Another year, another Call of Duty game. Modern Warfare 3, yet again does little to change up it's formula
So are we to assume that Modern Warfare 3 is a completely horrible game? Not really, but it's getting very close. I believe the series is coming to its end, but not by Activision's eyes. Games like Battlefield have added so much more immersion to their game play, while Call of Duty stays, literally, the same. MW3 is no exception. If you've played Modern Warfare 2, MW3 will feel like a "copy-and-paste" job with a few tweaks.
The norm in today's shooters seem to focus heavily on Multiplayer, and leaving the Campaign mode to rot in a corner. Who plays the campaign, nowadays in First Person Shooters anyway? A lot more than people think. Activision, without fault, has given us a short campaign. Surprisingly though, MW3's campaign was kind of fun, if not over-the-top. I haven't followed the story of the Modern Warfare series, but MW3 ties up the loose ends from the last game. The war on terror has hit home and the game will have you fighting on the streets of New York as you see crumbling buildings and explosions all around you. Your enemy is a terrorist named Makarov and you see familiar faces from past games like Soap and Captain Price. The game does not let up on the action and puts you in some very crazy action sequences like fighting on a plane that's about to crash-feeling the turbulence and zero-gravity, to barreling down a Subway in a truck full speed dodging oncoming trains. MW3 has you fighting in some hectic, but farfetched, situations. You will also travel from a handful of different locations from Berlin, Africa to Paris even, as you try to uncover the location of Makarov and finally put an end to his mayhem. The last sequence is actually quite exciting as finally hammering the last nail into the coffin of the story, things end in a relatively good note. I enjoyed the story for what it is, though there are much better out there, but it was still quite enjoyable for a CoD game.
Even with those moments of pure thrill the game suffers from the run-of-the-mill Call of Duty formula. Most of the game has you ducking from cover, killing a dozen or so enemies, moving forward-following your Squadmate with the "Follow" icon, take cover, rinse and repeat. It hasn't changed since 2007 and it's the same 4 years later. There are moments were you need to shoot enemies off the back of car or give air support to your squad on the ground in an AC-130, but these moments are to few and far between. After it's said in done you will easily complete the campaign within 5-6 hours depending on difficulty(My playtime was 5 Hours and 50 Minutes on "Hardened" difficulty) The game has no real side-areas or detours, you just follow the area to your next destination. There is no real point in playing through the campaign again unless you want to net all the achievements or find all the hidden intel(intel collectibles have been in every game). Lack of Co-op for the Campaign is a sure low-blow from the guys at Activision and hasn't been implemented in the series since World at War. Bummer.
Spec ops mode has made a comeback and is relatively the same. You and 1 other person tackle missions to try and get the highest rank and attain 3 Star ratings on each. One included feature is survival mode, which plays like Horde mode from a ton of games before it, in where you fight off waves of enemies and earn cash per kill. The cash is then used to purchase different killstreaks and equipment to help you fend off the increasingly difficult waves. This is a nice addition, however I have one major gripe. Why is it only two players? Both the Spec ops Missions and Survival would have benefited from having four players able to work together, and to me this is one of the biggest oversights in the game. Another missed opportunity from Activision.
Mostly everyone who buys any CoD title is in it for the competitive multiplayer, and MW3 does not disappoint...if you are one those people who do not like change. MW3's Multiplayer outings remain, for the most part, unchanged since 2007, except for a few minor things. From what I played matches had little to no connection issues or glitches. The game has all of its popular modes back such as death match, headquarters, domination and capture the flag, as well as its Hardcore variations. If you've played any Call of Duty, then this will be familiar ground which can be a good thing, but for me it's relatively bad. There aren't enough changes to warrant a whole new game for it, and anything they added could have been done as a DLC update.
If your a fan of customization from past games, MW3 brings them back, allowing a person to make a number of custom classes, dependent on their play style. You pick your Primary and secondary weapons, perks, and equipment and kill streaks. MW3 offers up familiar weapons as well as some new ones as well as new perks. Perks that people hated, like last stand, have been axed finally and now are only available through a death streak. New to the series is the more you use any particular gun, the more attachments and gun perks unlock for it. Which is really nice to have Stability not taking up a perk slot. a nice, albeit late addition.
Another welcomed change to the multiplayer is the improved kill streak system. Kill streaks are no longer super cheap, but still effective nonetheless, and are now in three categories. Assault, which is the normal "get kills without dying," no longer has the almighty "Nuke" and also has some balanced kill streaks that won't immediately ensure victory to whomever gets them. Support, which gives kill streaks that help out your time in various ways. The difference is that the kill streak awards are still rewarded even if you die but managed to get the required amount of kill necessary for the kill streak. Obviously these are much weaker than assault, but are still useful if used in the right situations. And lastly there is Commander, which gives you different perks and can literally make you a force to be reckoned with in one-on-one battles. It's a nice addition, but it took them 4 games to finally realize Kill streaks were over powered.
The prestige system also has been worked upon, making it worth prestige-ing as you unlock everything in the multiplayer. Whenever you prestige it allows you to start all over at "level 1" but gain some new titles and emblems. Mostly for bragging rights and people with no lives before, now when you prestige you get one token that can used in the Prestige store. Here you can buy a few things such as Double XP, The ability to take any weapon with you for your next prestige, and extra custom class slots. So now it isn't a hassle when you prestige and start all over and gives a little more incentive to do so. MW3 also is there first game to use Call of Duty Elite. This service allows for some intimate stat-tracking and Clan emblem customization options. They offer a free one and one with a yearly price tag of $49.99 recurring, which guarantees you all the upcoming DLC. I haven't even dabbled on this feature, so I cannot comment on it, but is it really worth it for more of the same? You can be the judge of that.
The game comes with 16 maps on the disc, but Infinity Ward has already announced 4 Map packs prior to the game's release. This is just annoying, because DLC should be something worked on after the game's initial release and already 20 maps(5 maps per pack) have been taken out of the game, so someone will have to purchase all of them to get the full experience. Typical Game developer/publisher greed at its finest. And if the past games DLC is any indicator, this will be an extra $15 a pop.
When it's all said and done Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is too much of a familiar thing. While playing it you will feel that you have played this before, because you have. MW3 is relatively the same and unchanged since it's First Modern Warfare roots, and at $60 it is a very tough sell to those who have played Black ops or MW2 before it. Luckily I was able to snag it for around $20, but if I had paid full-price, I wouldn't be able to forgive its many faults and my score would've reflected upon that. If you own any of the Call of Duty games do not bother with MW3 because you will feel cheated, unless you really want to know how the story unfolds from the past games. I recommend only to those who have not touched a Call of Duty game in a long time or have never played the series at all.