Warning: Spoilers ahead for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s campaign.The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign, while a big success, has been a divisive topic within the community. Some players are frustrated with its less grounded tone and odd story moments like Hassan being let go by Task Force 141, while others have praised standout missions like Alone for its crafting mechanics and character development. Regardless of where players fall on the singleplayer mode’s story and gameplay, most agree that the ending could have been handled better.
Not only would Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 players have preferred a bit more closure and a few less loose ends, but the final mission where players defeat Hassan is lackluster. This is less to do with the actual design of the level and more to do with the mission that came just before, as it felt like more of a finale than the game’s actual conclusion. Hopefully, this will be a learning experience for Infinity Ward going forward, as sticking the landing is crucial for a Call of Duty campaign to be fondly remembered.
Where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Final Missions Went Wrong
While there is nothing inherently wrong with Countdown, and the section where players rappel down the side of the building is entertaining, it feels like any other Call of Duty level in terms of its gameplay and presentation. This is worth pointing out since the Ghost Team mission that came right before felt like more of a finale, as players switched between two groups of characters as the mission progressed. Swapping between Soap and Gaz helped show the scale of the assault on Shadow Company, which felt far bigger and more meaningful than the skyscraper mission.
It is also worth pointing out that Ghost Team is simply more fun to play, as the gameplay is more varied. Outside the rappelling section and missile defusal sequence, Countdown is the usual Call of Duty fare, with several minutes taken up by some by-the-books gunfights within server rooms. Ghost Team has varied gameplay, letting players go loud with a helicopter on one end and having some stealth sections on the other.
Both of these Call of Duty missions feature boss fights, and while neither is worth writing home about, Soap’s battle with Graves is certainly more enjoyable. Taking on the Tank may be unbalanced on Veteran difficulty due to the armored enemies that spawn in, but it at least feels like something one would see as a final challenge. The Hassan fight in Countdown, on the other hand, brings back the crafting mechanics and has a gameplay loop a bit like the Ellie and David fight from The Last of Us. While an interesting idea, it is overly easy and not a good fit for the very last fight of a Call of Duty game. Ghost’s headshot takedown on Hassan feels overly simple, too.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Hassan was something of an afterthought by this point in the campaign, as the focus shifts to taking down Graves in the final act of the story. Graves is a far more charismatic villain who has more memorable dialogue and a direct rivalry with the heroes, giving players some actual motivation to take him down. Hassan is essentially just a generic terrorist, getting very little screen time and being hard to truly hate because of that. Since the fight against Graves is personal, and the battle with Hassan is just another day of work for Task Force 141, there will be little emotion felt once players defeat Hassan.
With a more interesting villain, an ambitious level structure, and a more series-appropriate boss fight, Ghost Team feels like it should have been the last level of the game instead of Countdown. While Countdown has a few good moments, placing it earlier in the story and keeping the focus on Graves would have been better, as it would have seen the game ending on a higher note than it ultimately did.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.