History VideoGame / CallOfDutyModernWarfareII

The game was released on October 28, 2022 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, and PC, marking the series' triumphant return to {{UsefulNotes/Steam}} after [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 the]] [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 previous]] [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar four]] [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard titles]] released exclusively through [[Creator/BlizzardEntertainment Blizzard]]'s Battle.net service.

** AK platform weapons in the assault rifle class are prefixed "Kastov" and suffixed with either caliber or the latter part of the actual weapon's model name. The two AK-derived submachine guns, the Bizon and Vityaz-SN, have a different naming scheme, while the RPK is still the RPK. Interestingly enough, the game still lists these guns as part of the "AK platform" in the description for the Vityas-SN.

A follow-up, ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III'', was announced in August 2023 for release on November 10th of that year, developed primarily by Sledgehammer Games.

* CombatPragmatist: Knowing that TF 141 are well-train soldiers and have him cornered [[spoiler:he decides to jumps in a tank to give himself a greater advantage over the team. It doesn't save him from being immolated as Soap blows up the tank with C4 scattered around the arena.]][[note]] Season 5's reveal trailer shows Graves having survived, although it is unclear how outside of Graves stating he was not in the tank.[[/note]]

* CombatPragmatist: Knowing that TF 141 are well-train soldiers and have him cornered [[spoiler:he decides to jumps in a tank to give himself a greater advantage over the team. It doesn't save him from being immolated as Soap blows up the tank with C4 scattered around the arena.]][[note]] Season 5's reveal trailer shows Graves having survived, although it is unclear how.[[/note]]

* DirtyCoward: For all his posturing, the moment it appears the 141 have the upper hand against him [[spoiler:Graves chooses to cut and run rather than face capture or death, leaving his men to fight the heroes. When they finally have him cornered, he jumps in a tank to give himself an even greater advantage over the team, boasting about how superior he and his PMC are the entire time. It doesn't save him from being immolated as Soap blows up the tank with C4 scattered around the arena.]][[note]] Season 5's reveal trailer shows Graves having survived, although it is unclear how.[[/note]]

* DirtyCoward: For all his posturing, the moment it appears the 141 have the upper hand against him [[spoiler:Graves chooses to cut and run rather than face capture or death, leaving his men to fight the heroes. When they finally have him cornered, he jumps in a tank to give himself an even greater advantage over the team, boasting about how superior he and his PMC are the entire time. It doesn't save him from being immolated as Soap blows up the tank with C4 scattered around the arena.]]

** The Cronen Squall, a battle rifle added in Season Three is based on the [=LoneStar=] Future Weapons [=RM277=], though it is chambered by default in "6.8 Wrath", an in-universe version of 6.8x51mm SIG FURY, rather than its proprietary 6.8 [=TVCM=] telescoping cased round. The [=RM277=] fires in either open or closed bolt depending on selected fire mode (Full-auto = Open, Semi-auto = Closed), similar to how the [=FG42=] rifle worked. However the Squall is depicted as always firing in open-bolt in both full-auto and semi-auto settings, and its various reload and inspect animations can't seem to make up their mind as to whether the gun is operating in open or closed bolt mode.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Prior to Season 4 Reloaded, at least. In DMZ mode, players who were bleeding out can plead other enemy squads in the vicinity to revive them. Prior to the Season 4 Reloaded update, this meant they would automatically join their squad, even if the reviver was the same person that killed them.

** The Cronen Squall, a battle rifle added in Season Three is based on the LoneStar Future Weapons [=RM277=], though it is chambered by default in "6.8 Wrath", an in-universe version of 6.8x51mm SIG FURY, rather than its proprietary 6.8 [=TVCM=] telescoping cased round, though this round is available by selecting Composite ammo as an ammo attachment. The [=RM277=] fires in either open or closed bolt depending on selected fire mode (Full-auto = Open, Semi-auto = Closed), similar to how the [=FG42=] rifle worked. However the in-game weapon is depicted as always firing in open-bolt, and its various reload and inspect animations can't seem to make up their mind as to whether the gun is operating in open or closed bolt mode.

** Even more egregious is the [=MX=] Guardian, a shotgun added mid-Season Four that is based on the [=IWI=] Tavor [=TS12=]. The [=TS12=] is a semi-automatic shotgun that feeds from a set of three tubular magazines that must be manually reloaded and rechambered. The Guardian is a fully-automatic shotgun that feeds from a singular removable helical magazine, which is impossible given the magazine is triangular-shaped.

