The second weekend of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer beta is officially live, and this final testing period brings together players across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC to battle it out across maps and modes from the first weekend. week exclusive to PlayStation, but also includes the new addition of Ground War.

The second weekend of the Modern Warfare 2 beta includes Team Deathmatch, Domination, Knockout, Prisoner Rescue, Third Person Mode, and Ground War. Be sure to read our early Modern Warfare 2 beta impressions to learn all about the maps, the new objective modes, and the changes to the Gunsmith feature. Third-person mode was added late in the opening weekend, so we’ll be discussing that alongside our initial thoughts on Ground War.

Third person mode is back

The third person mode, which previously appeared in the original Modern Warfare 2, returns as a separate playlist with mixed respawn modes. Having this mode back for the reboot gives players a different way to experience Call of Duty multiplayer, and should be a welcome addition for those who prefer third-person shooters.

Personally, I find the transition to 3rd person perspective feels a bit awkward in Modern Warfare 2. You don’t stay in 3rd person the entire time, as the perspective shifts closer to 1st person when you aim down sights. This would feel more like a true third-person mode if we had an over-the-shoulder perspective to aim. Any gamer like me who gets seasick easily may want to be careful with the playlist in particular, as the transition between zooming in and out can feel like a lot. Motion sickness definitely got the best of me here. Of course, I can often be quite sensitive to movement, so this is something that probably won’t affect most players.

Overall, this could be a fun change for some players. It also offers a better look at the character models, who will likely have fancy operator skins in the post-launch store. This means that players who are not very sensitive to motion sickness will be better able to enjoy any expensive skins they buy.

A small taste of Ground War

Standard Ground War for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be played in 32v32 matches, but currently, the only Ground War option for the beta is the game’s new Invasion mode. This mode features a stripped down 20v20 version of the Ground War Sarrif Bay and Sa’id maps.

Sarrif Bay is described as a 32v32 map set in a large port, with plenty of opportunities for combat on land, sea, and in the air. However, Invasion cuts back on the areas for aquatic combat. You can see the docks, but there are no boats to take a test drive. In Invasion, you fight mainly in the streets and buildings of the port city.

The part of Sa’id used for Invasion has a similar feel to Sarrif Bay with a very vertical city setting. Some rooftops are close and others have bridges to keep moving across the roofs of buildings, but there’s also plenty of action on the streets with vehicular combat. Like Invasion on Sarrif Bay, this experience does not include boats or water combat. There’s a bit of water on the outskirts of the map, so players can technically swim, but so far this appears to be a mode with no ships or real opportunities for water combat.

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Invasion mode is a large-scale deathmatch played alongside Modern Warfare 2’s new advanced AI. Friendly AI teammates are marked on the minimap as circles, while human teammates appear as triangles, and additional enemy human and AI players are highlighted in red on the minimap.

In this mode, vehicles are available and each team will start with AI soldiers. Eliminating players will award points to a team, and the team with the most points will win the match once the timer runs out.

Players earn points for their team by doing the following:

• 1 point: Eliminate an AI enemy
• 2 Points: Shoot down an enemy UAV or Counter-UAV
• 3 points: Shoot down a VTOL Jet, Support Helo, or Chopper Gunner
• 5 points: Eliminate a human player, shoot down an enemy gunship, or destroy a player-owned or occupied vehicle

Over time, the match escalates. Additional elements are added to combat, such as armored soldiers and killstreak drops, so there’s a real sense of progression to the action, ensuring matches don’t feel too long. I also appreciate that taking down streaks of enemies or vehicles contributes to the score in Invasion, but overall I feel like this mode focuses too much on bot farming. Modern Warfare’s new “advanced AI” moves and reacts a bit more intelligently than NPCs in the past, as I saw them rush to cover and look around in a slightly more aware state, but they’re still noticeably bots. in actual heat. This will be a good mode for players just starting to immerse themselves in the Call of Duty franchise, or as a less competitive mode for players just looking to level up their weapons in large-scale matches, without the pressure of capture the target. points found in the traditional Ground War objective mode.

With that said, this is still a decent sampling of what you can expect from Ground War. Modern Warfare 2’s new gear and movement mechanics are best demonstrated on large-scale maps. There are more opportunities to take cover or hang from ledges, including firing a pistol while hanging. There are more killstreaks and opportunities to use rocket launchers, and it has all of that chaotic gameplay one would expect from Call of Duty’s Ground War. Hopefully the standard Ground War mode will be added later this weekend so players can head out for some boating adventure.

Here are all the Modern Warfare 2 changes Infinity Ward has discussed after the first weekend. This includes the now-implemented fixes for map vulnerabilities and improved visibility during firefights, but other changes may not be implemented until release. The visibility in firefights is definitely an improvement over the first weekend, as there is much less muzzle flash and smoke effects blocking the target player’s view.

This second weekend of the beta is currently only available to those on Xbox and PC who have pre-ordered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, while it is an open beta for everyone on PlayStation.

During the last days of the beta, from September 24 to 26, anyone will be able to participate, regardless of their platform or if they pre-ordered the game. However, Xbox Live Gold is required to play the Modern Warfare 2 beta on Xbox, but PS Plus is not required for those on PlayStation.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is scheduled to launch on October 28 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.