Modern Warfare 3 is exactly what we expected, and depending on your stance on the series that's either good or bad.
First off, I'll give you my Call of Duty (CoD) background. I have played through every CoD title, including both Campaign and Multiplayer. I have enjoyed the franchise ever since Call of Duty 2 brought us its fantastic iconic multiplayer experience.
But now the WW II era has long gone, we're fighting battles in modern combat scenarios, and the game has some serious competition. Arguably, this is the most important release in the history of the franchise.
The campaign starts us right off where Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) left off, with no sign of a tutorial anywhere. Infinity Ward must assume everyone looking into MW3 has already bought MW2, so why bother - right?
They do follow modern FPS trends by popping up button help when it's required of you, however, so that's something. But if you haven't touched the Modern Warfare series before, you're going to have to check the game's manual if you want to learn how to control your character effectively.
Don't be too worried about button prompts; unlike that other modern war game, they're not frequent. Instead, in MW3 the scripted sequences in the campaign just... happen. Breaching doors, like in previous MW titles, just necessitates a single press of 'Square' and bam - you're in the room, slow-mo kicks in, and you can take everyone out with carefully-aimed shots.
If you run into a corner and a guy jumps out at you, you can see everything that goes on without having to fumble for a button to save your life each time. They do have some BF3-like sequences too, but as I said - not as frequently.
The story continues the series tradition of following several characters from different perspectives of a modern war scenario - in this case, hunting a crazed maniac who started a war through deceit and betrayal.
Delta Force, a group of marines trying to save a kidnapped Russian President and his daughter on their way to peace talks with the US, and a father on holiday with his family in London... how that ties into the narrative I won't spoil, but it's a part of the game that's been causing some controversy.
I played through the campaign on Hardened as I am very familiar with previous titles, but it's not the difficulty that makes the general gunplay frustrating, it's the chaos of so much happening at once. Buildings fall down, 30 soldiers running around behind you, a constant spawn of enemies in front of you (until you reach that invisible line that progresses you through to the next sequence of rinse and repeat), and you die over and over just trying to get 20 meters down the street, or 10 meters to the next room - either by stray bullets or a grenade that's on its final tick.
Visually, there aren't many improvements since 2009's MW2; the only notable improvements, in fact, are in the animations and particle effects. One effect in particular I liked is a chemical dust residue which flows around soldiers feet as they run through it. Explosions and structure damage also benefit from these new particle tricks. But the textures and general grey / yellow look is all the same.
While the game hasn't improved much in the looks department, the framerate is superb. I found little to no noticeable dip - even in the most intense moments, with so much going on. The game holds up brilliantly no matter what's happening, which I think is a good trade off against fancy lighting and texture effects.
Sound, well, you're not going to hear anything new here. In fact a majority is recycled from MW2; even some of the dialogue while running around with Price is from the exact same script. In fact, the online seems to sound worse in my opinion; I have a pretty decent setup, including 5.1 surround, and yet grenades have this muffled, dull pop to them. Guns in the same class all seem to sound identical. I guess the layoffs were mostly in the sound department or budget went elsewhere - but if I were to close my eyes, I'd think I was playing MW2.
Overall the campaign is good; it will take you roughly 4 and half hours to complete. I won't play it again just out of the share frustration of the main fire fight sections, and I won't go back to collect all the Intel collectibles like I did in MW2 - I value my sanity too much. But it was a thrilling ride all the same.
Ok chaps, time to talk about the real meat and potatoes of MW3. Can I put CoD: Black Ops aside, now I have a new MW to take charge? Let's break it down...
Spec-ops is back, this time with some new flavour: the co-op missions offered in MW3 are a lot more diverse. One in particular I took a liking to is the IED defuse mission. One player covers you as you don your Heavy Armour and seek out IED's across the map, all the while being attacked by an endless stream of AI soldiers.
Survival Mode is a new Spec-ops mode. Similar to Black Ops' Zombies, but instead of hordes of the undead it starts out with easy guerrilla fighters. As each round is completed, more difficult enemies come into the fray - including dogs, Special Forces, air support, and the dreaded heavy armoured Juggernaught soldiers. Between each wave, you can take the 10 second reprieve you're granted to find armoury creates dotted around the map to restock or to purchase point-streak rewards.
The tried and true TDM makes its return, and it's pretty much MW2 all over again. MW2 was the best FPS multiplayer since Halo, so that's not necessarily a terrible thing. One of the key improvements is a change to the way you spend the XP you earn, with weapons able to gain Proficiency XP for upgrades. My favourite SCAR with kick proficiency and red dot scope is a beast!
The multiplayer map designers for MW3 obviously had close to mid-range combat in mind when laying out the arenas. There is always something in the way for those who prefer the long rifle, be it a building, a hut, a car, another building, some scrap - just as long as there is something in the way between you and your opponents.
Unless you're a quick scoping legend, the maps are so tightly structured with multi-tiered, closed-in halls, there is no point in traditional sniping (camping). This will be welcome news for some players, but hated by others.
To sum up, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a small evolution in multiplayer and a definitive end to the story. Despite being a solid, well-rounded experience, I felt there wasn't enough difference or progression in use of technology to really rate the game higher.
Modern Warfare 2 changed the game and paved the way for the FPS genre today; Modern Warfare 3 just does more of the same and feels more of an expansion than a brand new title - albeit a good expansion.