History YMMV / CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019

* {{Narm}}: There's a section where you play as an eight-year-old girl stabbing a Russian soldier in the groin with [[ImprovisedWeapon various household sharp objects.]] What makes this even sillier is that after each stab, he knocks you away, and you have to scramble to hide, get another weapon, and attack him again. You have to do this '''three times'''. Somehow, this well-trained mountain of a man (who even his squadmates consider to be a big guy) dies to a kid playing violent hide-and-seek.

YMMV section for ''YMMV/CallOfDutyModernWarfareII''.

** As of December 2020, there has been a bit of fan vitriol with its successor, ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops Cold War]]'', largely due to fears of ''Cold War'' displacing ''Modern Warfare''. The two games now advertise themselves inside of their respective games, being right there in the main menus alongside Warzone, making comparisons inevitable. Making matters worse on PC, through the Blizzard launcher, ''Modern Warfare'' has its icon replaced by the Warzone one. The rivalry only intensified following the addition of ''Cold War'' weapons to Warzone, which many players thought was unbalanced. To top it all off, Activision seems to have shifted all of its focus to ''Cold War'' and its integration into Warzone while ''Modern Warfare'' barely gets any new content. Aside from all of this, the different gameplay and art style of the games with Modern Warfare's more tactical, realistic approach and Cold War's more arcadey, colorful approach leads to a BrokenBase on which game is a better experience overall.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: This game would replace the Create-a-Class system used in previous games with "Gunsmith", allowing for far deeper weapon customization than any prior game in the series. When the system was introduced for this game it was lauded for how in-depth it was, including the ability to completely change a weapon's identity and role with the right attachments (e.g. turn the basic mid-range M4 into a long-range marksman's weapon with a longer barrel and solid stock, or optimize it for close-range spraying with a shorter barrel and a conversion to pistol bullets). An important point is that it also didn't break immersion for several reasons: all of the attachments are based on real attachments used in modern militaries for specific mission profiles, and are designed to fit their parent weapons (e.g. both of the aforementioned conversions for the M4 are based on parts for or variants of the AR-15 platform). ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops: Cold War]]'' kept the system, where it still fits since the game centers on the types of special forces operators who would have access to heavily-customized weapons even in TheEighties, the universal attachments simply look more primitive to fit that they were made 30 years earlier than the ones from ''[=MW2019=]'', and which attachment goes on what weapon still fits, though with a few outliers that still can be explained away (like a barrel for one rifle taken from another of a similar design in the same caliber). Then came ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard Vanguard]]'', which was criticized for its Gunsmith system robbing the game of any sense of realism for letting you slap attachments onto weapons that make no sense and don't fit the period, such as red dots made by arbitrarily scaling down aircraft-mounted sights, folding stocks based on weapons that wouldn't be built until after the war like the Uzi or AK, or ammo conversions that make no sense (an MP 40 converted to the [=StG=] 44's 7.92mm, but with the magazine not changed at all to account for the larger and wider bullets) and/or are anachronistic (a Thompson converted to 5.7x28mm, a round not developed until late in the '80s), to say nothing that the previous two games limit you to five attachments on any one gun while ''Vanguard'' lets you put something on all ten slots, allowing you to swap out every possible part for something anachronistic or just silly.

** While the depiction of the brutal occupation of Urzikstan in the name of "preserving peace" and eradicating Al-Qatala was previously seen by many as a deliberate act of {{Demonization}} of the Russian forces in the game to such a comical degree, the reveal of horrifying war crimes such as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucha_massacre Bucha massacre]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izium_mass_graves Izium mass graves]] during the 2022 Russian invasion on Ukraine and the Russian government's main goal to launch the invasion (eliminating the "Neo-Nazis", for example) subsided many of these opinions.

* CompleteMonster: [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist General Roman Barkov]] is a [[InsaneAdmiral delusional soldier]] willing to go to great lengths to protect his beloved Russia from terrorism. Invading the country of Urzikstan, Barkov takes over the country by unleashing a [[DeadlyGas poisonous gas]] upon numerous cities, killing countless citizens of all ages. Serving as Urzikstan's new dictator for over twenty years, Barkov oppresses the citizens with his armed soldiers and has potential terrorists executed or imprisoned and tortured, doing the same for women and children. Capturing Farah and Hadir Karim when they were young, Barkov kept them imprisoned and tortured for a decade, only to capture them again and waterboarded for information, even murdering an innocent prisoner in front of Farah. Once Captain Price and his men storm his prison, Barkov tries to burn the prisoners alive to destroy any trace of his brutal war crimes. Despite claiming to be protecting his people, Barkov [[BadBoss executes his men]] for incompetence, proving himself nothing more than a psychotic [[DirtyCoward coward]] only out for himself.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: This game would replace the Create-a-Class system used in previous games with "Gunsmith", allowing for far deeper weapon customization than any prior game in the series. When the system was introduced for this game it was lauded for how in-depth it was, including the ability to completely change a weapon's identity and role with the right attachments (e.g. turn the basic mid-range M4 into a long-range marksman's weapon with a longer barrel and solid stock, or optimize it for close-range spraying with a shorter barrel and a conversion to pistol bullets). An important point is that it also didn't break immersion for several reasons: all of the attachments are based on real attachments used in modern militaries for specific mission profiles, and are designed to fit their parent weapons (e.g. both of the aforementioned conversions for the M4 are based on parts for or variants of the AR-15 platform). ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops: Cold War]]'' kept the system, where it still fits since the game centers on the types of special forces operators who would have access to heavily-customized weapons even in TheEighties, the universal attachments simply look more primitive to fit that they were made 30 years earlier than the ones from ''[=MW2019=]'', and which attachment goes on what weapon still fits, though with a few outliers that still can be explained away (like a barrel for one rifle taken from another of a similar design in the same caliber). Then came ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard Vanguard]]'', which was criticized for its Gunsmith system robbing the game of any sense of realism for letting you slap attachments onto weapons that make no sense and don't fit the period, such as red dots made by arbitrarily scaling down aircraft-mounted sights, folding stocks based on weapons that wouldn't be built until after the war like the Uzi or AK, or ammo conversions that make no sense (an MP 40 converted to the [=StG=] 44's 7.92mm, but with the magazine not changed at all to account for the larger and wider bullets) and/or are anachronistic (a Thompson converted to 5.7x28mm, a round not developed until late in the '80s), to say nothing that earlier games had limits on how many attachments you could put on any one gun that ''Vanguard'' all but removed, allowing you to swap out every possible part for something anachronistic or just silly.

