Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) vs Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is an FPS strategy game from Infinity Ward (2009) while Call of Duty: World at War is an FPS horror game from Treyarch (2008).
What each one is
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is filed under FPS and Strategy. In contrast, Call of Duty: World at War under FPS and Horror.
The most-anticipated game of the year and the sequel to the best-selling first-person action game of all time, Modern Warfare 2 continues the gripping and heart-racing action as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse.
Call of Duty is back, redefining war like you've never experienced before. Building on the Call of Duty 4®: Modern Warfare engine, Call of Duty: World at War immerses players into the most gritty and chaotic WWII combat ever experienced.
Story, characters and reception
No Wikipedia detail on file.
Plot
American campaign In August 1942, captured U. S. Marine Private C. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Critical response Call of Duty: World at War received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Describing the game as a whole, GameSpot stated that by returning to the World War II setting, " World at War achieves greatness but falls short of excellence. " IGN concluded that World at War was a "solid, confident shooter with plenty to offer the casual and hardcore alike. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) | Call of Duty: World at War | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 8.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 60,880) | Very Positive (92%, 53,215) |
| Critic aggregate | 86/100 | 83/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2009 | 2008 |
| Developer | Infinity Ward | Treyarch |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) vs Call of Duty: World at War, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)FPS strategy gameCall of Duty: World at WarFPS horror gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)Action, FPS, ShooterCall of Duty: World at WarZombies, World War II, FPSThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) ✓Score 8.2 · 93% on Steam · 86 criticCall of Duty: World at WarScore 8.1 · 92% on Steam · 83 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)60,880 reviews · 2 add-onsCall of Duty: World at War53,215 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)$19.99Call of Duty: World at War$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) ✓PlayableCall of Duty: World at WarUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Call of Duty: World at War on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- Better on a Steam Deck: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) (playable)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ActionFPSMultiplayerShooterFirst-PersonSingleplayerWarCo-op
Where they differ
MilitaryPvPStory RichAtmosphericControllerTactical
ZombiesWorld War IIGoreHistoricalClassicSurvival
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Call of Duty: World at War is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) | Call of Duty: World at War | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | — |
| Minimum CPU | — | Pentium 4 @ 3 GHz/AMD 64 3200+ |
| Minimum RAM | — | 0.5 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) · Call of Duty: World at War.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and 0 for Call of Duty: World at War. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Call of Duty: World at War in scope?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) has drawn 60,880 Steam reviews and ships 2 add-ons. Call of Duty: World at War has drawn 53,215 Steam reviews.
Is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) or Call of Duty: World at War better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) rates higher (8.2 to 8.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) or Call of Duty: World at War?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.