Fans of the recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have been given even more content to enjoy recently with the launch of the title's Season 1 Reloaded event. With new maps, operators, weapons, and game modes, Season 1 Reloaded is additionally bolstered by the launch of the title's first Raid mission.
Raids in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have long been anticipated by the game's community, offering a more narratively driven co-operative experience that blurs the line between campaign and multiplayer. With fans now becoming familiar with exactly how Raids will work, future missions of this type would benefit from taking inspiration from the storylines and arcs of the fan-favorite Call of Duty Zombies modes that have released over the years.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Raids
Raids are set to play a huge and consistent role in the post-launch content and narrative of Modern Warfare 2, and the feature speaks further to the increased role of AI combatants in Modern Warfare 2 across its many modes. These Raids are co-operative PvE experiences that carry forward the storylines of Modern Warfare 2's campaign, utilizing the same fan-favorite characters such as Captain Price and Gaz. As a co-operative mission type, Raids fall under the category of Modern Warfare 2's Special Ops missions, and will be continuously added to over the course of the game's life cycle.
Season 1 Reloaded of MW2 launched on December 14, and brought the first Raid with it: the Atomgrad Raid mission. Players have to complete one of a selection of relatively easy online challenges to gain a week's worth of access to the Raid, which they can then participate in as many times as they want to fully reap the rewards. For example, completion of the Raid unlocks Gaz as an operator for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, as well as providing players the opportunity to unlock brand-new cosmetics. From a narrative perspective, however, the Zombies modes of prior CoD titles hold great utility for potential inspiration for future Raids.
The Storylines of Call of Duty Zombies
The Zombies modes in many past Call of Duty titles have grown to become some of the most well-received aspects of the franchise's offered content. Crucially, the Raids of Modern Warfare 2 share the same narrative-driven, PvE experience with familiar characters that Zombies has historically boasted, meaning the two avenues of gameplay are more similar than they might seem at a glance.
The addictive replayability of Zombies has always been aided by the compelling characters that players can embody, with the likes of Edward Richtofen and Tank Dempsey being beloved characters from their sustained Zombies appearances. While players could gauge some narrative elements from normal Zombies gameplay, the more intricate narratives of the stories are usually told through interactive multi-step Easter eggs, which often require intense research, teamwork, and skill.
This aspect of Call of Duty Zombies should carry over to MW2's Raids, as Easter eggs are arguably a dying art in co-operative Call of Duty modes. Should the same kind of intricate and detailed Easter eggs be introduced to Raids, a layered and intricate narrative could be told to players while offering comprehensive in-game rewards for those who complete the challenge. Of course, this kind of challenge also has huge value in increasing community discourse and involvement, and would give Raids much more anticipation from within the player base. Raids still offer engaging and fun gameplay in their current state, but narrative storytelling in the same vein as CoD Zombies would make them all the more exciting.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.