** The removal of the "Pick-10" system in favor of the new Gunsmith mechanics, along with revamped gunplay and sound design, was warmly greeted by players. The series had been considered to be lagging behind its competitors for several years in regards to gunplay, having not made many attempts to innovate (much less ones that were well-received) since the implementation of the Pick-10 system [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII back in 2012]], and seeing real effort getting put into addressing the core gunplay got even those who had been unimpressed by the previous titles interested in the game.
** The new game engine was also warmly received, as Call of Duty's engine was beginning to show its age and staleness despite multiple enhancements (it is based on a modified [[VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena idTech 3]] engine, which debuted in ''2005'' and, though they claimed to have replaced or rewritten it with every other release since ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'', hadn't been updated much except to add a new gameplay gimmick or two for each yearly game in nearly 15 years since) as the core gameplay loop and overall graphical quality never really improved, especially in later iterations (even up to ''Black Ops 4'', since Treyarch's never actually ''used'' any of the new iterations of the engine, you can still see textures and assets popping in at distances you'd expect from a 2005 game because it's running on a 2005 engine). The new engine allows for far better graphical improvements, better textures, and ray-tracing, making it look far better than previous games.

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as in the game. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar (though it should be mentioned that the devs were not attempting to rewrite history by blaming Russia for the real-life event like some people falsely claimed and the fact that it just happened to share the name of the real-life event was more of an eerie coincidence than an actual malicious attempt at rewriting history). Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with the perceived unfair treatment of Russia.

** The new game engine was also warmly received, as Call of Duty's engine was beginning to show its age and staleness despite multiple enhancements (it is based on a modified [[VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena idTech 3]] engine, which debuted in ''2005'' and, despite promises of such around the release of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'', hadn't been updated much except to add a new gameplay gimmick or two for each yearly game in nearly 15 years since) as the core gameplay loop and overall graphical quality never really improved, especially in later iterations (even up to ''Black Ops 4'' you can still see textures and assets popping in at distances you'd expect from a 2005 game because it's running on a 2005 engine). The new engine allows for far better graphical improvements, better textures, and ray-tracing, making it look far better than previous games.

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as in the game. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar. Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with the perceived unfair treatment of Russia.

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as in the game. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar (though it should be mentioned that the devs were not attempting to rewrite history by blaming Russia for the real-life event like some people falsely claimed and the fact that it just happened to share the name of the real-life event was more of an eerie coincidence than an actual malicious attempt at rewriting history). Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with the perceived unfair treatment of Russia.

** How far is Captain Price going to go? While he [[ColdEquation willingly sacrifices hostages in survival situations]] and talks about dirty hands, [[spoiler: he gives you an unloaded gun, and [[NeverHurtAnInnocent it's a game-over if you execute the Butcher's family.]]]] [[TheFettered Is it all just a big bluff and bravado with him]]?
** Is [[spoiler: Hadir]] wrong about anything he does? [[spoiler: While Al-Qatala is a terrorist organization that should have no access to [=WMDs=], the fact is that they have more resources and weapons that can be used to take down General Barkov's chemical weapon factory on Russian soil. He insists he's not actually against America and Britain as well as proves it in multiple ways. While using nerve gas is considered a MoralEventHorizon, he intended to use it against Barkov's forces attacking them at the Highway of Death. I.e., a military target that has used the gas against civilians. On the other hand, Al-Qatala ''does'' target civilians, ''has'' targeted Hadir's allies, and his actions alienate his sister's group from her few supporters. Oh and Al-Qatala is also a pawn of the Ultranationalists as we find out in the ending.]]
** Is Colonel Norris TheNeidermeyer and a SmugSnake for wanting to [[spoiler: take down Farah? While he takes a little too much relish in trying to arrest someone who risked their lives against their brother, it was Colonel Norris' Marines who were killed in the original theft. He also has orders to arrest her and her group has committed a war crime by using the gas at the Highway of Death. From his perspective, they've been playing their allies for fools. Either that or, as some commentators suggested, he's just a racist prick.]] Why he chose to stand down in front of Captain Price is also questionable: [[spoiler: DirtyCoward or realizing he doesn't want to alienate his Special Forces team in a covert operation?]]
** Is Barkov completely unjustified in what he does? [[spoiler: He's a complete GeneralRipper who targets civilians with nerve gas and commits numerous war crimes. However, as we see with Al-Qatala's embassy assault, there are vast numbers of fighters among the civilian populace, and almost as soon as Barkov's forces are driven out of the country, [[TheExtremistWasRight Al-Qatala takes complete control of it to continue their attacks unimpeded]]. Even Farah and Hadir have killed three soldiers by the time they're taken prisoner by him.]]
** How much does Russia know about Barkov's activities? [[spoiler: He's using nerve gas against civilian populations and committing vast numbers of war crimes but FSS officers are perfectly fine seeing his people taken down. He's declared a RenegadeRussian at the end but it's clear that he has full military support as well as an enormous mansion in Russia up until that point.]]

** "The Embassy", which is both eventful and lengthy. [[spoiler: After surviving a helicopter crash on the roof, you and Price make your way down to the saferoom where The Wolf is being stored. Needing a keycard to exit the garage, you prepare to guide the American ambassador (who has a keycard) to you, only to watch him get gunned down on camera. [[UnexpectedGameplayChange Instead, you guide his assistant Stacy to safety, by directing her over the intercom to you while avoiding the invading Al-Qatala forces.]] Making your way to another safe house just as the consulate is overrun, you spot Al-Qatala forces preparing to ambush you in the field, but it's too dark to spot them, so you use flares to provide enough light to take them down. You retreat slowly as they begin to overwhelm you, but a drone packed with missiles provides some relief. Making your way back to the safe house (after saving Stacey a second time) you discover that the attack was a diversion and the Wolf had escaped.]]

* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler: After all the horrible atrocities Barkov committed against Urzikstan, getting the chance to kill the evil general is just so satisfying, and you can ''choose'' how you want him to die, either by stabbing him, or a single shot]].

** The plot point where [[spoiler: the Urzikstan rebels are declared as a terrorist organization and have their support cut off, allowing an ascendant Al-Qatala to seize power in the resulting vacuum,]] comes off this way as the game was released soon after the US government withdrew support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, causing a surge in the conflict that led to ISIS cells re-establishing themselves in the chaos.

