Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 beta impressions: some good changes with a few major missteps

We got our hands on a copy of the new Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 beta for Xbox last weekend before its Oct release. In a shocking turn of events the game feels fresh and new in some aspects so here’s our thoughts on some aspects of the beta test. Note, things can change before full release so things may not be the same when the full game releases in late Oct.

While the game play still feels fast paced mostly with the typical run and gun action you expect, it does feel heavier in some aspects. While running around is still easy the guns themselves feel heavier with much more noticeable recoil. Zooming in and firing with deadpan accuracy is thing of the past as you have to take bursts or risk firing upward and off target.

Large team based games including the new Invasion mode which plays like a large team deathmatch is fun. It pits two real teams against each other but also includes AI guys on each side. This gave a lot of hectic moments in chokepoints of the bigger maps and included vehicles to add a new degree in as well. The AI on each team though is dead brained though. They almost walk at times straight into the line of fire and seemingly have no brain to kill or do much other than become shooting targets.

From the few maps out there weren’t any that stood out as fantastic. There was one that is dreadful though, Valderas Museum was an awful map every game I played on it. Full of random choke points that give campers almost a sure fire way to hit you before you see. This was also the only map were I experienced active spawn killing in.

There is now a 3rd person mode as well which I personally find almost nauseating. You run in 3rd person but once aimed it switches to first person. This almost felt like a bad port of a mobile game and just become sickening to play. Don’t really see this being a fan favorite or very active mode once the launch dies down some.

Overall for what we played this was a surprisingly fun beta for MW2. I’ll be interested to see more once the full game releases.