** Even more egregious is the [=MX=] Guardian, a shotgun added in Season Five that is based on the [=IWI=] Tavor [=TS12=]. The [=TS12=] is a semi-automatic shotgun that feeds from a set of three tubular magazines that must be manually reloaded and rechambered. The Guardian is a fully-automatic shotgun that feeds from a singular removable helical magazine, which is impossible given the magazine is triangular-shaped.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: In DMZ mode, players who are bleeding out can plead other enemy squads in the vicinity to revive them, and subsequently join their squad. This can lead to a player joining the same squad that just killed them.

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: One late-game challenge in DMZ mode revolves around doing this to various bosses: the Bombmaker, who sets traps all throughout Tsuki Castle, needs to be killed with a claymore; the Chemist, who uses the [=M13B=], needs to be killed with that weapon; and the Helo Commander must be killed while you yourself are in a helicopter.

The game was released on October 28, 2022 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, and PC, marking the series' triumphant return to {{UsefulNotes/Steam}}.

** While Soap here was still personally chosen to be in Task Force 141 by Price, they're not the BashBrothers that they were in the original ''Modern Warfare'' trilogy even if they do have history together; Soap is mostly paired up with Ghost in missions and Gaz is still Price's right-hand man not unlike the first game of original trilogy. However, [[MythologyGag the final level still pairs them together]].

* WretchedHive: Las Almas fits this trope to a T. A downtrodden Mexican city bordering the U.S. where Cartel gunmen freely roams the streets, half of the local military and police forces are corrupt and homicides are so common that rotting human corpses in the alleys only warrants a brief glance of disdain. [[TruthInTelevision Sadly, this is also holds true for a lot of real life Mexican cities and towns under the control of drug cartels]]. Colonel Vargas claims it’s far worse in Las Almas compared to the rest of Mexico.

** The F-Tac Recon firearm is chambered in .458 SOCOM. A battle rifle uses fully powered cartridges, and .458 SOCOM is ''not'' a fully powered cartridge, so to most it would probably make no sense why the F-Tac is even in the "Battle Rifle" category to begin with. However, after the adoption of the M16, most battle rifles were replaced in favor of firearms that use intermediate cartridges because they were still particularly useful in the sense they were more controllable, much lighter, and still offered acceptable levels of penetration, so they were considered better choices, but battle rifles are still used if extra power is needed. That being said, the F-Tac Recon's placement is technically correct if you pay close attention to history.

** One of the unlockable camos for the multiplayer weapons was simply called "[[VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077 2087]]", with a similar black, yellow, cyan and magenta color pattern.[[note]]Now it's simply called "80s Fever"[[/note]]

* ShownTheirWork: Anyone who knows about guns and militaries will most likely shit on the F-Tac Recon for being placed in the Battle Rifle category instead of the Assault Rifle category since .458 Socom is ''not'' a full powered cartridge. However, its placement isn't strictly wrong because it's designed as a bullet to give more power to the M4 platform, in the same manner as how proper battle rifles, though replaced for general use with intermediate-caliber assault rifles for being lighter and more controllable, are still in production and use for when intermediate cartridges don't have the necessary range or power.

American long-range missiles.

Also released together with the main game is ''Warzone 2.0'', a reboot of the original Warzone acting as a separate free-to-play game. It features the return of the previous Battle Royale modes along with the addition of DMZ, an extraction-type LooterShooter mode where players explore maps, taking on contracts while fending off not only other players but also AI enemies, including bosses with unique gear for those who manage to take them down.

** Gameplay-wise, several weapons that could be rechambered for alternate ammo types to change their role are decomposited into "weapon families" with each ammo conversion being a distinct weapon, e.g. the STB 556 assault rifle born from the 5.56mm conversions for the AUG submachine gun from 2019, or the [=FTac Recon=] battle rifle from the .458 SOCOM conversion for 2019's M4. Since you still unlock later weapons in a given family by leveling up one of the previous weapons, it doesn't amount to too much other than that you can put one more attachment on later weapons in a family, since the ammo conversion isn't taking up a slot.

