‘Rose-colored glasses are off’: CoD players have gotten over nostalgia for MW2 map remakes

Sometimes, nostalgia can cloud your judgment. This is especially true with games that sometimes don’t age well, or aren’t adaptable to things like new mechanics.

This is seemingly true for Call of Duty players when it comes to classic maps. Modern Warfare 3 launched late last year with 16 maps from the original Modern Warfare 2 from 2009, and apparently, players are over them.

In a June 17 Reddit thread, MW3 players discussed how the times have changed, the games have changed, and since the maps have stayed mostly the same, they just don’t hit like they used to around 15 years ago.

“After putting a considerable amount of time into the MP this year, I can definitively say that the nostalgia for the OG MW2 maps has worn off,” the thread creator said. “Outside of a small few, I dislike the majority of the maps that I used to enjoy.”

While nostalgia can cloud judgment, the main reason that the MW2 maps feel different now is because the movement mechanics, weapons, and basically everything else about CoD are now advanced compared to how games were in 2009.

“I think the movement really changed the flow of the maps,” another player said. “You’re able to mantle into so many places that create shortcuts. MW2 maps were pretty messy, but generally had defined paths, that’s not the case now that you can mantle everything. Biggest examples I can think of is Favela and Underpass.”

The movement speed and ability to mantle and climb on surfaces previously not climbable definitely affect the gameplay flow. But for others, some of the maps just are not that good in retrospect.

“I can give some of them to not being designed around MW3’s mechanics, but you have stages like Rust, Estate, Highrise, and Terminal that just suck regardless,” one player said. “Think a lot of the MW2 maps were more designed around sensibility more how well the map plays.”

With eyes forward on Black Ops 6 coming in October, players can take solace in the fact that 16 launch maps will be new. But you can bet that classic maps will be added as seasonal drops over time, so this same conversation could take place in another year or so.