Modern Warfare II Beta Review

Modern Warfare II, the direct sequel to the Modern Warfare reboot in 2019, is coming out on October 28th. You might be aware that there was a multiplayer beta for the upcoming game which began on September 16th for PlayStation consoles and September 22nd for Xbox consoles and PC. September 26th was the last day of the beta. Wondering how it went? Let’s talk about the gameplay and the stability of the multiplayer beta in our Modern Warfare II beta review.

Modern Warfare II Beta Review: Gameplay

Gamers and critics alike were impressed with the look and feel of the Modern Warfare II multiplayer beta. In particular, the maps received extensive praise. For one thing, they look better. For another thing, they play better. They seem more balanced than those we saw in the previous Modern Warfare game. Moreover, the three-lane design has made a comeback. While the beta only included a sampling of the maps, so far, they seem promising.

Moving on from maps, the Gunsmith system has received some significant upgrades in Modern Warfare II. There are more attachments to choose from. That said, restrictions on the Gunsmith for the purposes of the beta meant we only got a glimpse of its full potential.

In terms of movement, slide canceling is basically a thing of the past, and now we have Dolphin Dive. You will find it handy for dodging explosions, diving out of sight, etc. There are additional “enhanced movement options” as well.

All told, Modern Warfare II is playing great in beta, and while there have been some changes, for the most part you will find yourself with a familiar CoD experience (and that is a good thing).

How Was the Stability of the Modern Warfare 2 Beta?

There are specific services available online that are designed to help reduce lag in games like Modern Warfare 2 by optimizing your game quickly and easily so you can get back to playing with a lower ping. A Modern Warfare 2 lag reducer like this might have come in handy if you were playing the beta. That is despite the fact that overall, the game performed well without too many hiccups. Along with lagging, some players experienced frame drops and stuttering. These issues have occurred on all platforms.

Of course, some players who had these problems were on PCs that did not meet the minimum requirements. But even those on adequate PCs and consoles sometimes struggled. Players suggested fixes like using a lag reducer, disabling third party apps, updating GPU drivers, and verifying the beta files for the game. All of this advice may also be useful when you get to play the full game late in October.

Some gamers also reported that they were experiencing outright crashes. This problem most prominently plagued those on PS4. Fixing the problem sometimes involved deleting the game, reinstalling it, and rebuilding the console database. Needless to say, this could be pretty frustrating.

Given that this was a beta, however, some crashes were always going to happen. For a beta, Modern Warfare II ran more smoothly than it could have. It is likely most of these issues will be ironed out before launch. So based on what we saw, we are optimistic that the release will go smoothly.

Speaking of launch, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is available to pre-order now. If you pre-order the game, you can get access to the campaign up to a week early. You can choose between the Standard Edition on PC, the Cross-Gen Bundle on console, or the Vault Edition on any platform. The Vault Edition comes with all standard features plus the Ghost Legacy Pack, the Red Team 141 Operator Pack, the FJX Cinder Weapon Vault, and the Battle Pass + 55 Tier Skips. Follow our Call of Duty news page for more updates on CoD: Modern Warfare II.