Activision may well have surprised us all with the PS4 exclusive release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered on 31 March, but it's patently clear that developer Infinity Ward has been working on it for some time.

You only need to play the opening missions to realise that it isn't just a simple upscale for a new generation of consoles, it's undergone a complete graphical overhaul.

Textures and details have been redone, it seems. And, there are 4K HDR visuals where possible.

But what does that mean? And, how does it change the aesthetic of the game?

Here we post some comparative stills of the original Modern Warfare 2 and its remaster to give you an idea of the amount of work put into the rerelease.

Some are press stills released with the original in 2009 or today's new version, some grabbed from the respective online trailers (which we also post below for you to enjoy).

Detail

Then

Now

The favelas in Rio are the setting for a close quarters chase and always looked good in the original game. However, you can clearly see the extra detail in the remaster. You can also see that the occupants have improved they homes, with a water drum and satellite TV. Christ the Redeemer, however, seems to have gone walkabouts.

Impact

Then

Now

You can clearly see the amount of work undertaken by Infinity Ward in the "Cliffhanger" mission. On the way to infiltrating a Russian airbase in the mountains of Kazakhstan, you need to leap an icy chasm and the effects are quite starkly different between the old and new. Indeed, it has even more impact now.

Lighting

Then

Now

More for mood setting than playability, this underwater section leads up to a hostage rescue mission on an oil rig. But, you can see how the lighting engine has been dramatically improved, making the entire ambience totally different.

HDR

Then

Now

If you do have a HDR TV we highly recommend you use the HDR setting on the latest version - which also gives you fine tuning controls for brightness/contrast, etc at the start. It makes for a much more tangible realism in darker scenes for sure.

Characters

Then

Now

In-game characters - in this case John "Soap" MacTavish - are much better animated and rendered, with more personality than before. It makes for a much more cinematic experience, even though the set-pieces, dialogue and plot are essentially the same.

Trailers

Then

Now

Don't just take our word for it. Check out the trailers for the original and new Campaign Remastered games to see the differences for yourself.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is available now for the PS4, via the PlayStation Store. It will be release on Xbox One and PC on 30 April 2020.