Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare
Developer Infinity Ward
Publisher Activision
Format PC, PS4 (tested), Xbox One
Release Out now
Like the 2007 game of the same name, 2019’s Modern Warfare depicts modern military conflict in uncomfortable, sometimes excruciating detail. And as we’ve become accustomed to from the series, it’s also several distinct modes and experiences under one banner, varying wildly in atmosphere and objectives. And as well-crafted and enjoyable as many of its component parts are, it’s a game that demands – almost goads – close scrutiny of its tonal choices.
However, 2019 is not 2007. In the present day, popular opinion’s finger twitches precariously on a hair trigger, so featuring such close analogues, we’ve seen terrorism manifest as something that might, at any moment, happen on our doorstep. So as you play through ’s second campaign level, Piccadilly, and watch helplessly as dozens of civilians are gunned down in a faithful recreation of central London, you’re forced to ask: why? Why did Infinity Ward feel it was important to visit this location, draw upon recent real terror attacks and give the player no agency to lessen their body count?
