The campaign for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 offers a refreshing departure from the series' recent trajectory, focusing on a more grounded narrative and relatable characters. This is the most enjoyable Call of Duty campaign in years, primarily due to its emphasis on new, less elite protagonists. The core of the approximately six-hour campaign follows a group of young South Korean marines and a few American counterparts as they near the end of their compulsory military service when North Korea launches an invasion. While the characters embody familiar archetypes—the stoic leader, the silent audience surrogate, the wisecracking American—their charm makes them memorable.
Going dark
The narrative shifts focus to a crew of marines navigating a North Korean invasion, a premise that, while familiar, sees Infinity Ward continuing its tendency to simplify complex geopolitical conflicts. Some of the campaign's standout moments recapture the series' early spirit. Missions like "Mayhem" and "Losing Ground" depict futile defenses of the fictional Hajin City against overwhelming odds, emphasizing the characters' fear and the constant state of being outnumbered. The mission "Counter Attack" escalates the scale with a large-scale beach assault, a spectacle that feels like a more appropriate use of the game's budget than the gimmick-heavy campaigns of some recent Black Ops titles.
A particularly engaging mission, "Stranded," drops the player's squad behind enemy lines after a crash landing. This level introduces Infinity Ward's most successful attempt at a sandbox environment to date, featuring non-linear objectives, side quests, and a base camp for crafting gear. While initially jarring due to its similarity to DMZ's looting mechanics, this mission's isolated and exploratory nature proved to be a highlight. It was confirmed that this map was designed specifically for the campaign.
Infinity Ward could have built an entire campaign around this squad, but their narrative runs parallel to the adventures of Captain Price, who is now a fugitive due to events from Modern Warfare 3. The game attempts to portray a darker Price through familiar set pieces like car and foot chases, and cinematic knife fights, but these sequences lack the impact of the marine-focused missions. The contrast between the two narrative threads is stark, especially as Price largely exits the story in the latter half and never directly interacts with the more compelling characters.
This approach suggests Infinity Ward is trying to satisfy expectations for Price-centric content while also pushing for new narrative directions. Though marketed as the conclusion to the Modern Warfare saga that began in 2019, the campaign feels rushed. It is unfortunate that Mads Mikkelsen, who portrays a villain, is underutilized in a campaign that doesn't allocate enough time for his character to become a truly menacing presence.
Despite these criticisms, the game succeeds in delivering a conventional campaign with impressive set pieces, polished cinematics, and strong gunplay. Unburdened by the influence of Warzone or Zombies, Modern Warfare 4's campaign feels like a significant improvement and no longer like an afterthought.