Almost nine years after its release, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s influence continues to reverberate. In many ways, Modern Warfare popularized what we think of as the modern multiplayer shooter: selectable character traits, extensive weapon modifications, and an XP-based ranking system are all widely adopted standards in current multiplayer shooters.
So it was no surprise to see the widespread excitement surrounding the announcement of Modern Warfare Remastered at E3 2016. Remastered is a PS4 upgrade of the classic original game supervised by veteran studio Raven Software, with an emphasis on faithfully translating the 2007 classic into the PS4 generation.
And that experience is going to be quite faithful indeed, if my hands-on experience with Remastered’s multiplayer mode at COD XP was any indication. Before wall running, before Pick 10, before Scorestreaks and Specialists, Modern Warfare built its reputation on tight shooting mechanics and uniquely porous map designs that stood in contrast to many other popular shooters of the day.
Those qualities still impress in 2016, as do the reworked visuals, which breathe new life and detail into the game’s sprawling multiplayer battlezones.
Remastered brings a new layer of polish to the familiar environments, and I noticed crisper textures and more detailed decorations across both maps I played. One such example that stood out was the tall, lush grass under the wooden bridge in Overgrown.
The character models have seen a particularly noticeable overhaul, but with designs that remain faithful to their 2007 counterpart. That’s the overall theme I noticed with Remastered: It’s just like you remember it, but with far more detail and polish.
There was also the welcome news that the game will eventually see all 16 of its multiplayer maps released, with 10 coming at launch in November and the remaining six coming sometime in December.
It’s also worth noting that the Modern Warfare Remastered campaign will launch 30 days early on PS4 as part of the Deluxe and Legacy Editions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
So that’s the quick-hit report from COD XP — we also got a quick chat with Raven Software Studio Director David Pellas, which I’ll share here shortly and on this week’s PlayStation Blogcast.
Let me know if you have questions in the comments!
Will there be a standalone edition so only Modern Warefare may be purchased?
Either 8 months from now or 14 months from now, but I doubt it.
Nope, only available by purchasing the legacy, pro or deluxe editions of Infinite warfare. The reason behind, because COD sales are drastically down and declining, they know people are switching to BF and Destiny so they want an attraction and know everybody wants the classic cods remastered so they did it but requires u to buy the game in hopes of it bringing people back and money. I love the classic cods but im not paying $80 for it. Besides i have a good feeling that battlefield 1 will put the spike in cods heart since they actually brought what people wanted for a while, old war and hell even a new front wwl
Activision said they wont release it standalone
I absolutely love the idea of them re mastering the old cods. I would be snapping this up on launch if it was standalone and $40 or less. Unfortunately I as well am just tired of the future shooter stuff. I’ll admit I had a lot of fun with black ops 3 for a while but the franchise has gone so far from what made me fall in love with it in the first place.
I typically only play ps4 through remote play these days and call of duty being so fast and furious now a day makes it impossible over remote play. Surprisingly I was playing the B1 beta this weekend over remote play and it was next to flawless. I give credit to the far bigger maps and dispersed action. It would be interesting to see if MW remaster would play better than BO3 via remote play.
Yes, it will 100% be released as standalone, but obviously no one is sure how long until this happens.
Activision would not spend all that money getting a remaster made, only to limit their sales to those that buy a particular version which is overpriced.
However, buy BF1 and enjoy that for how great it is and then when this comes to be released as a standalone, you can get the best of both worlds.
THIS GAME WILL BE RELEASED STANDALONE 100%!
It’s not the original voice actors, and that actually disappointed me a little.
Meant in the MP, not sure in Single Player. I hope that single player voice actors are the same, otherwise I dunno about the remaster…
I don’t even want to buy infinity warfare I hate the space trash if they remade mw2 and 3 I would be so happy after that the games got worst zombie were fun but make it a little more real a dancing zombie is funny but come one bring in extinction that was a fun game
Slow week…?
Rather CoDXP is going on right now, so that’s a big deal for Playstation since they have exclusivity.
Hi Sid,
I’ve very much enjoyed your writing and podcast over the years.
I’ve got a question about the MWR multiplayer. Will there be 4-player local multiplayer like the original? My friends and I have missed having 4-player local multiplayer on the more recent games and we are hoping this re-master will have it. There is nothing like playing local multiplayer with a bunch of friends. Thanks in advance.
Cheers!
Good question, didn’t think to ask, but I will keep my eyes peeled for more info. Thanks for the kind words!
I should clarify that I mean 4-player local for the full game excluding the campaign, not just a single mode or two. Thanks for following up!
I’ll be ready to purchase if they ever decide to decouple it from Infinite Warfare. Until then I’ll just have miss out. Sounds fun though!
I can’t wait to purchase this… when it’s separated from that trash Infinite Warfare. I’m not and never will shell out $80 for a game I care about and a game I don’t.
They said the remaining 6 maps would be released a year later in september so i do believe this will be a stand alone game and i don’t think they showld stop there i think they should make a remastered collection of the modern warfare series and the black ops series later down the road but please no world at war we don’t need that.
Man this looks sooo good! I really hope that in the future they start adding remastered maps from MW2 and MW3, especially the 2v2 and 1v1 maps from modern warfare 3. Infinite warfare looks great but I am way more excited to replay MY FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME remastered! I even wrote a term paper for one of my modern art classes on Cod4mw because the campaign is that strong. Got an A on that one too!
I under no circumstances will buy the new CoD, however if they make this a standalone. Then and only then I will buy this game. I loved this game but I do NOT want the new CoD. I feel many of us feel the same.
CoD over the past few years have declined dramatically with over the top, no actual skill required perks and other things to make the game very boring to play. Listen and learn devs behind these games, get back to the basics that made this game THE GAME to play. MW3 was the last actual one I liked. Imo, the CoD’s now are trash, require less skill every year, and you want to cash in on the excellent game it once was but is no more period, STOP. You’re ruining the franchise.
Last but not least the remaster, should be a standalone, add maps, guns, and other customizable stuff for our preference, and i for one would keep playing this. If not, im absolutely done with this franchise if not at least make this a standalone.
I’m only getting Infinite Warfare for this I’m tired of futuristic COD just gonna play this like back in the old days
Activision got me by the teabags with this release. No fps game has grasped my attention like COD4MW and Killzone2 so this remaster is a must buy.
CoD is going in the wrong direction. Battlefield will eventually shut it down.
Looks great and if there is a stand-alone version it’s a day 1 purchase – otherwise nope.