A great campaign backed up by intense multiplayer and fun co-op makes MW3 one of the best installments in the COD series
PROS (+)
+ The best campaign in the series so far which concludes this main storyline.
+ Multiplayer is as addictive as ever that includes various elements that will have players busy for some time.
+ Survival Mode is a good installment to the co-op mode.
+ 16 new Spec-Ops levels to try and master
+ Graphics look pretty good even if not a big difference from MW2
CONS (-)
- Survival Mode/Spec-Ops is limited to only 2 players
With a Call of Duty game coming out every year around the same time, most gamers (like myself) have lost a little interest in this franchise like what Assassin's Creed has done to us as well. Buying a new Call of Duty game every year is somewhat like overkilling the series. I had this problem with Call of Duty: Black Ops. While I gave it a score of 9.5, I was still pushed away buy it because it's the same thing every year. Infinity Ward, this year however, has given this series a new life with Modern Warfare 3. Not only does it give me a sense of addictiveness I lost from Black Ops, they give us a fantastic campaign as well as addictive multiplayer.
Campaign first. The story starts off where MW2 left off. Soap is being flown to a secret area to be operated on after being stabbed by the General. Then you are immediately brought to Wall Street in New York City trying to disable a Russian satellite jammer and retake the city. This is where you truly begin to realize that World War III has begun. The world is on the offensive, Europe is being invaded and the United States' forces have been crippled. Unlike the first two games where you have a combat course to learn the controls, MW3 puts you right into battle which works brilliantly. Like the other games you take different perspectives throughout the game. You play as Frost of Delta Squad and as Yuri, an ex-Speztnaz soldier who fights along side Captain Price as well as others.
The campaign truly is a Michael Bay film. Realism is somewhat present but does push it a little bit. There are some sequences where you can see this happen in real life and others that are completely out of Michael Bay's mind. One sequence is that you race against a train held with enemy soldiers and you try to kill everyone on board. Obviously Michael Bay. And another sequence is trying to retake Paris after a Russian invasion which you can see happening. So the campaign does flip-flop from realism to complete movie style but it works so well together that you don't really care.
The campaign itself is better than MW2. In 2, you were going form place to place doing crazy things and while it does make some sense, you try to figure out why you are doing this. In 3, you truly understand what and why everything is happening and the aspect of WW3 really works well. The campaign has some twists that go back into the previous Modern Warfare games that really pull all of the story elements together. Even some characters die that can be emotionally impacting to some players. Overall, the campaign is a fantastic installment into this series and is the second campaign that I wanted to replay again immediately after finishing (the first was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.)
Spec-Ops is back from MW2 and it is just as challenging. There are 16 new levels to try and master in with a friend or by yourself. Though some may need an extra person to complete on Veteran for the hardcore gamer. What Spec-Ops decided to bring in this year is Survival Mode. In this mode, two players face off against endless waves of enemies that get progressively harder as you complete each wave. In the later waves you may face two or three Juggernauts at once that requires strategy to complete. In this mode, you get points for every kill. You can then use these point to level up your weaponry with attachments, etc as well as buy air support whether its a predator missile or an AC-130 that really comes in handy in the later levels. Now I know it seems that every shooter now needs a Survival Mode, or Nazi Zombies, or Horde/Beast mode but it does add to the overall addictiveness of the online/split screen play. In the end, there is nothing really wrong with Spec-Ops even if the player limit is two.
But what most players want to read about is the multiplayer and it is addictive as ever. Honestly, I really missed Modern Warfare multiplayer. Now I am really happy that it's here. There are a total of 16 new multiplayer maps right off the bat from big to small. The ranking system is back that goes to a maximum of Level 80 along with 10 prestige modes (Note: that equals 800 total levels.) The weaponry also has a leveling system. Every time you get a kill, not only does it add to your overall ranking it adds to your weapons leveling system. When you level up, you get attachments, camouflages and a new thing called Weapon Proficiencies which can add two attachments to your weapon, reduce recoil or no flinching when you are shot.Those are only a couple of examples that change from weapon to weapon. Now each class gets its own killstreaks that are split into three strike packages. The assault package basically has all the airstrikes and helicopters while the support package mainly has streaks that help your team either find the opponents more easily or disable enemy electronics. The specialist package allows you to use more than one specific perk at once. For instance, you may have Marksman as your automatic starting perk but with the killstreak you may get Stalker, which is from the category, which gives you faster aiming. There are some differences to consider with each package. The assault package resets after you get killed but the support continues even after you die and resets after getting your third killstreak. You can also choose which killstreak to use first which is pretty cool as well. Instead of using the Predator Missile first, you can use an UAV and then use the missile which can come in handy.
Infinity Ward has tweaked some weapons overall power. Shotguns are not nearly as powerful and Quick Sniping may not be as effective as MW2. These little tweaks really change the game for the better and makes the game more fun and competitive as ever.
A new game type is called "Kill Confirmed" where your kill does not count until you collect their dog tags. However, players on the opposite team can deny your kill by collecting the dog tag before you which adds to the overall intensity of the game. Players who are snipers may not like this level since long distance may not be your best way to receive the dog tag. Other than "Kill Confirmed" you have your standard game types ranging from Team Deathmatch to Search and Destroy.
People love to hate the Call of Duty series but these games work for the reason. MW3 is not nearly as great as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare but definitely surpasses MW2 in nearly every way from campaign to multiplayer. In the end, Modern Warfare 3 is a fantastic entry to the Call of Duty series. These past couple months have been pretty good with gaming and Modern Warfare is definitely one of the highlights. While it doesn't redefine the genre, it comes damn close to perfecting it.