"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) remains one of the most iconic and controversial video games in history, and while it has been remastered and remade twice, playing the original is still enjoyable for those who wish to experience it as it was originally intended. "
While many titles following the attacks of 9/11 have leaned into the terrorists-versus-free-world trope, few titles have ventured to the depth that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) reached in the mission “No Russian,” where players assume control of an undercover American agent posing as a Russian terrorist and massacre civilians at an airport.
While Infinity Ward allows players to bypass this mission entirely, forbidden fruit is often the most desirable, and almost everyone had to try the disturbing mission at least once.
While I have no issue with terrorists being portrayed as bad guys and have a pretty high tolerance for fictional violence, there is something profoundly wrong about allowing people to gun down civilians, especially when you take into consideration there had already been dozens of high-profile shootings in American schools by the time it was released in 2009—a number which has continued to increase ever since, with almost 300 shooters in the 2010s alone.
According to current and former staff, the “No Russian” incident caused a lot of drama within Infinity Ward, with many staff feeling it was tasteless and needlessly controversial—a sentiment shared by most in the wider gaming community and seemingly ignored by leadership at Infinity Ward, who would go on to reference the mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and include it in the 2020 remaster, despite calls to tone it down or remove it entirely from many in the gaming community who felt it was an embarrassing relic of another time that did not reflect the values of most gamers in 2020.
Controversy aside, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is one of the few titles to receive both a remaster and a remake—something which has proved confusing to players, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) both being sold at the time and utilising the same engine but separate narratives. The 2020 remaster stays true to the plot of the original, while the 2022 remake continues the new timeline first introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) may not be much to look at compared to modern games, but considering its age and the limitations of 2009 hardware, it is a very nice-looking game.
If not for the lack of modern quality-of-life mechanics such as the ability to slide, and controller support on PC, there is very little mechanical difference between it and a game released in 2023—at least as far as the campaign is concerned, where 120 fps and lightning-fast reaction times are not necessary, and cutting-edge visuals are not required to fully enjoy the engrossing narrative, filled with engaging characters and well-designed set pieces.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is a first person shooter game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, it released on 12 November 2009, and is available on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) offers the following matchmaking options:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) supports the following peripherals:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is rated PEGI 18+ and contains:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is a fantastic game and well worth playing for the campaign alone. However, with the visually and mechanically more impressive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered selling for close to the same price, I strongly recommend buying that instead.
We found Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) to be a good game, meaning it is likely to be enjoyable for most players, despite having a few areas that could be improved upon.
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