Set to release on December 14, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s first Raid, titled “Atomgrad,” sees up to three players infiltrate an underwater facility. According to a Call of Duty blog post, these Raids will see players completing puzzles, sneaking around in stealth and engaging enemies in intense firefights. While players expected Raids to be another fun addition to the core Modern Warfare 2 experience, many weren’t expecting them to be a continuation of the game’s story, which they seem to be since players assume the roles of Captain Price, Gaz, and Farah.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Raids Show Promise
First revealed at the Game Awards, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s first Raid puts players into the combat-hardened boots of Task Force 141’s Captain Price, Gaz, and Farah. The Raid’s announcement trailer suggests that player will need to infiltrate the titular Atomgrad facility, using Modern Warfare 2’s new swimming mechanics to sneak around undetected. After eliminating those guards, players will then seemingly continue to make their way through the facility, eventually uncovering its purpose.
Infinity Ward’s willingness to use its campaign characters shows that the developer has a lot of faith in the additional mode. Task Force 141, and in particular Captain Price, has become a real draw for the Modern Warfare series, with Ghost being plastered all over the game’s marketing. Up until now, Infinity Ward has used these characters pretty sparingly, with them rarely making an appearance in any additional mode or spin-off. Price, Gaz, and Farah’s presence in these Raids indicated that Infinity Ward is going all-out for this mode, and that it isn’t just an afterthought.
Task Force 141’s presence in the first Raid also implies that this mode will move Modern Warfare’s overarching plot along, which is a pretty big deal when fans consider how Modern Warfare 2 ended. At the end of Modern Warfare 2, a lot of loose threads are left dangling, with a new villain being set up and plenty of old villains still at large. This Atomgrad Raid could be directly connected with Modern Warfare 2’s ending, and if that’s the case, fans of MW2’s campaign are sure to flock to the mode to find out what happens next.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s first Raid looks a lot more expansive than some fans may have been expecting, and the use of popular campaign characters does imply that these missions may be a little more hand-crafted and campaign-like. It’s a fairly safe bet to assume that this first Raid will include at least two cinematics to bookend the mission, and it seems likely that during the mission itself players will get to experience tons of new dialogue and set pieces. The use of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign characters is a very good sign for its Raid missions, and hopefully future Raid episodes can continue to build on this foundation.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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