Modern Warfare Remastered Review – Charlie Don’t Surf, One Shot One Kill, Heat, No Fighting In the War Room And Mile High Club Remain The Ultimate Challenge On Veteran

In the third review of the big four shooters this fall after Battlefield One and Infinite Warfare we get the full HD remake of one of the best first person shooters ever made. A game that’s template has been followed but never bettered. Call Of Duty Modern Warfare.

By now, everyone will have played this masterpiece and know what the game offers. A campaign that is memorable and a real pleasure to play on lesser levels and the stripped down competitive multiplayer that spawned a phenomenon. The graphics and textures have been fully updated for modern consoles and really shine on the PS4 Pro. Rather than tread over old review territory, I thought I would highlight the joy and pain of the best and most difficult levels to play on Veteran. If it helps anyone on their journey then all the better.

Veteran is tough, to begin with. Approximately four glancing hits will kill you or one blast from a shotgun, grenade or exploding car. You also have the increased accuracy and numbers of the enemy  to deal with. Starting with F.N.G the training mission you get an idea of how you need to move to survive in this mode. Enemy patterns must be memorised and every reload or grenade throw needs to be at the right time. More importantly, you will need a lot of luck and patience to complete te game on veteran. If you manage it you can look at your trophies or achievements with pride for years. I did it all on the Xbox 360 about nine years ago, so the challenge of doing it again at 34 with slower reflexes and less practice was too good to pass up. 

Charlie Don’t Surf

This should be the first time you run into a brick wall on Veteran. All levels are tough enough but here is the first time you will question whether this effort is worth it. The point, in particular, is the TV station. You are dumped into a two level TV studio with RPG troops on the floor above and  desks and PC’s in the middle. When you enter, enemy troops begin to spawn infinitely into the bottom floor. The tactic with this level as with a few is to advance yourself to a position that stops the infinite spawn, allowing you to mop up the enemies that are already there. Doing this is another thing. My tactic was to run into the room and head for an abandoned office on the bottom right as you enter. When in this room I had to survive the spawning of grenades and more until I could peek around the corner and take out any enemies to my right. After this, it was a suicide run until I got to the corner that is diagonally opposite to where you enter. Once in there I was able to stay alive and stop the infinite spawn long enough to clear the room. Time taken on section – 1 hour.

One Shot One Kill

The second flashback mission, is one many people cite as the hardest normal mission in the game. I never had as many issues as some but it is still extremely tough. After carrying your colleague through the level you have to wait on a chopper coming to lift you. You set down the captain to snipe from his position then prepare the area around the Ferris wheel . When the enemy comes they come in hordes and you have to fend them off until the chopper arrives. It takes around three minutes but feels like a lifetime. My tactic here may be viewed as a cheat but on Veteran, any advantage is acceptable in my opinion. Firstly I threw some C4 over by the dodgems and under the Ferris wheel. I then threw as many claymores as I could in the time around the general area. Then I hid inside the hut closest the wheel. I remained prone and pointed my character diagonally looking out the door with a clear view of the outside strut of the Ferris wheel. From here the enemies are unable to shoot you unless they storm the hut and 9 out of 10 grenades explode harmlessly outside. The odd enemy or grenade will come close so you will have to shoot them or throw the grenade back. When the chopper arrives, blow the c4 and hope you can get a clear path around te back of the wheel to lift the captain and carry him into the chopper. Once inside, breathe and hope you can’t get shot. Time taken on section – 2 hours.

Heat

Heat comes after an enjoyable chase to a barn in a field at the top of a hill. You have worked your way yard by yard to this barn before being told you have to make it the whole way back down the hill in four minutes. This is the level I had the biggest problem with during the normal game. There are so many variables and so many tactics that it is hard to get a decent strategy going. You have airstrikes, LMG’s , smoke grenades and sniper rifles at your disposal, yet the enemy is completely relentless in this level and can spawn at random as you make your way down the hill. The real tactic for completing this level is speed and luck. It is tempting to use the airstrikes to decimate the enemy but really there is no point as they keep coming. You need to somehow make it down the hill quickly enough to give you checkpoints. I collected a light machine gun and just charged into the field on the left. Going prone and throwing smoke I managed to make it to a small hut on the left of the field in around 40 seconds. If you do this you will get a checkpoint and be on your way. After this use the airstrikes and smoke but try to make suicide runs to get checkpoints down the hill. I went for the building in the middle and got inside for another checkpoint. A crazy jump from the second floor and run to the destroyed building got another and after that trial and error got me to the chopper. Time taken on section – 6 Hours.

