It's a running joke in general gaming sphere that every annual Call of Duty release is essentially the same game, just with a different skin. While this has definitely been the case in the past with a few titles, with some Call of Duty sequels barely changing any mechanics or even assets, the same can't really be said for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Despite using some familiar mechanics, Modern Warfare 2 is expanding on its 2019 predecessor in some key ways, one of them being the title's new game modes.
On top of a new Gunsmith 2.0 weapon customization system, more fluid animations, and some new movement mechanics, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set to introduce a slew of new game modes to the franchise. Though all the classics like TDM and Search and Destroy will still be there, fans can also look forward to trying out some more tactical modes, one of which bears a close resemblance to Rainbow Six Siege.
Modern Warfare 2's Prisoner Rescue Mode Borrows From Rainbow Six Siege
One of the new modes coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is called Prisoner Rescue. In this 6v6 mode, one team will assume the role of Attackers, while the other becomes Defenders. The defending team is tasked with protecting two hostages from the opposing team, who will try to steal those hostages and take them back to their spawn zone. A round comes to an end when either all players of a team are killed, or both prisoners have been successfully rescued. Prisoner Rescue ends when one team reaches 500 points, with each rescued prisoner netting the team 100 points and a team wipe also awarding 100 points.
For fans of Rainbow Six Siege, this gameplay loop is going to sound pretty familiar. In one of Rainbow Six Siege's main game modes called Hostage, an attacking team is tasked with extracting a hostage, while the Defenders have to hold them off. The general loop of both game modes is nearly identical, with Modern Warfare 2's Prisoner Rescue even allowing players to revive one another, which is also present in Siege.
However, despite Infinity Ward's subtle mechanic changes, Modern Warfare 2's Prisoner Rescue mode is still not quite as tactical as Rainbow Six Siege's. With Modern Warfare 2 having a faster movement speed and with no character abilities, each round of Prisoner Rescue can be done within mere minutes, while a Siege round can last quite some time if each team is thinking strategically. Based on the first impressions coming out of Modern Warfare 2's first Beta weekend, it seems as though Prisoner Rescue isn't being played quite how Infinity Ward intended.
Rather than try to capture the hostages and escort them back as a team, most players will apparently make eliminating the opposing team their priority, often ignoring the hostage objectives altogether. Similarly, the revive mechanic is rarely used by teams and can result in some very quick matches. If Infinity Ward wants to push Prisoner Rescue as Modern Warfare 2's more slow-paced, strategical game mode, then it'll need to incentivize players to stick to the objectives a bit more than just a 100-point bonus towards the team's final score. For example, a more worthwhile reward for successfully extracting the hostage would be giving the team an instant win, which would serve to both encourage more team-based play and add some more intensity to the match.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.