[22:43] than there has been in past titles. The Odin's apex attachment is one of my assault rifle into a powerful single-fire sniper. This isn't ideal for every mode, but instead something I equip for more power and precision when
[22:57] Ground War maps. While the Odin has one of the more practical Apex attachments, some are a bit wacky and will cater to very niche play styles and interests. The Osiris 8.6 marksman rifle's razor attachment,
[23:10] for example, gives you the option to shoot throwing knives in close-range combat. Again, is less than practical in many situations, but these are fun attachments that won't cost you anything to try. Weapon leveling is a component
[23:22] of Call of Duty that has been a huge slog in recent years. Guns always have dozens of attachments and it takes hours of usage to make any real progress attachments you want. One major improvement in Modern Warfare 4 is
[23:35] reduced weapon leveling grind. Guns have several universal attachments now and unlocking these for one gun means you don't have to suffer the grind weapons. This shortens the list of attachments and levels you need to
[23:49] progress through, making it easier to tailor your ideal gun. Call of Duty multiplayer always features either a kill streak or score streak system to calculate how you earn the game's lethal or support streaks. Modern Warfare 4 is
[24:01] it does award some points for objective-based actions such as grabbing tags in Kill Confirmed or capturing a domination point. However, this doesn't feel rewarding as a hybrid system as the points feel minuscule for the team
[24:15] objectives. Earning streaks in Modern Warfare 4 is too heavily reliant on your ability to chain together kills. I'm always someone who prefers score streaks as it better incentivizes you and your teammates to
[24:27] the win. Modern Warfare 2 best settled the debate of kill streaks versus score streaks by offering the option to choose the system you preferred, allowing you to toggle on kill streaks or score streaks at any time. Modern Warfare 4
[24:40] unsuccessfully attempts to bridge the gap with a hybrid system and I hope that a toggle can be added again to give players choice. Outside of playing Kill comes from Modern Warfare 4's new objective game modes. Call of Duty
[24:53] staples are still available with Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Infinity Ward cooked up new modes that breathe more heart-pounding action into multiplayer with inflation and collateral. Inflation is a more intense
[25:07] cash-based spin on kill confirmed. Instead of collecting dog tags from fallen players, you're picking up cash. Any player can collect fallen cash from someone's death, and the team holding the most money at the end of the match
[25:19] you get during the late game stage of inflation. As players who accumulate large sums of money can cause a significant shift if they die and drop a portion of their cash. With less than a minute left of your game, you can go
[25:32] from drastically losing to winning in an instant. And that's excitement you don't get in a match of kill confirmed. Collateral, meanwhile, is a round-based Duty's iconic search and destroy, adding a cash system similar to Counter-Strike.
[25:46] alternate between attacking and defending two bomb sites. But, kill streaks, automatic health generation, and custom loadouts are all disabled. and earns in-game cash throughout the match to spend on strategic upgrades
[26:01] between rounds. You lose your loadout if you die, but all earned money is kept between rounds. This makes collateral an adrenaline-fueled, high-stakes, competitive mode where every dollar counts and every decision matters. Do
[26:13] you want to save up your money to buy a high-tier weapon in a later round, or do spend your cash on a UAV for your whole team? This extra layer of strategy is a search and destroy game. The gunplay, kill streaks, and perks are
[26:28] all what you'd expect to get with a Call of Duty game. But, Modern Warfare 4 is full of small but thoughtful adjustments to make this return to a grounded environment still feel exciting to play. The scaled-back movement in multiplayer
[26:40] never feels hindering, and the new objective game modes bring fresh thrills. However, Kill Block is easily the star of Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer. As a fan of gunfight, I could easily spend hours playing the
[26:52] dedicated kill block playlist, but I still hope that this living map gets utilized in more ways outside of gunfight modes. Overall, Modern Warfare 4 delivers a strong and engaging multiplayer experience to complement an
[27:04] epic campaign conclusion and captivating DMZ mode. >> Team death match. You are cleared hot.