CGMagazine
Brendan Frye

Sitting down at the Infinity Ward offices, I did not know what to expect when trying out a new mode for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Facing off against two other journalists, myself and my teammate jumped into a match, and things got very frantic very fast.

The new 2v2 Gunfight Multiplayer is a very fast-paced take on the Call of Duty formula. You and your partner must take out your opponents as quickly as possible, using only the weapons provided. Once the round starts, both teams have 40 seconds to take out the opposing force. If you manage to do so you win the match, but if there are still players on each side left alive after 40 seconds then a flag in the centre of the map pops up and the game transitions into a race to see who can defend the flag for three seconds first. If the flag tiebreaker still doesn’t lead to a clear victory then the team at the end with the most health gets the round victory.  

If this sounds hectic, that’s because it is, but once you get the hang of it the game hits a nice rhythm. Each round is a quick firefight, that will put your skills to the test. Sadly, for myself and my teammate, I was the weakest link on our team, being more of a PC player. But even with this handicap, the matches were fun. You need to reach six points to walk away from the game as the overall winner, which means that you have a bit of time to get used to the systems and get your bearings on the combat. 

It’s also worth noting that everyone has access to the same weapons, and there is a good sense of variety to them that keeps things interesting as you work your way through. The demo is a real testament to developer Infinity Ward’s abilities, as they’ve done a masterful job of keeping the flow of battle moving forward. Even when things got tense, and a match made it all the way to the flag capture point, the game never dragged.

The map I played took place in a warehouse where there were no real places to hide. As a result, my teammate and I were forced to talk and coordinate, while making the best use of the weapons at our disposal.  This need for coordination added a real layer of challenge to 2 vs. 2 and I had many matches where the guns we were given made things interesting and added to the fun and ever-changing excitement.

With so many games pushing for as many people on a map as possible, this mode is a much-needed breath of fresh air. It adds to the Call of Duty Formula in a way that utilizes the game’s strengths, pushing players to go outside their comfort zone, in maps that test their skills, and the ability to work as a team.

It is hard to say if this new model will take off, but Infinity Ward is doing all the right things. The mode is fun, fast and fresh, and it is something that the Call of Duty formula needed. It’s a great shakeup that puts gameplay and fun at the forefront of the experience. Hopefully, the next time I get to try it out will be on PC, but I am even more excited to see what else the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has to offer when it launches later this year.

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