Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 quickly became the biggest entertainment launch in history, yet it still has the measly problem of being the same game that Activision has released for the past five years. A few changes to multi-player including new maps, co-op special ops missions with friends and the best single-player campaign experience that you will find in the shooter genre define Modern Warfare 3. Just don’t expect anything groundbreaking.

We’ll start off with the single-player campaign which remains Call of Duty’s biggest strength over the competition. While the experience amounts to nothing less than an over-the-top action movie, it proves to be an enjoyable diversion from the multi-player offerings with spectacular production value that is second only to Hollywood blockbusters. The story is a muddled mess, but who cares when you get to see Wall Street under siege, the Eiffel Tower toppling over, and airplanes ripped in half?

The content is compelling in its own right for the single fact that you are defending American and European territory as if it were a modern-day World War III. The developers do a fantastic job of making Modern Warfare 3 a visceral experience. Forget the fact that America has a larger military budget than nearly every country on the planet and that Russia is a shadow of its former self. As unrealistic as the story may be, Call of Duty makes you believe that we are under siege.

Of course the single-player is largely overshadowed by the online multi-player, which is the part of the game where most people are looking to play. Unlike the competition in Battlefield 3, Activision has opted against forcing gamers to enter online game codes to play online. Essentially it is a money grab by EA and other companies to shut down used game sales and rentals, even though every other industry on the planet accept used sales as a way of life. We give a tip of the hat to Activision for not following EA’s model of screwing over their customers.

With that being said, Activision has done little to make Modern Warfare 3 stand out from the past games. Aside from new maps and an altered perk/killstreak system, the engine remains unchanged. The maps are largely constructed in a way to encourage camping with plenty of opportunities for cubby holes, ledges and other areas to hide away. Killstreaks further encourage camping by rewarding players for getting consecutive kills.

They have balanced this a bit with a new game mode called Kill Confirmed that forces you to pick up dog tags from dead enemies in order for the kill to count towards your score. Teammates can also pick up the dog tags so if you end up killed before you get a chance to pick it up, or if you play as a sniper, you still have the opportunity to contribute to the score. However, if the person that was killed or a member of their team picks up the dog tag before you do, the points from the kill do not count. This is by far the best addition to the Call of Duty franchise in Modern Warfare 3.

Other changes include leveling up your weapons individually. While you still need to level up your account in order to unlock new weapons, the weapons have their own perks that can be unlocked by leveling them up. Killstreaks have been changed into three different classes that focus on varying play styles. If you find yourself getting killed a lot then the Support class would work best for you since your kills carry over between each death. The rewards for Support are more defensive in nature, but at least players using this can contribute to the effort instead of proving to be an albatross with each death.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is not a perfect game and it is hardly a must-have, but the developers have delivered a solid single-player campaign with fun co-op missions, as well as the tried and true online multi-player that we have come to expect. Sooner or later fans are going to get tired of these incremental games that on the PC would amount to an expansion pack. Still, there is no doubt that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has one of the best single-player experiences around, albeit a short one. The multi-player is where the franchise is showing its age with campers galore, little attempt at innovation and graphics that are dated. Hardcore Call of Duty fans will eat it up even if it is the same basic game foundation repackaged as a $60 product.