** The Glock 17 and 18, featured as the [=X12=] and [=X13=] Auto respectively, [[https://youtu.be/veN5r4xyxCQ?t=148 have different per-shot damage values]] to differentiate the two pistols from one another, with the former killing in 3 - 4 shots (with headshots at any range reducing this number by 1), and the latter in 4 - ''8'' shots (with no headshot bonus).

* McGuffin: The American-made missiles at the core of the conflict. They are supersonic missiles with a range of at least 1000 miles, and as the assassination of General Ghorbrani demonstrates, they are devastatingly powerful. Their container-based launch platform, similar to [[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown Erusean container drones]] means they can be smuggled into countries via standard shipping lines and be transported undetected.

** The weapon inspect animation for the Basilisk is incredibly similar to Ocelot’s gun twirling in Metal Gear Solid 3, right down to the sideways spin Ocelot performs.
* ShownTheirWork: Anyone who knows about guns and militaries will most likely shit on the F-Tac Recon for being placed in the Battle Rifle category instead of the Assault Rifle category since .458 Socom is NOT a full powered cartridge. However, after the adoption of the M16 Rifle, many full powered battle rifles were replaced with rifles using intermediate cartridges since they still had good penetration, were more controllable, and were light, so the F-Tac Recon's placement is not wrong nor is it incorrect. If more firepower is needed, full powered battle rifles are still being produced and available to use.

-->'''Airline attendant''': Beef, chicken or fish gentlemen...?
-->'''Passenger''': Salad, please.

* TanksButNoTanks: The two tracked vehicles used in the Ground War mode are the "Heavy Tank", a large [=AFV=] resembling a mix of Israeli Merkavas and Russian [=MBT=]s but armed with an autocannon instead of a proper tank gun; and the "Light Tank", which is a Bradley-style infantry fighting vehicle minus the troop transport capacity. [[spoiler:A single unit of those Heavy Tank variants is also used by Graves to try to kill Soap and Parra at the end of the penultimate mission.]]
* TechTree: Compared to previous ''Call of Duty'' games, where weapons are unlocked in a strict order and attachments have to be unlocked for every individual weapon, this game gives much more freedom and interconnectivity in your ability to unlock things. Many weapons are now locked behind "Platform Mastery" rather than simply your level, giving you one weapon through ranking up normally and then unlocking further weapons in its platform through leveling up that specific weapon (e.g. getting the Lachmann-762 battle rifle from ranking up, and then the LM-S sniper rifle and Lachmann-556 assault rifle from leveling it), and attachments are treated as "universal", whether within a specific platform (things like barrels and stocks) or across every weapon (optics, lasers, muzzle devices and the like), unlocked simply by ranking a specific weapon and then available for any other weapon it's compatible with.

--> '''Las Almas guard ([[spoiler:to Valeria]]):''' Sin Nombre, we have to go now!

** "Alex", who originally appeared to have perished at the climax of the first game but was later revealed to have survived and joined Task Force 141, isn't even mentioned in this game, not even by Kate Laswell, who was his handler and close friend at the CIA. Raid Season 1 (which takes place after the campaign) later reveals he led a team into an old Soviet missile bunker and went MIA.

* QuickDraw: Modding a pistol with any grip attachment that has the "Tactical Pistol Raise" benefit affixed will allow that pistol to be quickly drawn and wielded with one hand while the long gun is held to the side with the off-hand, an action that takes approximately half the time that it would normally take even just to let the long gun drop on its sling and draw the pistol to hold with two hands. Switching back to the primary is also faster this way, unless you reload the pistol, at which point your character lets the primary drop and takes the usual two-hand grip upon finishing the reload.

** The assassination of General Ghorbani in the game's opening mission ''Strike'' is very similar to the real-life [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Qasem_Soleimani assassination of General Qasem Soleimani]] of [[UsefulNotes/PersiansWithPistols Iranian Quds Force]] in January of 2020.[[note]]Coincidentally, it ''also'' ended up closely resembling the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Ayman_al-Zawahiri CIA assassination of Al Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri]] on July 31st, 2022, way too late to be the game's inspiration. The terrorists in-game are even a thinly-disguised version of Al Qaeda.[[/note]]

** Normally on Hardcore, any and all multiplayer weapons pack some serious punches, whether they're rocket launchers, handguns, assault rifles, etc... But being based on a variety of revolvers ''and'' chambered in .500 Magnum, the Basilisk is one of the most punch packing guns in Tier-1. The only drawback is that it can only hold 5 rounds in the cylinder before needing to be reloaded.