What in the hell did Infinity Ward do to the multiplayer maps in this game? They are awful...
After beating the campaign, I said to myself, "that was decent enough." I was satisfied with the 5.5hr experience. It was indeed similar to previous cod games, but it was fun nonetheless.
I didnt care for the spec ops mode myself. But then again, I never really cared for zombies either. I've always been enamored with the multiplayer experience of COD, specifically team deathmatch.
So, how is that maultiplayer experience in MW3? I can honestly say its the worst COD experience I've had to date. I'm not just saying this to hate on the franchise either; I'm a 29 year old man, I could care less about flaming a game. Its just that after playing team deathmatch for about 8 hrs now, I felt compelled to go online and vent to the gaming community. So here I am.
Many of the reasons I came back to COD over and over again was because I loved the maps and gameplay. The controls were always sharp and responsive - precise really. This hasn't changed at all, which is a good thing. The movement and aiming are as fluid and tight as ever. The problem in MW3 lies not in its control, but in its map design. In previous COD games, I remember playing all night just to get that "awesome" map over and over again. Its like getting firing range in black ops, it was the best thing ever. The map had a good flow, it had "hot spots" where teams fought for control. It had an open central area where players tried to stay out of for fear of getting picked off. It had opportunities for indoor close contact, but also firefights at range. It was truly a delicate balance that had been achieved in many of the previous COD maps. Furthermore, the older maps established battle "fronts". That is to say, when you died, you usually spawned on your team's side of the map, and you had a chance to get your bearings and prepare for enemy contact again. Of course there were occasional hiccups with spawning in previous COD games, but it was always manageable, and never detracted from the overall experience.
Unfortunately, MW3 completely loses sight of this balance. It is my belief - and this is just a theory - that Infinity Ward tried to do away with "camping", so they made many of the maps much smaller than usual. By constructing small maps, IW most likely believed that it would force players into constant engagements, thus limiting one's ability to camp. And this is true to some extent. Many of the maps are so small that one rarely has time to even find a spot to camp before they get into a firefight or more than likely get shot in the back.
Perhaps even more frustrating is that every single map is like a maze. They are so difficult to memorize, I feel like a rat starting at point a and seeking cheese at point b. Think of a really small, tight corn maze filled with 12 heavily armed soldiers. Thats MW3 in a nutshell. The action is so packed and frenetic in these tiny corridors that I'm compelled TO CAMP just to find some safety. I'm all for action, but after a while it gets frustrating when you cant go 10 feet without running into someone. You kill, you die, kill, die, die, kill, die, die, die. Its gets so irritating. So difficult to find a flow to the game.
This is all compounded by the fact that spawns have been F'd up BEYOND belief. Enemies will literally spawn 10-15 feet behind you, and kill you right after you kill them, and then you'll re-spawn and be able to kill them. Its ridiculous. So again think about this, a tiny maze with 12 heavily armed soldiers, killing each other and then spawning all over the map with no rhyme or reason...Sure it cuts down on camping, but it introduces complete and utter chaos. And its not particularly fun. If you want to get worked up or angry, play this game for 30 mins and youll be ready to snap the disc in half. I'm not a bad player mind you, I had a 2.7 k/d in BO. In this game I cant even get out of my own way without getting shot in the back. Usually when I kill someone, I'll just turn around from the direction I was going and hunt the re-spawn that is likely to pop up no more than 15 feet behind me. It often works, and that a problem.
These issues, while not totally destroying MW3s multiplayer experience, put a serious hamper on the game's flow and overall level of enjoyment. Id give multiplayer a 6.5/10. Fair at best.