Modern Warfare’s newest mode is a return to the fast-paced, addictive multiplayer we expect from Call of Duty. It forces players to move around for kills, or else go kaboom.
This week’s update for Modern Warfare added new Special Operation missions and more multiplayer maps, but the new mode, called Cranked, was by far the standout feature of the content drop.
Originally introduced by Infinity Ward in Call of Duty: Ghosts, Cranked is a Team Deathmatch mode with an explosive twist. A player’s first kill upon spawning will initiate a 30-second timer, tasking the player with chaining kills and assists together to reset the timer and avoid exploding.
Thirty seconds isn’t a lot of time to find a kill, especially with the normal pace of Modern Warfare’s standard multiplayer modes, but landing that first kill grants the player with faster weapon swapping, reload speed, and movement, giving them an advantage towards getting the next one. All chained kills count for double points, too. Cranked’s score limit of 150 points might sound like a lot for Team Deathmatch, but the matches really fly by.
This all results in matches in which players move much more aggressively around the map with the incentive to seek out kills, and ultimately to avoid adding to their death count by going kablooey if they don’t get one. This is the most fun I’ve had with Modern Warfare’s multiplayer outside of the 2v2 Gunfight mode.
Before Cranked, Modern Warfare moved Call of Duty away from the fast-paced action the franchise had evolved into, catering to slow and tactical playstyles instead. I understand there’s a chunk of the player base that enjoys the slower side of Call of Duty this year, but on the other side, many players have complaints of less combat engagement and matches that run out the time limit before reaching the objective score. Cranked serves those players looking for more gunfights.
The worst thing about Cranked is that it’s most likely going to be a limited-time mode. It just feels much more fitting than the permanent mode Kill Confirmed, which requires players to collect dog tags that enemy players drop upon death. Many of the matches in Modern Warfare’s Kill Confirmed reach the time limit because players aren’t enticed to move around the map and play the objective. I’d love to see the developers make Cranked a staple for Modern Warfare instead.