Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2: The New Multiplayer Modes Explained

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" — the sequel to 2019's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" reboot — seems to have made quite the impression. Early reactions to the game's campaign mode have been almost unanimous, with praise given to its intensity and difficulty, making it a worthy successor to its 2009 namesake. Having now had close to two decades worth of skin in the game, "Call of Duty" has cultivated what is perhaps the most popular first-person shooter multiplayer experience in gaming. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" is no different in this regard, boasting over 11 game modes — not including "Warzone 2.0" — for players to choose from (via Dot Esports). 

The "Modern Warfare 2" modes range from the classic Team Deathmatch in which two teams of six attempt to eliminate as many enemies as possible to the grueling Search and Destroy in which one team must attempt to diffuse a bomb while another team guards it. "Modern Warfare 2" also introduced two new multiplayer modes to the series: Knock Out and Prisoner Rescue.

As defined in the "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" multiplayer overview, Knock Out is a core mode in which two teams of 6 "fight over a bag of Cash located in the middle of the map." Similar to modes like Search and Destroy, Knock Out is a high-stakes mode which denies teams the ability to respawn once they've been eliminated by an opponent. However, unlike in Search and Destroy, players cannot revive fallen teammates, adding more stakes. In order to win a round, one team must either be in possession of the bag at the end of the round or eliminate every player on the opposing team. Whichever team wins five rounds first takes the whole match.

During the beta phase for "Modern Warfare 2," some players really seemed to enjoy Knock Out, as its objective seems to discourage camping. The round-based gameplay has also been popular with players. Others, however, weren't as impressed and simply called it a stripped down version of Search and Destroy. 

Like most "Call of Duty" game modes, Prisoner Rescue requires two teams consisting of six players each. The attacking team must breach their opponents' defenses and extract several prisoners to safety. Meanwhile, the defending team must prevent the other from gaining possession of the prisoners and either eliminate all other members of the attacking team or hold them off until time expires. There are no respawns in the mode, though revives are allowed.

In order for the attacking team to score points, they must take prisoners to an extraction zone. Each prisoner extracted is worth 100 points to the attacking team, while each prisoner successfully guarded is worth 50 to the defending team. The first team to reach 500 points is the winner. In essence, the attacking team must successfully extract five prisoners to win a match while the defending team must secure at least 10.