For MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider, the graphics of video games are of secondary importance. He has no eye for it. Gameplay comes first, then nothing for a while. During the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign, even Maik didn’t spit.
Appropriate graphics, sprawling gameplay – as far as I’m concerned, all games can rely on this balance. Who cares how good a game looks when it plays damn awesome?
Unfortunately I don’t like the answer to that. Because there are many players out there who have a certain demand for the look of their games. I’m not one of them and I’m rather in the minority.
In its campaign, Modern Warfare 2 has shown me why this is actually the case. The Amsterdam mission is clearly designed to dazzle a bit with the graphics. But wow, does that look good. Convince yourself:
CoD Modern Warfare 2: Campaign – Amsterdam Mission
In our video, the optics suffer a little, currently we only have videos with a resolution of 720p. But the wealth of detail, the reflecting surfaces, the trees – almost like a real walk along the Amstel. I was completely blown away. The footage is from the PS5 version.
That gave me a little glimpse of where the graphics will go in the future. The look of MW2 is far from photorealistic. Especially when you look at the pedestrians, it quickly becomes clear that we are still in a video game.
But the surroundings are really nice. If CoD MW2 were a pedestrian zone simulator with only one visitor, I wouldn’t be able to tell in many corners whether these are real recordings or video game graphics.
I was also surprised by the animations of the street band that you encounter during the mission. The three artists interact with each other, they have fun, they entertain their listeners. And the woman on the keyboard actually uses her instrument quite realistically – only the keys don’t move.
However, there was a moment later in the campaign where I was a bit disappointed with the graphics. Mirrors are apparently still a certain problem:
All in all, I was really impressed by the look. Good graphics rarely catch my eye, but this time it really got me.
Modern Warfare 2 showed me where the journey can go. Although I’ve seen some Unreal Engine 5 demos that were almost indistinguishable from the real world, seeing something like this in a game is something else.
And now even I’m excited to see how far games can go with their graphics in the future.
Leave me a comment with your opinion on the topic. Can you recommend a game that could surprise me similarly with the graphics?
If you prefer to find out more about Modern Warfare 2, you can find all the information here: All information about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Release, Content and Leaks