Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009)

Woah. Theres no words to be said, incredible gameplay, incredible storyline, incredible.

if you are new to call of duty i would def recommend this one. the campaign and characters is amazing, and the multiplayer (even tho i am not good at it) is really fun once you get the hang of it,

Dont care if i get hacked sigma asf game 100% i wanna have sex with soap and rape russians in it!!1111

i open the game, do my 999,999th quick run of hornet's nest veteran, and close the game. it's indicative of a deep sickness i think.

Not worth considering the price. only buy for single player

The story is amazing just like MW3 and I'm planning to get COD4 too, my favorite part is the museum and the ranger segment of the game.

This is a warning to my friends, do not play this anymore, it is unsafe for your PC.
I grew up on this game and it is near and dear to my heart more than any other game I ever played,
however, it is old and outdated and its old outdated code leaves your PC vulnerable to hackers in lobbies, you put your PC at risk by playing it.
RIP MW2 my old friend, I miss those old days.

Modern Warfare 2 (2009): Campaign, Spec Ops, and Multiplayer — the heart, soul, and adrenaline of the game.

Modern Warfare 2 (2009): A Love Letter to Its Campaign, Spec Ops, and Multiplayer Glory

There are few games that truly live forever—not just in our memories, but in our reflexes, in our late-night group chats, and in the way we still instinctively look for cover in an airport terminal. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is one of those games. And it didn’t just survive off of nostalgia—it earned its place with three unforgettable pillars: a cinematic campaign, pulse-pounding Spec Ops missions, and a multiplayer mode that became a cultural phenomenon.

🧨 The Campaign: Where Legends Were Born
Let’s talk about that campaign. It wasn’t just a war story—it was the war story for a generation. Soap. Ghost. Shepherd. Makarov. These weren't just characters; they were icons.

From the frozen stealth of Cliffhanger to the apocalyptic madness of The Gulag and Wolverines!, every mission felt like it belonged on the big screen. And then came No Russian—a controversial, haunting mission that sparked worldwide conversation. Say what you will, it proved that games could push boundaries and make us feel something.

And that ending? Watching Shepherd betray you, the knife-throw heard around the world—it’s still burned into our hearts. MW2’s campaign was more than a ride. It was a cinematic gut punch that dared to go further than any shooter before it.

🤝 Spec Ops: Co-op Chaos and Triumph
Spec Ops was the unsung hero of MW2, and those who know… know.

This wasn’t your average side mode. Spec Ops missions were bite-sized challenges pulled from the most intense moments of the campaign—or brand-new nightmare scenarios. Whether you were sneaking through Hidden with your buddy, holding the line in Overwatch, or fighting off Juggernauts in Estate Takedown, it was you and your partner against the world.

It required coordination, patience, and yes—friendship. The best kind of friendship. The one where you scream “REVIVE ME!” as your buddy is sprinting through a minefield to save you with 0.4 seconds left. That’s love.

🔥 Multiplayer: The Golden Era of Chaos
And now… multiplayer. The arena where boys became men, where girls became snipers, and where trash talk echoed through lobbies like war drums.

Maps like Terminal, Favela, Afghan, and Highrise became household names. The killstreaks were game-changing—literally. The first time you dropped a Tactical Nuke was a rite of passage. The AC-130? Poetry in fire. The Harrier Strike? A love letter to air superiority.

Yes, it was broken in places. Yes, One Man Army/Danger Close turned us all into amateur demolition experts. But that’s what made it beautiful. MW2 multiplayer didn’t strive for sterile balance—it embraced controlled chaos. It was messy, fast, unfair… and utterly unforgettable.

And the moments. Oh, the moments. Quickscoping on Rust. Heartbeat sensors. Dual-wielding G18s. Knifing someone across the map with Commando Pro. All-night sessions where you laughed, raged, and chased that next unlock like your life depended on it.

MW2 wasn’t just a game. It was a ritual.

A campaign that dared to be bold. A co-op mode that tested bonds. A multiplayer that became a digital battlefield for a whole generation. It gave us characters we still quote, missions we still replay, and memories we’ll never forget.

So here’s to you, Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Thank you for the sweat, the tears, the nukes, the revives, and the friendships forged in digital fire.

We didn’t just play you. We lived you.

