GoKawiilCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Review — Infinity Ward Drops Zombies for DMZ Mode
CNET's review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the fourth and final entry in Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare reboot series, says the game improves on last year's Black Ops 7 with a tighter single-player campaign and a slightly slower multiplayer pace. The review highlights that Modern Warfare Zombies has been removed entirely and replaced with DMZ, a player-versus-player-versus-AI extraction shooter mode, which the reviewer calls the standout feature. The campaign alternates between series mainstay Captain John Price and new South Korean soldier Park Hyun-Jun, battling a coalition of Russian and North Korean ultranationalists.
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The review suggests Infinity Ward's longer development window, compared to Treyarch's rushed back-to-back Black Ops releases, allowed for more polish, which could indicate studios need more time to maintain quality in annual franchises. Swapping Zombies for an extraction-shooter mode like DMZ reflects a broader industry trend toward hybrid PvPvE formats popularized by games like Escape from Tarkov, which may signal where Call of Duty's experimental modes are headed next. Since this is described as the final Modern Warfare entry, it could also mark a turning point for how the franchise evolves going forward.
- Modern Warfare 4 is reviewed as an improvement over Black Ops 7, with a more cohesive campaign and multiplayer.
- Zombies mode has been dropped entirely in favor of DMZ, a PvPvE extraction shooter mode praised as the best part of the game.
- The campaign follows Captain John Price and new character Park Hyun-Jun against Russian-North Korean ultranationalist forces.
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See SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: cnet.com — Tyler Graham, 2026-10-23
Published there as: “Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 Review: A Dolphin Dive in the Right Direction”
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