Remasters can be a scary thing. At the very best, you assume they’ll take a beloved classic and give it a facelift. Some updated textures, an improved frame rate, and faster loading times are really all we need to be satisfied. Then again things could turn out worse than they started, as seems to be the case with Batman: Return to Arkham . As fans, it seems like we’ve learned the hard way to approach the prospect of each remaster with cautious optimism. “Yes, we would like to play an enhanced version of this game – please just don’t screw it up.”
That was my sentiment exactly when Infinity Ward announced Modern Warfare Remastered. The original Modern Warfare is precious to me, and to so many of you, because of how revolutionary it was at the time. Infinity Ward co-founder (now part of Respawn) Vince Zampella felt the same way. “I told them – don’t f*ck it up,” he said in an interview with Eurogamer. “That’s my on the record response. I rang them up and said, honestly, don’t f*ck it up. It’s a huge part of people’s gaming memories.”
Well Vince, I have to say, I think more people are excited about playing Modern Warfare Remastered at this point than they are about playing Titanfall 2 . Infinity Ward has been overseeing the remaster, but Raven Software has been doing the legwork. Since MWRemastered ‘s reveal, every update and every trailer has looked better than the last. I think we can finally heave that sigh of relief now.
Relax. IGBOK.
It’s gonna be okay, y’all. Raven has proven that it is not only more than capable of breathing new life into this timeless classic while preserving the original gameplay, but it’s proven to be progressively open to fan feedback as well. After COD XP 2016 we were flooded with new gameplay videos from MWRemastered as various popular YouTubers uploaded the matches they captured from the event. Everything looked incredible, but everything didn’t sound incredible.
Fans weren’t too happy about several of the small changes. The multiplayer announcer was different (and annoying), some weapons sounded a little different, and random sound effects were changed for no apparent reason. These are tiny gripes, but Raven addressed them all. In a series of tweets lead designer Amos Hodge told us everything we wanted to hear. The original multiplayer announcer has been brought back for all of the original MP modes. Objective capture sounds have been updated. Medal sounds are being changed. All of these tiny tweaks that very likely meant longer nights and extra work for the team at Raven mean the world to fans, and that’s how we know this game is in good hands.
It’s been made abundantly clear that Raven is working for the fans, and that it’s confident in its product. For many of you, the only reason you’ll be getting Infinite Warfare at all is to get your hands on this game. Raven knows MWRemastered is going to be hot, and that’s why it’s letting us get our hands on the campaign a month early on PS4 (for those who pre-ordered from participating retailers). That could almost be seen as a favor to Infinity Ward. With the Modern Warfare Remastered campaign out of the way, gamers are much more likely to load up the newer Infinite Warfare campaign at launch.
How much are you guys looking forward to Modern Warfare Remastered? After the game is released, what would be your dream remaster from the guys at Raven Software? If you could get them to revive one classic video game of any genre, what would it be, and why?