Modern Warfare 2 surprises with a sophisticated ground war mode with up to 64 players and vehicles. Kevin sees it as a real threat to Battlefield 2042.
The beta of CoD Modern Warfare 2 had a big surprise in store for me: The battlefield atmosphere that I would have actually wished for Battlefield 2042 I suddenly found in Call of Duty”s Ground War.
Between 48 and 64 players fight for flag points on huge maps, including vehicles such as helicopters, jeeps and even full-fledged battle tanks. Above you can see some of my gameplay footage from the mode.
Vehicles & Teamwork
Already in the beta, the mode conveyed the great feeling of really fighting in a group of armed forces: While vehicles rolled through the streets and infantrymen fought house fights, the new large transport helicopters hovered above the battlefield, in which we could even move completely freely (and shoot out):
In addition to captured flags, they also serve as new mobile spawn points: If I want to attack a certain point with my squad, we put the helicopter into hover mode and parachute directly into the target area while our colleagues cover us from the ramp with sniper rifles – fantastic!
In general, the vehicle selection has grown considerably: this time we secure waters with patrol ships or infiltrate enemy island positions with small and inconspicuous inflatable boats. All vehicles have room for passengers and seats for gunners, so that vehicles only become particularly powerful in a team.
In general, teamwork is more important this time: We can quickly and easily mark soldiers, enemy vehicles, flags and other things via ping and communicate them to our squad. In addition, there are small things like the new repair mechanics: If the enemy has destroyed the tyres of our armoured personnel carrier, we take cover and have our colleague repair them. Did I mention that you can swim and dive?
This time the sandbox works
This time, the new gadgets also fit in perfectly with the new Ground War. The new Drillcharge is actually designed to drill through walls and spit out a grenade on the other side. In Ground War we attach them to enemy jeeps, blow the crew out of the thing and hijack the vehicle ourselves.
Mines that we throw into the water suddenly open up a small cushion of air beneath them, float upwards and stop enemy boats. It”s these little details that make Ground War an exciting sandbox – and a threat to the tarnished BF2042, whose reputation the EA boss now wants to rebuild.
If I feel like it, I can even make my own Recon class: Sniper rifle, drone and the spotter perk packed in and I”m clearing enemy vehicles through walls, tagging snipers on rooftops and hacking enemy booby traps for my colleagues. And I have to say: we”re already pretty close to what a good reconnaissance player does for his team in Battlefield 4.
And more importantly, all of this plays more rounded and well thought out than the absolute chaos and sniper lightning storm that Ground War still was in 2019 (you can read where the problems were in the review from then). This time, the maps are much better and more openly designed, offer a lot of space for manoeuvring and show clear front lines.
Finally, the flag points don”t just seem haphazardly thrown in, but purposefully placed, so that the mode develops a much better flow than in the predecessor. And the sniper problem is no longer so serious, because the ballistics hardly allow for one-shot kills across the entire map.
Danger for Battlefield?
In short: Ground War could be a real enrichment for MW2 and maybe even make one or the other Battlefield squad move before BF2042 starts its third season in November, among other things with classes!
The crucial thing now is timing: Call of Duty is attacking at the end of October 2022 at an extremely critical time, as Battlefield is just slowly getting back on its feet and many fans are still angry.
No, Ground War is not a perfect Battlefield replacement – it lacks destruction physics, for example, and the maps remain static. But one thing is certain: the two game series have rarely been more similar. Ground War could be exactly what many BF fans are waiting for right now.