— Still 10th prestige in my heart. 🫡

your AIDS-infested multiplayer requires a custom client to be even remotely usable and you're still charging 20 quid for it. you are actively letting your paying customers get molested through a total lack of security on your games — stop producing slop and patch the real mw2 you ṛetards

A great game from what I feel was a golden era of releases. Great campaign, gameplay, and extra spec ops missions content, (although you will need a buddy if you want to complete them all.) No opinion on the online multiplayer because I didn't play it. Personally I don't see a reason to get the remastered version over this one. I only had one issue that appeared late in the campaign - some kind of texture error code made it impossible to proceed. However, this was fixed by simply turning the shaders off. I don't often play single-player campaign games multiple times, but this one was a joy to revisit and holds up ever since I first played it when it came out.

Ah, didn't miss the One Man Army spam.

Good memories from way back, though I doubt this was the BEST game to grow up with...

Peak COD, despicable pricing.

Wait for sale or sail the high seas.

Could easily be considered the best and memorable COD.

The enemies might as well be invisible. I can't hit anybody. Cheats required to play. But fun and cinematic.

great game, horrible port. no controller support on an xbox 360 game is crazy.

short mission based FPS in campaign mode. nice for blowing off steam 20 mins at a time.

COD MW2 is an exceptional game for the time and holds up to todays standards. Whiskey Hotel will forever be a favorite mission for me.

Explosive. Unhinged. Iconic.
MW2 isn’t a campaign—it’s a multi-country panic attack with a soundtrack.
10/10 — If Michael Bay directed global warfare and gave you the starring role.
Side effects include trust issues and yelling “Bravo Six, going dark” during everyday tasks.

From start to finish this is hands down one of the best COD's for campaign, spec ops and multiplayer. It will forever hold all the childhood/adulthood memories of staying up late and battling for who has the biggest ego. Tons of hours of 1v1ing on Rust, playing hide and seek, Michael Myers. Campaign is 10/10, Spec Ops 10/10, Online Vocal Warfare 10/10. To end this non game related review... You just had to be there to experience it in its prime haha. Nothing could beat having your friend group over and ordering a pizza and playing this lan party.

1. Open the game
2. Admire my childhood
3. Help Afghans with training
4. Shoot that old wrinkly fuck in his head 12 times for each year that passed after seeing ghost killed
5. Beat the Campaign
6. Load into Museum
7. Shoot the same old wrinkly fuck with every gun i can.

LOVE this game, and not just for the nostalgia. They really got something right with the OG trilogy. The story line, the game mechanics... everything. solid.

Played a huge amount of this game in 2009 on other people's Xbox 360 consoles.

Good at the time. No bot mode means it's not worth picking up.

A nostalgic game, brings back the memories of playing this game as a kid. A thrilling fighting the war game is always ecstatic to play! This maybe old but still gold!

great game, beat the campaign on veteran in 6 hours, had fun and anger, overall really recommend, great experience, 10/10

One of the greatest multiplayer (and singleplayer) FPS ever made. I have been playing this game more than half of my lifetime and it still isn't old.

HOWEVER
The past ~2 days the multiplayer servers have not been working for anyone. Not sure if Activision has pulled the plug or what is going on. Keep that in mind. If I can edit this review I will update it appropriately. The singleplayer and spec ops modes are extremely good and if you are looking for a challenge, completing both on Veteran difficulty will have you feeling equally rewarded and frustrated.

I pray this isn't the end of this game. I play it every week and love it to death.
(The hours only reflect the singleplayer and spec ops modes. I actually have several hundred hours in the multiplayer and that doesn't include my childhood on this game on the Xbox 360)
EDIT: After some digging, a man claims he took down the servers himself via DDOS. Hopefully will come back soon.

A short and enjoyable campaign with a good story. The graphics are very good for 09 too so I can only recommend playing it.

Pretty good game. Just needs more squirrels and rats

its a fun game to play with your friends so i would recoammnd it to play with your friends if you have any qustions plz call me

One of the best games I've played, beat it on veteran and beat spec ops on veteran. I miss these games back on my old 360, such simpler times

Love this game, but how do you not have support for an Xbox controller?

