A Brief Look At Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's Ground War Mode

This year's Call of Duty NEXT showcase delivered us an abundance of updates regarding the franchise's future. The event primarily focused on Call of Duty's vast multiplayer offerings and covered Modern Warfare 2, Warzone 2.0, and Warzone Mobile. Even though there was a decent chunk of content to check out, it was the "Ground War" game mode, in particular, that caught my eye.

Now, Ground War isn't new; it is just an improved version of the same mode found in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019). In fact, this match type has been around for quite a while now, having first appeared way back in the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007). Initially, Ground Wars were nothing special — simply being the regular Team Deathmatch and Domination modes, but with much larger possible player counts. This modern iteration is far more literal.

The new and improved Ground War is Infinity Ward's reply to the Battlefield franchise (minus the class system). It allows two teams of up to 32 players, to go head-to-head in large maps. You can utilise a variety of vehicles, including tanks, boats, and various 4x4s — all of which have big guns with plenty of bang. This allows combat versatility, giving players alternative ways to control the map. So far, the Beta has given access to only one map — a small port town, nestled in the dusty desert region of Al Mazrah (the same map present in Warzone 2.0). However, just know that this map alone offers a bunch of opportunities to tactically approach your enemies, whether you choose to do it by foot or by vehicle.

Where the previous Modern Warfare (2019) was purely Domination-focused, Modern Warfare 2 has both Domination and Team Deathmatch modes. This provides some welcome variety, as I understand the point-capture system deployed in Domination is not everyone's cup of tea. Sometimes you just want to grab a gun and get kills (or in my case, die repeatedly), and classic Team Deathmatch allows that. What everyone can get on board with though, is the elaborate spawning mechanic — you can spawn almost anywhere! It allows players to choose their spawn point from a few available options: hovering helicopters, the passenger seat of a pal's jeep, or just within one of the many points scattered across your map. This is in contrast to the typical forced spawn seen in other modes, where you have no say in the matter.

Everything in this article was taken from the Call of Duty NEXT event, I'm sure there is still plenty more to experience when the game finally arrives on the 28th of October.