Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a solid, well-rounded entry in the long-running shooter series, with a potent campaign and a compelling DMZ mode, but its traditional multiplayer is let down by a poor selection of maps. The game scored 7/10 in our review.
Campaign: A Return to Form
After last year's Black Ops 7, which suffered from an abysmal campaign and poor sales compared to Battlefield 6, Modern Warfare 4's campaign is leagues above its predecessor. The story continues the exploits of Captain John Price, who has gone rogue after assassinating General Shepherd in Modern Warfare 3, and forms an uneasy alliance with the Mexican cartel to hunt a mysterious target known as The Archer.
The campaign oscillates between Price's story and that of new rookie protagonist Park Hyun Jun, set against a war between North and South Korea, across 16 missions. The combination works surprisingly well, delivering the globe-trotting scope the series is known for while anchoring it with a distinct Korean flavour. The villains, including Mads Mikkelsen as The Archer and Prisca Kim as Ri Ju-Young, are memorable, even if they are two-dimensional.
The campaign maintains a breathless pace, from a missile barrage on a Korean supermarket to chase sequences in New York and shootouts in Paris. One standout mission puts players in the shoes of the reluctant Supreme Leader of North Korea, forced to escape his palace as soldiers invade. The campaign does lose steam towards its conclusion, with a rushed ending, but it remains a good showcase of why the single-player mode is still a worthwhile addition.
DMZ: The Secret Weapon
DMZ, the extraction mode that debuted in 2022's Modern Warfare 2, has been refined and expanded here to compete with modern rivals like Arc Raiders and Marathon. It takes place on the giant map of Hajin, which combines forests, towns, nuclear reactors, and prisons. The map is well populated with enemy patrols, secret stashes, and dynamic operations, which reward exploration over immediate extraction.
The mode features preset goals, from basic chapter orders to more elaborate, multi-stage story missions. In one such mission, players must break into a casino, reach a penthouse, deactivate security doors, drill open a vault, steal cash, and escape while facing enemy AI and other human squads. It's tense and chaotic, though it relies on collaboration with teammates, which was not always plentiful in our experience. The 'trait' skill tree offers perks for both solo and team players, and there's a surprising amount to unlock and upgrade in the Forward Operating Base hub area.
Multiplayer: Inconsistent Maps and Throwback Gunplay
The traditional multiplayer side shows the game's most obvious weaknesses. The map pool is more inconsistent than usual, with a stronger push towards tight-knit chaos. Maps like Transit 213 and Silkworm are the worst offenders, with erratic spawn placements and designs that compromise the run 'n' gun rhythm. Even the better maps, such as Rooftops, Lotus, Sentry, and Mumbai, don't quite reach the heights of what's come before.
However, the gunplay is a welcome return to fundamentals. There is no omnimovement or wall running, as seen in Black Ops 7, but the core traversal mechanics have undergone a snappy refinement, best shown in the Proving Grounds mobility courses. New modes include Hijack, a Capture The Flag-like mode where you can throw a data spike to teammates, and Kill Block, a modular arena tied to the round-based Gunfight mode, which was the most revisited mode during multiplayer sessions.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 doesn't present much meaningful evolution, but it hits more than it misses. As the first Call Of Duty untethered from the PlayStation 4 generation, it's a solid display of the franchise's enduring strengths – even if a revolutionary step forward needs to arrive sooner rather than later.
