Modern Warfare 4 Review: It Feels Like 2007 Again

It's 8 o'clock on a Friday night. Ice cold Mountain Dew, fresh chicken wings, and a new Call of Duty just dropped. It's 2007... wait, no. It's 2026 and I'm in my 40s. But for some reason it feels like 2007 again, and I can't fully explain why.

Call of Duty has had a rough few years. I've played every one since the original, including the recent ones, and with those I'd usually play for a month and slowly drift away. This one feels different. Coming off an unhealthy month-long War Dogs addiction, Modern Warfare 4 is a breath of fresh air.

Lately the shooter scene has been packed with battle royales and extraction games. But when Call of Duty sticks to what it does best, nobody does it better, and this time they got the formula right. It's a mix of 2007-era Call of Duty with some of the movement from the recent games. It feels grounded, but there's still room for player expression and those "did you see that?" moments.

There's a lot here for $69.99 standard edition: a full campaign, DMZ (the extraction mode), and classic multiplayer.

Multiplayer is where I've spent all my time, and it shines. There are modes for every play style, from classic deathmatch to Ground War and Gunfight. The star of the show is Kill Block. It's Gunfight on a map that keeps changing, built from pieces of new locations and classic maps like Shoot House, Crash and Killhouse. With 500+ combinations, the layouts feel familiar but never quite the same, and that keeps me queuing up "one more match." The guns feel great, and the time-to-kill is right where it should be.

Season 1 brings Warzone into the mix. Hopefully they've learned their lesson about stuffing the game with non-military cosmetics. The warning they put on the experimental Possession mode (which is a blast, by the way) tells me they're at least aware of it. Check back in a month and I'll let you know where I'm at, and whether Snoop Dogg and Nicki Minaj have shown up yet.

For now, I'm hooked. I can't wait to see where this game goes, and I'm hoping it brings some good esports with it.