** Jamal "The Butcher" Rahar crosses this during his second scene from "The Embassy" when he holds a woman's family hostage, only to execute the husband and then the son[[note]]implied to be no older than 10[[/note]] seconds later. [[spoiler: What makes this act especially horrendous is that it's later revealed he has a wife and son whom he cares a great deal for when they're used as leverage against him, making the aforementioned executions an act of great hypocricsy]].
** A surprisingly subdued one, but Colonel Norris' disgust at and desire to execute [[spoiler: Farah after she comes back from a mission to apprehend her brother]] is this. [[spoiler: Colonel Norris, unlike the rest of the US military, ''knows'' that her organization isn't responsible for the chemical weapons theft and deployment. His attitude can only be described as being a SmugSnake extraordinaire.]]

* ObviousJudas: Who is the traitor to Urzikstan Liberator Army? Who could it possibly be? How 'bout the one that holds the same weapon as one of the members of Al-Qatala (AUG with white tape wrapped around the gun), having the same haircuts and eye shape when compared to the lieutenant Alex encountered in the intro, and having indistinguishable voice even spoken in Arabic even with wearing a Gas Mask? The real plot twist is that nobody thought to question [[spoiler: Hadir]] before everything went to hell.

** With Frank Woods becoming an Operator to promote the ''Black Ops Cold War'', many assume this is the first major crossover between sub-franchises, which normally keep to themselves. Disregarding ''Online'' and ''Mobile'' (both picking and choosing characters and weapons from ''all'' of COD, though with mobile games that are to be expected), Captain Price had earlier crossed over with ''Black Ops'' by becoming a playable skin in Blackout mode in ''Black Ops 4''.

** The flimsy anti-cheat system has remained a source of ire for the community, especially in Warzone. The mode's free-to-play nature and Activision opting to use their own weaker proprietary anti-cheat system made Warzone very susceptible to hackers. Not helping matters is that due to PC-Console crossplay, many cheaters on PC end up ruining matches for console players.
** Another point of criticism among Warzone players is the game's inconsistent directional sound. Most ''Call of Duty'' games have to sound as an important mechanic (with many of the games having perks specifically dedicated to reducing the sound you make or being able to better hear other players). However, Warzone's sound design appears to be poorly implemented, as many players have complained that the direction they hear an enemy doesn't correlate to where the enemy is if they can even hear them at all. Not helping matters is that gunshots are ''significantly'' louder than footsteps, which makes it more difficult to react to attackers.
* SequelDifficultyDrop: Well, ''reboot'' difficulty drop at any rate. Compared to previous titles, the game is pretty tame when it comes to difficulty levels. Sure, on Veteran the player is still a GlassCannon who dies in an instant, but so are the enemy, who (with the reboot's shift in focus to smaller, more intimate, more realistic firefights) no longer spawn infinitely from ClownCar closets or GrenadeSpam like it's going out of style that once made the series infamous. Now, enemy spawns come in reasonably strong, but surmountable numbers, that can be defeated if the player knows what they're doing, and barring certain segments, once the sufficient ground has been covered, they will stop spawning. Checkpoints are much more liberal than before, if only slightly more random. By series standards, the Veteran difficulty in this game seems to be more on the level of Hardened in prior titles, and Realism only adds the caveat of having a ''very'' minimal HUD while you play, so while this is by no means a walk in the park, it is ''much'' less maddening than the games preceding it. Furthermore, with a ludicrous snapping power of the aim assist (only in single-player), it becomes extremely easy to line headshots. Overall, you still die in a few shots, but you're no longer being shot at from 20 different directions at once all the time. Veteran and Realistic are more of a tactical shooter experience and less of a test of whether or not you possess superhuman genetically superior reflexes.

* ThatOneSidequest: Unlocking operator Domino is this. Domino has the unlock requirement of five Gunfight wins, which is harder than it sounds because you only have one life per round in that mode, and are usually given weapons that you aren't necessarily good at using. Due to the small scope of Gunfight, each match becomes a LuckBasedMission, since a single enemy could get the drop on both of you and net you a loss, while at other times you could stomp the other team by your lonesome with impunity because you got them in a bad spot. Unlocking Domino is more annoying than it is hard.
** Thankfully, with the arrival of Warzone players are awarded a free Domino with a unique skin for completing the tutorial, making the five Gunfight wins only necessary for her default outfits.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Despite the writers' insistence that the game would force the player to make [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally ambiguous choices]], all of the major "choices" that occur in the game always play out to put the protagonist in a morally clean position, with anything the player can do that could be seen as even morally gray either being negated or [[NonstandardGameOver immediately sending you back to a checkpoint]]. For example, [[spoiler: in the embassy raid, Kyle is given the choice to open a secure door for the Butcher or let him execute a young boy. Opening the door for the Butcher merely results in the Butcher shooting and killing Kyle and forcing a restart. Later, Gaz witnesses Price use the Butcher's wife and child as bargaining chips in an interrogation. Gaz can choose not to participate, skipping the entire interrogation sequence. If Gaz does participate in the interrogation, he has no option but o shoot the Butcher's family. His weapon [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets will be unloaded]] the first chance you get, and once you do load it, actually shooting one of them results in an instant game over.]] All of the morally ambiguous actions are performed by the side characters, for which the player assumes no responsibility.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: It is meant to be a KickTheDog moment when [[spoiler: the United States declares Farah's group to be a bunch of terrorists. However, at this point, Hadir Karim has already attacked US troops and acquired a WMD for use in combat. Given he's a leading member of the Uzrikstani Liberation Force and needed help in carrying out his mission, it makes the US position a lot more understandable.]]

