Modern Warfare 2’s Amsterdam Looks Incredible…At First Glance - Kotaku

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II’s single-player run went unrecorded past Friday for those who pre-ordered the game, and 1 aboriginal infinitesimal instantly blew up online. A little video showcasing the Activision shooter’s Amsterdam level dispersed similar wildfire, some due to the fact that it looks astir lifelike astatine a glance, and due to the fact that it offered a abbreviated glimpse astatine an alternate to the annualized subject blockbuster machine.

“oh my deity amsterdam looks *incredibly* realistic successful the caller telephone of work — astir can’t judge this is simply a video game,” UX writer and contented decorator Juan Buis posted supra a video of MWII on October 21. In this case, the hyperbole was deserved. As the in-game camera pans crossed the streets bookending 1 of Amsterdam’s canals, the lighting and reflections marque it look similar a smartphone video alternatively than gameplay footage.

The 4th ngo successful MWII, itself a sequel to a reboot of the Modern Warfare Call of Duty sub-series, brings Captain John Price and co. to the streets of the Dutch superior to sneak astir and surveil a Mexican cartel meetup. They request to kidnap 1 of its members for clues, which requires immoderate precise on-rails spycraft that nevertheless offers a beauteous presumption of the historical city.

Read More: 14 Shooters To Play While Waiting On Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

In fact, the crippled footage lines up eerily good with the existent thoroughfare that inspired it. Infinity Ward communicative manager Jeffrey Keith Negus shared on-location video of the spot that inspired the country successful the game, letting players spot conscionable however uncannily the game’s developers managed to recreate it, including the fortuitous infinitesimal a vessel conscionable happened to walk nether the pedestrian bridge.

The full happening was reminiscent of the “scarily real” looking Ride 4 footage that went viral online past twelvemonth astir this time. In MWII’s case, the illusion lone breaks arsenic soon arsenic you look intimately astatine a peculiar object, oregon erstwhile 1 of the robotic NPCs catches your eye. There’s nary warring oregon large enactment acceptable pieces successful the level either, meaning the developers could apt absorption astir of their attraction connected fine-tuning the mostly static details (though determination were plenty of critics arsenic good dissecting the scene).

It was capable to marque immoderate wistful for what 1 of the biggest workplace operations successful blockbuster gaming could bash if it chose to enactment those resources down immoderate crippled that wasn’t Call of Duty. “Imagine if they spent this benignant of wealth and polish connected a crippled wherever you didn’t conscionable sprout guys successful the look this is simply a beauteous metropolis recreation and I’d emotion to research it, shenmue style,” tweeted Jazzpunk co-developer, Luis Hernandez.

Inkle Studio decorator Nat Clayton offered a akin thought. “This has been getting dunked connected successful immoderate circles each day, but I consciousness the happening astir this clip is little the ocular fidelity being singular and much just…” they wrote. “We don’t often spot the graphics developments we’ve made utilized to render profoundly mundane, normal, existent satellite spaces.”

Unfortunately, those games thin to not merchantability the 30 cardinal copies a twelvemonth that Call of Duty does.