Modern Warfare’s 2v2 alpha was a blast, but we’re finally about to get to the meat of the game. The usual 6v6 mode we all know and “larger player count” firefights are coming to the beta which kicks off this weekend. It’s likely the “larger player count” yesterday’s blog post refers to is the 20v20 modes. Ground War is supposed to be even bigger with player counts of 100+ players.
I’ve been a Call of Duty fan since the beginning, but I’m also a Battlefield fan. And it’s the Battlefield fan in me that is pumped to see what Modern Warfare has to offer.
Battlefield V is decent, but I’m tired of all the bugs, and the WWII setting limits the ‘Battlefield moments’ the franchise is known for. I’m a huge fan of the gunplay, but I haven’t played a Battlefield in years that made me feel like this.
Then I saw Modern Warfare’s multiplayer reveal trailer and the Battlefield fan in me perked up.
This is what I’ve been missing in Battlefield since Battlefield 4. I missed the spectacle. I missed the ‘holy sh!$’ moments. Sure, it’s only a trailer – but it brought back memories of all the outstanding ‘Battlefield moment’ trailers DICE used to make.
I see tanks rolling through towns, airstrikes taking out scores of enemies, javelins blowing up tanks, and it takes me back to 2013-2014 when I played Battlefield 4 all the damn time.
But Infinity Ward still has to sell itself to Battlefield fans. Here’s what I’ll be keeping an eye out for this weekend.
How the gunplay translates to larger modes. I had a blast playing the 2v2 alpha, but most of those fights were right in your face against one other player. What happens when you start taking fire from multiple players. Is the time-to-kill so short you can’t even react? Map design will play a significant role here. With a shorter time-to-kill, plenty of cover is a must. I’m excited to see how the gunplay, map design, and equipment (smoke grenades and stuff like that) mesh together on the larger maps.
The mini-map. I’ve talked about how the Gunfight was a great introduction to not having a mini-map. But you don’t need the map awareness a mini-map gives you when the entire map can be seen from the beginning of a round. How will this play out in 20v20 matches?
Sure, a mini-map can be a crutch – but it also gives you a good layout of the map and helps you figure out where you can get flanked from and where the best cover is. I thought Black Ops 4’s fog of war mechanic was a solid evolution of the mini-map.
Infinity Ward is adding a personal UAV killstreak at three kills with a regular UAV at four kills. Maybe the lack of mini-map by default becomes a moot point once matches get going. We’ll see how it all plays out this weekend, and what (if any) changes the devs make based on player feedback.
Will Ground War have vehicles on the map? Ok, we probably won’t know about Ground War this weekend – but I do wonder if Ground War will give us a more traditional Battlefield experience. I’m a sucker for helicopters and hope Infinity Ward will give me my fix.
Modern Warfare is going to be huge. Every Call of Duty game is. But Infinity Ward and Activision have an opportunity to expand their audience a little more as Battlefield fans look for a large multiplayer shooter set in the modern era to jump into.