** The removal of the "Pick-10" system in favor of the new Gunsmith mechanics, along with revamped gunplay and sound design, was warmly greeted by players. The series had been considered to be lagging behind its competitors for several years in regards to gunplay, and seeing real effort gets put into addressing the core gunplay got even those who had been unimpressed by the previous titles interested in the game.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: This game would replace the Create-a-Class system used in previous games with "Gunsmith", allowing for far deeper weapon customization than any prior game in the series. When the system was introduced for this game it was lauded for how in-depth it was, including the ability to completely change a weapon's identity and role with the right attachments (e.g. turn the basic mid-range M4 into a long-range marksman's weapon with a longer barrel and solid stock, or optimize it for close-range spraying with a shorter barrel and a conversion to pistol bullets). An important point is that it also didn't break immersion for several reasons: all of the attachments are based on real attachments used in modern militaries for specific mission profiles, and are designed to fit their parent weapons (e.g. both of the aforementioned conversions for the M4 are based on parts for or variants of the AR-15 platform). ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops: Cold War]]'' kept the system, where it still fits since the game centers on the types of special forces operators who would have access to heavily-customized weapons even in TheEighties, the universal attachments simply look more primitive to fit that they were made 30 years earlier than the ones from ''[=MW2019=]'', and which attachment goes on what weapon still fits, though with a few outliers that still can be explained away (like a barrel for one rifle taken from another of a similar design in the same caliber). Then came ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard Vanguard]]'', which was criticized for its Gunsmith system robbing the game of any sense of realism for letting you slap attachments onto weapons that make no sense and don't fit the period, such as red dots made by arbitrarily scaling down aircraft-mounted sights, folding stocks based on weapons that wouldn't be built until after the war like the Uzi or AK, or ammo conversions that make no sense (an MP 40 converted to the [=StG=] 44's 7.92mm, but with the magazine not changed at all to account for the larger and wider bullets) and/or are anachronistic (a Thompson converted to 5.7x28mm, a round not developed until late in the '80s), to say nothing that earlier games had limits on how many attachments you could put on any one gun whereas ''Vanguard'' all but removed them, allowing you to swap out every possible part for something anachronistic or just silly.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the main campaign was seen by some as demonizing the Russians, the Special Ops missions are instead a joint operation between the CIA and FSB.

* ObviousJudas: Who is the traitor to Urzikstan Liberator Army? Who could it possibly be? How 'bout the one that [[WeaponOfChoice holds the same weapon]] as one of the members of Al-Qatala (AUG with white tape wrapped around the gun), having the same haircuts and eye shape when compared to the lieutenant Alex encountered in the intro, and having indistinguishable voice even spoken in Arabic even with wearing a Gas Mask? The real plot twist is that nobody thought to question [[spoiler: Hadir]] before everything went to hell.

* SequelDifficultyDrop: Well, ''reboot'' difficulty drop at any rate. Compared to previous titles, the game is pretty tame when it comes to difficulty levels. Sure, on Veteran the player is still a GlassCannon who dies in an instant, but so are the enemy, who no longer spawn infinitely from ClownCar closets or GrenadeSpam like it's going out of style that once made the series infamous. Now, enemy spawns come in reasonably strong, but surmountable numbers, that can be defeated if the player knows what they're doing, and barring certain segments, once the sufficient ground has been covered, they will stop spawning. Checkpoints are much more liberal than before, if only slightly more random. By series standards, the Veteran difficulty in this game seems to be more on the level of Hardened in prior titles, and Realism only adds the caveat of having a ''very'' minimal HUD while you play, so while this is by no means a walk in the park, it is ''much'' less maddening than the games preceding it. Furthermore, with a ludicrous snapping power of the aim assist (only in single-player), it becomes extremely easy to line headshots.

** Given the more realistic style and grounded approach to the storyline, some vocal detractors have raised eyebrows at how the ideology of [[AntiHero Captain Price]], who will do anything from sacrificing a hostage strapped with a bomb to avoid the rest dying to [[spoiler: torturing a terrorist of the books and illegally capturing his innocent family as a collateral bargaining chip]], is unfailingly seen as the way to getting things done because he's willing to dirty his hands with only Garrick [[WhatTheHellHero raising concerns about it.]] Meanwhile, high-level commanders in the U.S. military are portrayed as [[GeneralFailure foolish, cowardly,]] and hampered with apathetic [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucracy]], making poor decisions from up high that jeopardize lives and force the "real heroes" on the ground to make sacrifices for their victories.

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as in the game. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar(though it should be mentioned that the devs were not attempting to rewrite history by blaming Russia for the real-life event like some people falsely claimed and the fact that it just happened to share the name of the real-life event was more of an eerie coincidence than an actual malicious attempt at rewriting history. Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with the perceived unfair treatment of Russia.

** Perhaps in a different way, the levels "Clean House" and "The Wolf's Den", where you're tasked with a breach and clear of a residence can be fairly stressful. Unlike previous games, where clearing houses wasn't too much of a struggle, these buildings feel very real-world. Tight hallways with lots of blind corners, doors that conceal individuals of unknown hostility, and the people in the homes making use of the environment to ambush or hide can get you killed. The slow pace you take in these missions is also a stark change from the usual ''Call of Duty'' MO, where your team very gingerly goes up stairways and moves in deliberate, cautious ways. The atmosphere is tense, with no music, dead quiet but for your team's footsteps, viewed through your NVGs. ''Modern Warfare'' pretty accurately represents the real challenges of having to enter a potentially hostile place of residence, more so than most games in this setting.

** Perhaps in a different way, the levels "Clean House" and "The Wolf's Den", where you're tasked with a breach and clear of a residence can be fairly stressful. Unlike previous games, where clearing houses wasn't too much of a struggle, these buildings feel very real-world. Tight hallways with lots of blind corners, doors that conceal individuals of unknown hostility, and the people in the homes making use of the environment to ambush or hide can get you killed. The slow pace you take in these missions is also a stark change from the usual ''Call of Duty'' MO, where your team very gingerly goes up stairways and moves in deliberate, cautious ways. ''Modern Warfare'' pretty accurately represents the real challenges of having to enter a potentially hostile place of residence, more so than most games in this setting.

** And that's just the Western territories; [[AmericansHateTingle the Russian playerbase]] absolutely ''loathes'' the campaign for its BlackAndWhiteMorality take and the antagonism of Russia and its military, compared to the sympathetic power struggle between Loyalists (complete with genuinely likable characters such as Kamarov and the President and his daughter) and Ultranationalists (as for Makarov, he's a [[CrossesTheLineTwice crossing the line twice]] EvilIsCool character) seen in the original Modern Warfare trilogy. The game [[NoExportForYou did not see a physical release in Russia, and their Sony division flat-out refuses to distribute it digitally]].

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar(though it should be mentioned that the devs were not attempting to rewrite history by blaming Russia for the real-life event like some people falsely claimed and the fact that it just happened to share the name of the real-life event was more of an eerie coincidence than an actual malicious attempt at rewriting history. Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with the perceived unfair treatment of Russia.
* {{Anvilicious}}: Some fans criticized the games [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical critique on Russia's involvement in Syria]] for being over-the-top villainy(though those criticisms died down after the [[RealityIsUnrealistic Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022]].

