Modern Warfare 3 keeps and improves some things that make the series successful but still feels a little too familiar.
(-) some annoying matchmaking quirks / the maps, design, and game-play are all showing some age at this point
There are many successful franchises out there that are critically and commercially successful and have very well earned the right to be so. The Call of Duty franchise is definitely one of those franchises. It's made a mark in the world of gaming and created a foundation for other games in this crowded genre to be influenced by. That revelation was first brought to life back in '07 when the first Modern Warfare was introduced, and stayed strong for quite some time. Some of Call of Duties biggest competitors like Medal of Honor and Battlefield even have a lot to learn from this giant. But while all of these accomplishments are still appreciated, the franchise up to this point is growing a little tired. There has always been a release every single year, around the first few weeks of November, and that seems to be a bit of a problem here. Even if more of the same is still more of the same frantic, explosive campaign, and deep addictive multiplayer, it's still more of the same. So whether you spend sixty dollars on it deeply depends on how you already feel with the franchise. But if you haven't checked into Call of Duty at this point (really? You haven't!?), then this might be the biggest, most expansive iteration in the franchise yet, and you'll get well over your money's worth.
The game's single player campaign, as you might have guessed, carries on from where the second game left off. Several years into the future, Makarov is still up to no good, and it's Yuri and the rest of his squad's job to take him out once and for all. The story is mostly the same idea as what you've previously seen, with Intel conversations as the plot device and action on screen that speaks for itself. For some reason, Infinity Ward is still up for using violence as some sort of shock effect on the player, but there are other moments in the story-line that are heavy handed, but in a good way. There's enough emotional moments with the characters during the battles that it'll keep you engrossed way until the end, which also happens to be a brief five to six hours. Still, the ending sequence gives proper closure to not only Modern Warfare 3 but both the games that preceded it, and the player should be intrigued if not a little malignantly satisfied by the overall outcome.
Playing through the campaign it always feels like you're a small part of a huge world, trotting through seemingly innocent locations and blasting foes as they appear on the screen. You're fellow team still has a way of following you where you're supposed to go, but it's still your job to play a part in the action if you want to succeed. You're man turrets, take control of air craft, and other machinery through the course of the campaign. There's even a moment when you're hijacking a plane and it flips upside down while enemies are shooting at you, and you get the chance to kill them with precision as their gravitational pull reverses, which is insanely cool. The campaign is quick and to the point, and should keep you interested for at least one play-through.
It's been a well worn fact that most people are quick to skip the campaign all together and go straight to the multiplayer, which Modern Warfare, in many ways, has improved on. There's 16 total playable maps, and some new game modes, such as Kill Confirmed, which is basically the standard team deathmatch expect there's a collectible collar that's dropped when getting a kill, and only when you collect the collar does the kill count for anything. There's still the chance however an enemy could take you out, and steal the collar, therefore negating the kill. It's just different enough from team deathmatch that it can be enjoyable for a while.
Modern Warfare 3 also changes the way killstreaks are handled, which by and large has a lasting impression on the game. There's still many returning killstreaks you're already familiar with like the UAV, Predator Missile, and attack helicopter. But the game has now divided some of the killstreaks into different classes which allows players better flexibility on which role they take on their team. If you choose the assault pack, you choose intel devices and machinery to blast your foes, and accumulate them as you gain kills without dying just like usual. There's also the assist package, which your choices are more restrictive to helping your team find the enemy's position, a vest that increases your defense, and even a phony care package, which you toss it out just like normal but if an enemy tries to steal it, it explodes. It's a great respite after you've been frustrated when someone stole your care package, and is really fun to use. Your killstreak rewards don't reset when you're killed, meaning it's a lot easier to aid your team with the Advanced UAV and other useful events which is a great help. Lastly there's the specialist package, which you unlock perks instead of killstreaks when you chain up kills.
The Prestige cap is set all the way up to level 80, and the game even allows you to use a token you'll earn to unlock your favorite gun to use so you can still feel the satisfaction of leveling up without losing all your prior progress. The guns also have a level meter of their own, where with time you can unlock the rights to use attachments, which works differently than getting them with challenges or purchasing them in Black Ops. In many ways, the multiplayer makes minor albeit noticeable changes which add up and enhance the game thoroughly. Though interestingly, and unfortunately, even with these changes, the game, particularly in multiplayer, feels very deja 'vu inducing. The main menu screen for example looks nearly identical to Modern Warfare 2's but with a change of color, and many of the playable multiplayer maps look and feel familiar. In fact, a casual pass byer could mistaken the game as Modern Warfare 2 possibly.
There are other frustrations, like with the matchmaking, which for better or worse seems to work a bit differently. Modern Warfare 3 introduces a paying subscription that unlocks early DLC and other unlockables extras through what is known as the Elite package, and people who are really serious about Call of Duty and make a steady income are willing to pay the extra cash to get it. Which means, these people and their friends, are often in clans, and for the most part, the average player is most likely going to be pitted against them in team deathmatch and other modes. This makes the game brutally frustrating for newcomers, and still aggravating for people with moderate skill, though you can still go over to free for all or team mercenary if you can't stand it.
It's not all grainy and dreary though, many of the aspects that Call of Duty excelled at in the past are still here. The game certainly looks nice, and runs at a brisk 60 frames per second even when all hell is breaking lose everywhere. As you might suspect, the sound is also top notch, with much weight to be heard with the gun's recoil and the pounding music through the campaign's more climactic moments. The game even allows you to tow a guest with you for online multiplayer, though because of PS3 limitations they can't rank up. There's also no Combat Training or AI bots in splitscreen, which is disappointing.
What the game does feature however is offers a lot of extra modes of play which blend single player and multiplayer content together and leads to an overall bigger package. First of all, Special Ops has been revamped, and puts you back in the roles of the campaign, but with a friend by your side. One of you could be dealing with soldiers on the ground, while another could be up in the air firing predator missiles in the distance. Then there's the survival mode, which gives you all 16 multiplayer maps to choose and fight soldiers, dogs, air support, powerful juggernauts, and other enemy forces while spending some sparse time between rounds to refill ammo, purchase a killstreak, or find a perfect camping spot before the next wave. It's a great alternative to Zombies on Black Ops, and gives the game some attraction even after many hours of the multiplayer and campaign.
Modern Warfare 3 does a lot of things right, definitely levels the ground where Treyarch bombed the community with their last disappointing effort, but the franchise is started to suffer from some slowdown. A year to take some time off would do some good, because even the loyalist of fans are getting weary of paying a cold sixty dollars for a game that feels very similar to what they've already played before. But if you really feel strongly enough about the Modern Warfare franchise that none of that phases you, then there's still plenty to enjoy here. The campaign is as air tight and crazy as it ever was, with some great new story twists, high production values, deep and addictive online multiplayer that has just a few hiccups, as well as some new content in the form of Special Ops and Survival modes. So yeah, it's more of the same, a lot more of the same at that. So whether or not this is a worthy purchase depends entirely how you feel about the Call of Duty franchise up to this point.