COD: MW 2 second Beta weekend to feature new modes, maps
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will run its second Beta weekend from September 24 to 26. The second weekend will bring console and PC players to play the game together for the last time before its October 28 release date.
The previous weekend, COD: MW 2 revealed new maps and game modes. There were changes to Gunsmith, which now features more weapon attachments and slightly different accessory placements. These features and changes will return this weekend, along with Ground War and the most-awaited third-person mode.
New maps, modes in COD: MW 2
On the first weekend, players who preordered the game got to experience a handful of game modes, including the COD classics Team Deathmatch and Domination and the newly introduced Knockout and Prisoner Rescue.
Knockout is slightly similar to Search and Destroy. In the mode, players must eliminate the opposing team or hold the package in each round for 60 seconds. Similar to SnD, there are no respawns and revives in Knockout.
The location of a player who holds the package will be shown to others on the mini-map. The package can be dropped by pressing a button or when killed. Longtime COD fans will recognize that Knockout took heavy inspiration from three other COD classics, such as SnD, Capture the Flag and Gunfight.
In Prisoner Rescue, one team must rescue hostages while the opposing team holds them captive and defend their ground to make sure the prisoners are not freed. There are no respawns, but each player can revive a downed teammate once in each round.
Players carrying hostages cannot prone or climb and can only use their sidearms. Hostages cannot be killed and must be carried to an extraction site to register a point. A hundred points will be awarded for each successful extraction.
Infinity Ward introduced two types of maps, Battle Maps and Core Maps. Battle Maps are locations built based on COD: Warzone, designed for large-scale games, such as 32 Vs. 32 and Ground War. They were confirmed to be part of the upcoming Warzone 2.0. Infinity Ward claimed that every in-game building in Battle Maps would be explorable, unlike Verdansk in the previous Warzone. Details, however, are scarce as Infinity Ward has yet to explain more of these maps.
Meanwhile, Core Maps are small-sized 6 Vs. 6 maps. As of now, there have been three maps announced for the game—Valderas Museum, Farm 18, and Mercado Las Almas. These will likely feature in this weekend’s Beta play.
Infinity Ward had promised to bring back COD: MW’s Ground War in the new game. In MW 2’s Beta, however, the Ground War is scaled down to 20 Vs. 20. Nevertheless, it came with a new mode called Invasion on Sarrif Bay and Sa’id.
In Invasion, a significant portion of both maps was removed, especially the water combat area, meaning battles are limited to the streets, buildings, and rooftops of Sa’id.
Invasion is essentially a large-scale Team Deathmatch. It has a large pool of players, and AI combatants are presented as circles on the mini-map, while players are triangles.