** While the depiction of the brutal occupation of Urzikstan in the name of preserving peace and eradicating Al-Qatala was previously seen as a deliberate act of {{Demonization}} of the Russian forces in the game to such a comical degree, the horrifying reveal of

** Press F to pay respect to Russian [=J-12=]. [[note]]The nameless Russian soldier who attacked the Karim family has become a memetic presence in Russia, where fans who root for the Russian side often mourn for him on Website/YouTube[[/note]]

* AbridgedArenaArray: Shoot House and Shipment (much like in other ''[=CoD=]'' games) have been the go-to maps for many players since launch. The chaotic, frantic action makes it preferred maps for leveling up guns and working on camo challenges as well.

** How far is Captain Price going to go? While he [[ColdEquation willingly sacrifices hostages in survival situations]] and talks about dirty hands, [[spoiler: he gives you an unloaded gun, and [[NeverHurtAnInnocent it's a game-over if you actually execute the Butcher's family.]]]] [[TheFettered Is it really all just a big bluff and bravado with him]]?
** Is [[spoiler:Hadir]] actually wrong about anything he does? [[spoiler: While Al-Qatala is a terrorist organization that should have no access to [=WMDs=], the fact is that they have more resources and weapons that can be used to take down General Barkov's chemical weapon factory on Russian soil. He insists he's not actually against America and Britain as well as proves it in multiple ways. While using nerve gas is considered a MoralEventHorizon, he intended to use it against Barkov's forces attacking them at the Highway of Death. I.e., a military target that has used the gas against civilians. On the other hand, Al-Qatala ''does'' target civilians, ''has'' targeted Hadir's allies, and his actions alienate his sister's group from her few supporters. Oh and Al-Qatala is also a pawn of the Ultranationalists as we find out in the ending.]]
** Is Colonel Norris TheNeidermeyer and a SmugSnake for wanting to [[spoiler: take down Farah? While he takes a little too much relish in trying to arrest someone who risked their lives against their own brother, it was Colonel Norris' Marines who were killed in the original theft. He also has orders to arrest her and her group has committed a war crime by using the gas at the Highway of Death. From his perspective, they've been playing their allies for fools. Either that or, as some commentators suggested, he's just a racist prick.]] Why he chose to stand down in front of Captain Price is also questionable: [[spoiler:DirtyCoward or realizing he doesn't want to alienate his Special Forces team in a covert operation?]]

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar(though it should be mentioned that the devs were not in fact attempting to rewrite history by blaming Russia for the real life event like some people falsely claimed and the fact that it just happened to share the name of the real life event was more of an eerie coincidence then an actual malicious attempt at rewriting history. Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with a perceived unfair treatment of Russia.
* {{Anvilicious}}: Some fans criticized the games [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical critique on Russia's involvement in Syria]] for being over-the-top villainy(though those criticisms died down after the [[RealityIsUnrealistic Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022]]
* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the main campaign was seen by some as demonizing of the Russians, the Special Ops missions are instead a joint operation between the CIA and FSB.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeAnimation: The animations for the weapon reloads (all of which were hand-keyed with no motion capture) have been widely praised as some of the best in not just the series, but even ''the entire genre''. Even shooters released afterwards, both within and outside of the ''Call of Duty'' franchise, seem to have taken nods from [=MW2019=] in terms of said reloads.

** "The Embassy", which is both eventful and lengthy. [[spoiler: After surviving a helicopter crash on the roof, you and Price make you way down to the saferoom where The Wolf is being stored. Needing a keycard to exit the garage, you prepare to guide the American ambassador (who has a keycard) to you, only to watch him get gunned down on camera. [[UnexpectedGameplayChange Instead, you guide his assistant Stacy to safety, by directing her over the intercom to you while avoiding the invading Al-Qatala forces.]] Making your way to another safe house just as the consulate is overrun, you spot Al-Qatala forces preparing to ambush you in the field, but it's too dark to spot them, so you use flares to provide enough light to take them down. You retreat slowly as they begin to overwhelm you, but a drone packed with missiles provides some relief. Making your way back to the safe house (after saving Stacey a second time) you discover that the attack was a diversion and the Wolf had escaped.]]

* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler:After all the horrible atrocities Barkov committed against Urzikstan, getting the chance to kill the evil general is just so satisfying, and you can ''choose'' how you want him to die, either by stabbing him, or a single shot]].

** For light machine guns, the PKM is widely used due to being a versatile and stable starter weapon with a high ammo capacity, which can reach up to 200 ammo with one of its ammo box attachments, allowing the users to shoot down aerial killstreaks with ease. It can also be easily converted into a long range weapon or a CQB weapon depending on the situation.

** A non-weapon variant for both multiplayer and Warzone comes in the form of any operator skin [[EvilWearsBlack that's overwhelmingly black or otherwise dark colored]]. As most maps feature plenty of dark corners, dim interiors and shadowy overhangs, players consider these skins to be the meta choice for anyone looking to corner camp or otherwise take advantage of all the low lighting. In particular, the Rook skin for Roze and its permutations along with the default skin for Velikan are considered the worst offenders, with Velikan's skin in particular being seen as the go-to choice for tryhards owing to the fact that not only is it nearly all black, the operator has only one voice line and doesn't make callouts, which was seen as a huge advantage back when the callout problem was still prevalent, as seen under ScrappyMechanic.
* CompleteMonster: [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist General Roman Barkov]] is a [[InsaneAdmiral delusional soldier]] willing to go to great lengths to protect his beloved Russia from terrorism. Invading the country of Urzikstan, Barkov takes over the country by unleashing a [[DeadlyGas poisonous gas]] upon numerous cities, killing countless citizens of all ages. Serving as Urzikstan's new dictator for over twenty years, Barkov oppresses the citizens with his armed soldiers and has potential terrorists executed or imprisoned and tortured, doing the same for women and children. Capturing Farah and Hadir Karim when they were young, Barkov kept them imprisoned and tortured for a decade, only to capture them again and waterboarded for information, even murdering an innocent prisoner in front of Farah. Once Captain Price and his men storm his prison, Barkov tries to burn the prisoners alive to destroy any trace of his brutal war crimes. Despite claiming to be protecting his people, Barkov [[BadBoss executes his own men]] for incompetence, proving himself nothing more than a psychotic [[DirtyCoward coward]] only out for himself.
* ContestedSequel: On the one hand, the general reception to the game's campaign has been extremely positive, with praise given towards the redone gunfight and more down-to-earth tone. It's even got some multiplayer praise with a very in-depth customisation feature. [[https://time.com/5702566/call-duty-modern-warfare/ Time Magazine even said, "It is when Call of Duty grows up."]] On the other, the game still has problems with weapon balancing, weapon design, netcode, grossly large storage size, the emptiness and rushed nature of its Spec Ops mode in comparison to even the worst attempt at Zombies, and a campaign whose attempts to be gritty and realistic are either hilariously edgy and childish or distressingly biased and hypocritical, depending on who you ask. The best most say is that's it's better than the [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4 last COD]] but considering what an absolute trainwreck that game was to many (and lacking a campaign to begin with), that's not saying much.
** In general, the fanbase is split on the more realistic and tactical approach that the game took in terms of the multiplayer. Those who enjoy similar feeling games like ''Battlefield'' and even milsims, along with those who were able to adjust to the slower pace generally like it. However, those who prefer the more traditional COD feeling of fast-paced run and gun action across smaller more focused maps dislike the style it went for.
** And that's just the Western territories; [[AmericansHateTingle the Russian playerbase]] absolutely ''loathes'' the campaign for its BlackAndWhiteMorality take and the antagonism of Russia and its military, compared to the sympathetic power struggle between Loyalists (complete with genuinely likeable characters such as Kamarov and the President and his daughter) and Ultranationalists (as for Makarov, he's a [[CrossesTheLineTwice crossing the line twice]] EvilIsCool character) seen in the original Modern Warfare trilogy. The game [[NoExportForYou did not see a physical release in Russia, and their Sony division flat-out refuses to distribute it digitally]].
* EnsembleDarkHorse: Surprisingly, J-12 became a favorite character among Russian player fanbase. With strong masculine features and the fact that he was killed unfairly by a couple of children, he quickly rose as the "hero that they don't deserve." As a result, hundreds of memes have been created and even a memorial was made in respect for him. To make matters funnier, his popularity rose dramatically to the point people began to treat [[RootingForTheEmpire Barkov's forces as the good guys and the Urzikstan Liberation Force as the bad guys]]. One can even see the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of him in Warzone as the devs' way of making the man playable.