No Fighting In The War Room

Oh Boy. This level tries to intimidate you with a time limit from the word go. The time limit is actually the most helpful thing here. If you don’t advance quickly enough to get checkpoints , then you won’t have enough time to complete the level. It is basically a charge through wide corridors with enemies either being in front or at your side. You will have to learn to run to a room and headshot everyone you see before hiding and letting your teammates catch up. The level actually gets easier as you go along so don’t be put off if you are seriously struggling. The first checkpoint involves sprinting to a soviet star on a stairway. You will likely get here a few times without a checkpoint triggering. If you do just restart. It means you will run out of time. The tactic is to sprint and take out men running towards you before ducking into a side room. From the side, room and take out anything you see before running to a diagonally opposite side room. As long as you keep forward momentum and stay alive the checkpoint should it at the stairs if you make it before 6:30 on the timer. The next section is a large room with three pathways. Middle, left and right. Middle has infinite spawn enemies where the left and right have hiding enemies as well. After many tries, I found the middle to be the best approach. On the way down the stairs switch to the grenade launcher. Run forward and aim to explode a grenade between the two wooden crates which will kill the enemies on both sides. Then throw flashbangs and frags straight ahead and try to kill anything that moves. At some point, you are going to have to make a suicide run straight ahead. Between frags and flashbangs hopefully, you can kill the advancing enemies, stopping the hidden enemies at either side coming into play. Break through the line and you will get a checkpoint in the next corridor. This needs to be before 5:00. The next section can be even more frustrating. You seem to be in a missile silo. You have a corridor in front that is blocked off but enemies are firing forward. To the left and right are linked corridors with a circular room at either end that links to another identical room. You have to pick a side, left or right. Fight through the two linked circular rooms before making it back onto the main corridor. The issue is the corridors can fire on you from both directions. The tactic is to kill the ones that emerge straight away. Reload and go prone just at the right-hand door. Throw a flashbang to the left corridor and crawl into the right corridor. Shoot the enemy at the end of the corridor and stand up while throwing another flashbang straight in front. Get into the circular room and hide behind the missile. Make sure you get any enemies that come through the door while blocking any crossfire with the missile from the opposite side. After this apply the same tactic in the identical room and hope to see price running ahead of you to open the door. The timer should be around 3:30 to 4:00 to get the checkpoint. After these, it is a simple case of using your veteran skills to complete the level. – Time taken on Section – 4 hours.

Mile High Club

The Ultimate challenge. You have one minute to clear a plane of terrorists and shoot a terrorist in the head to save a hostage. Anyone who has tried will tell you this is the ultimate test of reflexes luck and patience. It can seem unfair but the more you play the better you get up to a point. Enemies don’t infinite spawn but they are more accurate and hide in more corners than ever. Charge straight ahead and ignore or knife the guy in the toilet. Kill the two men at the end of the corridor and throw the flashbang. Clear the men out either by shooting through the seats or picking your shots. Flash as the hull breaches, clear the stairs and head left. Flash the room and kill anything that is not stunned. Flash the final corridor and run past the enemies to get to the final shot in under one minute. 9 years ago I completed it but unfortunately as of yet I cannot. I can get three-quarters way through the plane but run out of time. One day I will complete it again but at the moment I need to set it down for a while. The variables in your own player skill and enemy placement and behaviour make this a real matter of attrition. I will do it again someday but at the moment there is too much to play.

So there you have it, the game is as fresh as it ever was and the brilliant campaign and multiplayer make this the surprise of the fall season. If you are doing the veteran run be prepared for the difficulty to be higher as either your reflexes have dulled or your patience has shortened. Good luck soldiers.