Spec ops will always be one of the greatest multiplayer modes in all of gaming.
This game still holds up a great campaign, nearly decades after its original release.
10/10 all around.
A MUST PLAY TITLE.

for some reason i suddenly remembered this game, i checked on steam and there was a discount, i bought it right away, and this is still one of the best games i have ever played, so i remember my father introduced me to this game when i was 13 years old and it felt very nostalgic, maybe this is one of the modern warfare trilogies that i like, moreover this is the best game trilogy in my opinion, i hope activision can make a game like this again and not think about money without making a story that should be the hallmark of call of duty, but this is still a masterpiece for me (ps. please lower the price for a game almost 12 years old its really overprice)

Back to my childhood since I was 4 back in the day. Overall, one of the best Call of Duty game out there (not the rebooted series). One thing I love the best about MW2 (2009) is the Spec Ops. All the Spec Ops missions are fun and takes skill to complete each task. I love how it involves 2 Player Co-op which makes it twice as fun and eaiser to complete, which I did with my bro, JetBlueChest [JBC]

I recommend this game, but Spec Ops are so much fun! My bro and I streamed the Spec Ops together on our YT Channels! :D

Used to love this playing on PS3 but since I just bought it just for Spec Ops with my twin brother, it felt like the best graphics when playing on PC. Love it.
Like againI just bought this just to play Spec Ops with my brother for a video

its a good game don't get me wrong(all old CODS are) (i grew up with these older titles) but activi$on never updates their old COD titles to even function on new Windows Operating Systems. Yet somehow they are priced higher than they were at launch (on days without steam sales) seems a little greedy don't you think? for games that are are now old enough to buy their first used cars (and the fact the servers are offline due to hackers that suspiciously strike when there is a new title coming out) you are essentially paying for campaign and Spec Ops mode alone (which is why the price should be way lower at all times,) (11 dollars wouldn't be a bad price for these games at all) if you can even get these non-optimized overpriced games to work
BUYER BEWARE! (activision full on hates their consumers) (much like many other Triple AAA slop-providers out there) (avoid at all costs unless you like troubleshooting your games like i do :3)

all and all 7/10
pros good campaign/spec ops mode
cons requires troubleshooting and doesn't have multiplayer anymore due to hackers.....

Pros:

Played the cracked version of the game, long time ago when PirateBay was the shit , i didnt know that after all this years i will come back and buy this game just to finish it again , and I'll be damned.... This masterpiece aged like fine wine ... thanks infinity ward.

Game is good and all but modders and hacker are in some of the matches. I will say use the iw4x or alterware client to play mp safely or wait till the MS version has players in it

It's difficult but do-able, even for an inexperienced player like me (I'm more used to strategy games). Once i complete it, move the difficulty up and try it again !

ignore my old review of call of duty 4 modern warfare
while i still love that game to death this game will always be in my opinion the greatest call of duty game ever made
the characters, the game play, the story, the just feel of the game is so amazing.
Im sad i never got to be there for it back when it was new and the multiplayer was still going and wasn't destroyed my activision and hackers. Im also sad that we will never see a call of duty game like this again.
RIP old cod
screw activision

Game is great but Spec-Ops is NOT for that faint of heart.

for the longest time i thought this game was over rated but after re-playing it i think it's pretty good but cod waw is better though

Genre defining piece, on regular sale its for 10 euro, on rare sales its 5. Make sure you get a copy when possible.

I purchased this campaign in 2023, and although it was released in 2009, it still holds up today compared to the newer Call of Duty releases. The campaign is lengthy and enjoyable, and I ended up forming a deep bond with the characters throughout the game. Although it isn't the newest COD game, it is probably the most enjoyable, according to me and many other people.

This game came out in 2009 and is still better than most of the crap that is out there these days. The story, the characters, and the game play are top notch and the graphics still hold up pretty well. I wish we could get more games like these instead of the open world, online, multiplayer games filled with microtransactions.

Still a valid call to name this as the best COD game if you ask me. Golden-era Call Of Duty at it's finest.

I doubt there will ever again be a mainstream game with a storyline this subversive and suspenseful. Even more than ten years later, this game feels like playing a blockbuster action movie. Lightning in a bottle.

Really fun game, one of the best campaigns ever. Shooting is really fun, the games mechanics are great. Arguably the best game in the franchise, 10/10

This game is way better compared to the micro-transaction version of it, Singleplayer story is really fun, It took me 6 hours to complete it.

Yea i get it multiplayer has a RCE vuln (You can use a custom COD client to patch it but activision will probably make a lawsuit ) but i regularly just play on the singleplayer mode

Hopefully Activision fixes the steam version's multiplayer RCE!

Overall, it's quite worth the price and you should give it a try!

Call of duty Modern Warfare 2 is a fantastic game, One of the best call of duty games ever made. The story is gripping and has the player invested from start to finish. Special Ops mode is still one of the best modes in call of duty other than zombies. The game also works great on steam deck with keyboard and mouse in docked mode, was able to beat through the whole campaign with no issues whatsoever. Defiantly pick this game up on a sale, for some reason Activision still charges full prices for these older cod titles which makes no sense considering how old these games are.