** With ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV''. Despite being set in different time periods and releasing a year apart from each other, the two games became competitors for chasing after the hardcore shooter audience. While both had their share of controversies, ''Modern Warfare'' appears to be more popular thanks to having better performance and including a free-to-play standalone Battle Royale mode. Not helping matters is how some dedicated ''Battlefield'' fans have migrated to playing ''Modern Warfare'' instead of ''BFV'' following that game's troubled post-launch as well as ''Modern Warfare's'' inclusion of the Ground War mode to compete with ''Battlefield''.
** As of December 2020, there has been a bit of fan vitriol with its own successor, ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops Cold War]]'', largely due to fears of ''Cold War'' displacing ''Modern Warfare''. The two games now advertise themselves inside of their respective games, being right there in the main menus alongside Warzone, making comparisons inevitable. Making matters worse on PC, through the Blizzard launcher, ''Modern Warfare'' has its own icon replaced by the Warzone one. The rivalry only intensified following the addition of ''Cold War'' weapons to Warzone, which many players thought was unbalanced. To top it all off, Activision seems to have shifted all of their focus to ''Cold War'' and its integration into Warzone while ''Modern Warfare'' barely gets any new content. Aside from all of this, the different gameplay and art style of the games with Modern Warfare's more tactical, realistic approach and Cold War's more arcadey, colorful approach lead to a BrokenBase on which game is a better experience overall.
* FranchiseOriginalSin: This game would replace the Create-a-Class system used in previous games with "Gunsmith", allowing for far deeper weapon customization than any prior game in the series. When the system was introduced for this game it was lauded for how in-depth it was, including the ability to completely change a weapon's identity and role with the right attachments (e.g. turn the basic mid-range M4 into a long-range marksman's weapon with a longer barrel and solid stock, or optimize it for close-range spraying with a shorter barrel and a conversion to pistol bullets). An important point is that it also didn't break immersion for several reasons: all of the attachments are based on real attachments used in modern militaries for specific mission profiles, and are designed to fit their parent weapons (e.g. both of the aforementioned conversions for the M4 are based on parts for or variants of the AR-15 platform). ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops: Cold War]]'' kept the system, where it still fit since the game centers on the types of special forces operators who would have access to heavily-customized weapons even in TheEighties, the universal attachments simply look more primitive to fit that they were made 30 years earlier than the ones from ''[=MW2019=]'', and which attachment goes on what weapon still fits, though with a few outliers that still can be explained away (like a barrel for one rifle taken from another of a similar design in the same caliber). Then came ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard Vanguard]]'', which was criticized for its Gunsmith system robbing the game of any sense of realism for letting you slap attachments onto weapons that make no sense and don't fit the time period, such as red dots made by arbitrarily scaling down aircraft-mounted sights, folding stocks based on weapons that wouldn't be built until after the war like the Uzi or AK, or ammo conversions that make no sense (an MP 40 converted to the [=StG=] 44's 7.92mm, but with the magazine not changed at all to account for the larger and wider bullets) and/or are anachronistic (a Thompson converted to 5.7x28mm, a round not developed until late in the '80s), to say nothing that earlier games had limits on how many attachments you could put on any one gun whereas ''Vanguard'' all but removed them, allowing you to swap out every possible part for something anachronistic or just silly.
* GameBreaker: [[GameBreaker/CallOfDuty Has its own page.]]
* GoodBadBugs: At some point during Season 3, a glitch was introduced where after the warmup period ends in Warzone, you would hear your character's death cry before the actual match started. The results are hilarious, to say the least, and it's been received so well that the developers chose not to patch it out.

** The plot point where [[spoiler:the Urzikstan rebels are declared as a terrorist organization and have their support cut off, allowing an ascendant Al-Qatala to seize power in the resulting vacuum,]] comes off this way as the game was released soon after the US government withdrew support to the Syrian Democratic Forces, causing a surge in the conflict that led to ISIS cells re-establishing themselves in the chaos.

** Press F to pay respect for Russian [=J-12=]. [[note]]The nameless Russian soldier who attacked the Karim family has become a memetic presence in Russia, where fans who root for the Russian side often mourn for him on Website/YouTube[[/note]]

** The game's [[TechDemoGame file size]] has become a meme as players have begun making lists of how many games they can fit in the same space as ''Modern Warfare'' continues to expand. Full articles have been written about the size as it grows larger, with it clocking in at over 250 GB by October 2020, with much ado being made about the fact that by that point it could no longer fit on the most common size of solid-state drive.

