Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 arrives on October 28, but we’re already getting previews of the game thanks to content creators with early access. One of Modern Warfare 2’s earliest levels takes place in Amsterdam and seems to set the stage for the game’s campaign, which involves cartels and Iranian generals.
What’s even more interesting than the game’s plot is the fact that Modern Warfare 2’s representation of Amsterdam is exceptionally close to real life. As noted by Twitter user Juan Buis (via Eurogamer), "Amsterdam looks *incredibly* realistic in the new call of duty — almost can’t believe this is a video game."
Juan later asks any Call of Duty fan living in Amsterdam to provide images of the same location in real life, and Twitter user @korkmazmelih delivers. "It’s just stunning how much they managed to make the game look like real life," Juan remarks. Besides perhaps the lighting and a few more humans walking around, the real-life Amsterdam looks almost identical to Modern Warfare 2’s depiction. Perhaps when the game releases there will be an enhanced ray-tracing option that will get the lighting just right.
In case you were looking for a preview of Modern Warfare's opening moments, Captain Price and company find themselves in Amsterdam shadowing an illicit transaction between a drug cartel and the Iranian military. The deal naturally ends with Price kidnapping a cartel member to press for more information, escaping just before the Amsterdam authorities arrive. The whole mission is just five minutes long and is mostly cinematics, setting the stage for Modern Warfare 2's single-player campaign.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will arrive on both current-gen and previous-gen consoles, as well as PC. Modern Warfare 2's PC requirements were released last week, and the average Steam user will be relieved that the game's recommended specs ask for an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580. Of course, you'll need an RTX 20-series or above to access Modern Warfare 2's more advanced graphical features such as ray tracing or higher-resolution textures.