** Jamal "The Butcher" Rahar crosses this during his second scene from "The Embassy" when he holds a woman's family hostage, only to execute the husband and then the son[[note]]implied to be no older than 10[[/note]] seconds later. [[spoiler:What makes this act especially horrendous is that it's later revealed he has a wife and son whom he evidently cares a great deal for when they're used as leverage against him, making the aforementioned executions an act of great hypocricsy]].
** A surprisingly subdued one, but Colonel Norris' disgust at and desire to execute [[spoiler:Farah after she comes back from a mission to apprehend her own brother]] is this. [[spoiler:Colonel Norris, unlike the rest of the US military, ''knows'' that her organization isn't responsible for the chemical weapons theft and deployment. His attitude can only be described as being a SmugSnake extraordinaire.]]

* ObviousJudas: Who is the traitor to Urzikstan Liberator Army? Who could it possibly be? How 'bout the one that [[WeaponOfChoice holds the same weapon]] as one of the members of Al-Qatala (AUG with white tape wrapped around the gun), having the same haircuts and eye shape when compared to the lieutenant Alex encountered in the intro, and having indistinguishable voice even spoken in Arabic even with wearing a Gas Mask? The real plot twist is that nobody thought to question [[spoiler:Hadir]] before everything went to hell.

** Many people criticized the game for its inclusion of white phosphorous as a killstreak reward, citing that its use against people is considered a war crime. However, ''VideoGame/{{Homefront}}'' had one mission where white phosphorus was used against enemy military targets in 2011 and ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' prominently included the use of white phosphorous in its gameplay in 2012.[[note]]Though ''Spec Ops'' uses it in a very horrible way and also shows how it affects the human body and why its use is a war crime, rather than treating it as a reward. In fact, ''Spec Ops'' in general was designed to combat the Gung-Ho, supposed "war is glorious" tone of Call of Duty; the fact this trope is discussing it at all is proof it didn't do it all that well[[/note]] Going back even further, those same people have also apparently never heard of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', where it is a tactical grenade (albeit not particularly deadly like it is in real life, more like a glorified damage-dealing smoke grenade).

** With Frank Woods becoming an Operator to promote ''Black Ops Cold War'', many assume this is the first major crossover between sub-franchises, which normally keep to themselves. Disregarding ''Online'' and ''Mobile'' (both picking and choosing characters and weapons from ''all'' of COD, though with mobile games that is to be expected), Captain Price had earlier crossed over with ''Black Ops'' by becoming a playable skin in Blackout mode in ''Black Ops 4''.

* PlayerPunch: The only thing you can do to help the child being held by The Butcher during the embassy siege is to take the bullet meant for him - and, presumably, getting all the other civilians on your side of the bulletproof glass killed - by [[PressXToDie opening the door]]. Other than that, he will die and you won't be able to do a thing about it. This also shakes Kyle to his core and he swears brutal vengeance for it (and, if you're feeling the same, can have him go all the way later in the campaign).

** Regardless of the situations, your character will yell whenever they spot an enemy or reload the guns. What makes it a problem is that enemy players can hear your character shouting loudly, and the dialogue displays on the subtitles regardless of the factions, significantly hindering players who prefer to go for a stealth playstyle. Even worse, there's no option to turn off your character's dialogues and prevent them from [[TooDumbToLive shouting "Contact!" or "Cover me, I'm reloading!" toward their enemies]] [[WithCatLikeTread whenever you're trying to sneak up from behind]]. The first major patch remedied this by making your combat chatter completely inaudible to enemy players, but for those burnt by it it's still quite disconcerting to hear those spotting lines when they least expected them.
** While multiplayer spawns in the ''Call of Duty'' series were never really good to begin with, the spawns in this game are ''horrendous'' on many maps. Often times, players will spawn right out in the open and get shot instantly, or other times immediately in front of/behind another player, resulting in a cheap kill. Smaller maps tend to suffer the most, such as Shoot House, where one could run into and be killed by the same player several times in a row should that enemy be camping. Spawn camping, while weeded out quite thoroughly in the past titles, seems to have returned with a fiery vengeance.
*** It isn't helped by the map ''Shipment'' where if your skill is really high, expect not getting out of the spawn due to SBMM.
** The Battle Pass system remains a sore spot for those transitioning over from ''Black Ops 4'' and were burned by it back then. While ''some'' of the content can be unlocked without paying, which includes the two new weapons, the operator Mara and much of the more appealing rewards such as Epic and Legendary operator skins can only be gained by shelling out 1,000 [=CoD=] points to buy a pass, or 2,400 for a pass ''and'' with 20 tiers already unlocked from the get-go. And to rub salt into the wound, the XP gain rate of each tier is maddeningly slow even with boosts, if the player isn't a top performer, thus incentivizing them into [[BribingYourWayToVictory spending even more money to buy their way up]] to those shiny new guns up there. Guns that, incidentally, are [[GameBreaker actually rather overpowered]] as a large portion of the playerbase could attest to.
** The flimsy anti-cheat system has remained a source of ire for the community especially in Warzone. The mode's free-to-play nature and Activision opting to use their own weaker proprietary anti-cheat system made Warzone very susceptible to hackers. Not helping matters is that due to PC-Console crossplay, many cheaters on PC end up ruining matches for console players.
** Another point of criticism among Warzone players is the game's inconsistent directional sound. Most ''Call of Duty'' games have sound as an important mechanic (with many of the games having perks specifically dedicated to reducing the sound you make or being able to better hear other players). However, Warzone's sound design appears to be poorly implemented, as many players have complained that the direction they hear an enemy doesn't correlate to where the enemy actually is, if they can even hear them at all. Not helping matters is that gunshots are ''significantly'' louder than footsteps, which makes it more difficult to react to attackers.
* SequelDifficultyDrop: Well, ''reboot'' difficulty drop at any rate. Compared to previous titles, the game is pretty tame when it comes to difficulty levels. Sure, on Veteran the player is still a GlassCannon who dies in an instant, but so are the enemy, who no longer spawn infinitely from ClownCar closets or GrenadeSpam like it's going out of style that once made the series infamous. Now, enemy spawns come in reasonably strong, but surmountable numbers, that can be defeated if the player knows what they're doing, and barring certain segments, once sufficient ground has been covered, they will stop spawning. Checkpoints are much more liberal than before, if only slightly more random. By series standards, the Veteran difficulty in this game seems to be more on the level of Hardened in prior titles, and Realism only adds the caveat of having a ''very'' minimal HUD while you play, so while this is by no means a walk in the park, it is ''much'' less maddening than the games preceding it. Furthermore, with a ludicrous snapping power of the aim assist (only in singleplayer), it becomes extremely easy to line of headshots.

** Euphrates Bridge. Depending on who you ask, it's either a haven for snipers and campers or hell for anyone else trying to play the game properly. For the majority of players not specced as snipers, they will be constantly one-shot or killed by Claymores as they desperately try to secure the high ground, which is doubly frustrating when playing Domination, as the B point is smack-dab in the middle of the bridge. On Euphrates Bridge, it's usually victory for whichever side has the most snipers, not so much for everyone else. Not helping the matters is how the northern side of the map is vastly more covered with objects for players to hide behind, making it so that snipers won't be able to pick them off as easily as those approaching from the south.
** Arklov Peak. It's usually fine as it is, but when playing Domination, just getting to the B point quickly becomes an exercise in frustration and futility due to it being almost completely out in the open. Players could try to use the SAM batteries around the flag to hide, but they could only do so much when the enemy's spamming grenades or air support all over the place. And that's not getting to the campers that really love to sit around the area getting potshots at whoever trying to capture. Unless you could overwhelm the enemy spamming with even more spamming of your own, chances are once they've secured a foothold, you've already lost.

* ThatOneSidequest: Unlocking operator Domino is definitely this. Domino has the unlock requirement of five Gunfight wins, which is harder than it sounds because you only have one life per round in that mode, and are usually given weapons that you aren't necessarily good at using. Due to the small scope of Gunfight, each match basically becomes a LuckBasedMission, since a single enemy could get the drop on both of you and netting you a loss, while at other times you could stomp the other team by your lonesome with impunity because you got them in a bad spot. Really, unlocking Domino is more annoying than it is hard.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Despite the writers' insistence that the game would force the player to make [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally ambiguous choices]], all of the major "choices" that occur in the game always play out to put the protagonist in a morally clean position, with anything the player can actually do that could be seen as even morally gray either being negated or [[NonstandardGameOver immediately sending you back to a checkpoint]]. For example, [[spoiler:in the embassy raid, Kyle is given the choice to open a secure door for the Butcher or let him execute a young boy. Opening the door for the Butcher merely results in the Butcher shooting and killing Kyle and forcing a restart. Later, Gaz witnesses Price use the Butcher's wife and child as bargaining chips in an interrogation. Gaz can choose not to participate, skipping the entire interrogation sequence. If Gaz does participate in the interrogation, he has no option to actually shoot the Butcher's family. His weapon [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets will be unloaded]] the first chance you get, and once you do load it, actually shooting one of them results in an instant game over.]] All of the morally ambiguous actions are performed by the side characters, of which the player assumes no responsibility.
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The game has so many "shocking moments" throughout the campaign that the player ends up desensitized to otherwise messed up scenes - par for the course for games of this calibre but ''Modern Warfare'' doesn't even entertain the concept of something ''not'' dark and depressing, even off of the battlefield, accentuating the problem.

** Given the more realistic style and grounded approach to the storyline, some vocal detractors have raised eyebrows at how the ideology of [[AntiHero Captain Price]], who will do anything from sacrificing a hostage strapped with a bomb to avoid the rest dying to [[spoiler:torturing a terrorist off the books and illegally capturing his innocent family as a collateral bargaining chip]], is unfailingly seen as the way to getting things done because he's willing to dirty his hands with only Garrick [[WhatTheHellHero raising concerns about it.]] Meanwhile high-level commanders in the U.S. military are portrayed as [[GeneralFailure foolish, cowardly,]] and hampered with apathetic [[ObstructiveBureaucrat bureaucracy]], making poor decisions from up high that jeopardize lives and force the "real heroes" on the ground to make sacrifices for their victories.

** For the most part, the single-player campaign and the multiplayer gameplay has been lauded by many veteran ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' players, for the campaign having a lot of different gimmicks and multiple action choices which gives the players the incentive to replay the game and the multiplayer being a massive improvement from the previous ''Call of Duty'' titles.

** The new game engine was also warmly received, as Call of Duty's engine was beginning to show its age and staleness despite multiple enhancements (it is based on a modified [[VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena idTech 3]] engine, which debuted in ''2005'' and, despite promises of such around the release of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'', hadn't been updated much except to add a new gameplay gimmick or two for each yearly game in nearly 15 years since) as the core gameplay loop and overall graphical quality never really improved, especially in later iterations (even up to ''Black Ops 4'' you can still see textures and assets popping in at distances you'd expect from a 2005 game, because it's running on a 2005 engine). The new engine allows for far better graphical improvements, better textures, and ray-tracing, making it look far better than previous games.

* UnintentionallySympathetic:
** It is meant to be a KickTheDog moment when [[spoiler: the United States declares Farah's group to be a bunch of terrorists. However, at this point, Hadir Karim has already attacked US troops and acquired a WMD for use in combat. Given he's a leading member of the Uzrikstani Liberation Force and needed help in carrying out his mission, it makes the US position a lot more understandable.]]
** General Barkov is a horrible person who uses chemical weapons on civilian targets, executes innocent people in the streets, and engages in what appears to be forced labor. That said, it seems his claims that the entire country is riddled with YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters has some merit. Al-Qatala is able to mount a massive ZergRush on a US Embassy, there are many Al-Qatala sleeper cells hiding among the public as a whole, and [[spoiler:eventually Al-Qatala takes control of the country, as well as invading Russian outer cities with the Ultranationalist forces.]]

* AmericansHateTingle: Predictably, the Russian internet quickly came out in an uproar over the game's content, which depicts a FantasyConflictCounterpart that has shades of the real-life Soviet War in Afghanistan, Second Chechen War, and Syrian Civil War. The game depicts the Russian military as a brutal and antagonistic occupying force opposed by both extremist and seemingly more moderate rebels, the latter of which the player allies with and even plays as. [[https://www.dexerto.com/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-banned-russian-playstation-store-1171401 Sony's Russian division]] refused to sell the game on the Playstation Store as a result of the controversy. It doesn't help that the game alludes to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_of_Death a highway of death]] where Russia killed escaping civilians, even though the real Highway of Death was caused by the ''American-led Coalition'' during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar. Most of the [[https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/call-of-duty-modern-warfare/user-reviews negative scores on Metacritic]] are Russian users very unhappy with a perceived unfair treatment of Russia.
* {{Anvilicious}}: The entire game has been criticized for the game's [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical alleged critique on Russia's involvement in Syria]], which many feel is over-the-top villainy.