Throughout the year, my interest for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has grown. While the E3 gameplay reveal didn't start the flame, hearing more and more about its multiplayer aspect did, for it seems that with every entry there is always something wrong with the online component.
Modern Warfare 2 was plagued with Nuke boosters and glitched lobbies, while Black Ops suffered from an iffy spawn system and was ridiculed for taking quickscoping out of the equation.
So, hearing that Modern Warfare 3 would harken back to the gun-on-gun, tight gameplay days of Call of Duty 4, and that there would be less emphasis on air support, I will say, I was becoming excited.
But, before we get to all that, we must not forget that Call of Duty is known to also have an exceptional single-player component, and Modern Warfare 3 doesn't disrupt that streak. While it may not be the most engaging plot-wise, Modern Warfare 3 certainly doesn't let up on its essentially non-stop climax.
The five-hour campaign takes you across the globe and, in Call of Duty fashion, has you playing as a soldier from multiple outfits, this time the from the American Delta Force and the British S.A.S. team accompanied by series "mascot," Price. You'll start off in Manhattan trying to de-occupy Wall Street and you'll end up leaving your mark in various other areas, such as Paris and Siberia, all in an attempt to save a president and his daughter to prevent him from spilling the launch codes for a nuke attack. Oh, and you're also after the head baddy, Makarov. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, especially the whole "give us the codes" bit, but it works well enough here to pull you along from one hectic encounter to the next.
The usual assortment of missions return in Modern Warfare 3, where one minute you'll be a typical foot soldier only to be hopping onto an on-rails segment the next. Stealth missions, sniping missions, and even AC-130 missions all come together to make the single-player campaign, though they don't bring the same impact that came along with them when first introduced back in 2007. The AC-130 mission, especially, now seems more obligatory for the genre than a water-cooler moment.
Those that have been following the Modern Warfare timeline up until now will see the entire story come together quite nicely in the end, though the actual endgame came off to be slightly ridiculous, even by Call of Duty standards.
Once finished with the campaign, multiplayer will be what devours most of your time with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, be it the co-operative "Spec Ops" missions or the competitive suite.
Competitive-wise, you've no doubt by now deciphered whether or not you like what Call of Duty offers. Those who haven't been too keen on it in the past best look away now, because Modern Warfare 3 most definitely won't change your mind.
Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer is still enhancing what it began delivering a few years back, and this year that enhancement mostly comes in the form of the perks.
Fans will be happy to hear that the perks act more as assists now rather than full-on buffs, notably with the omission of the "Stopping Power" perk, which in past games made bullets do more damage. Unfortunately, the attempt at finally having a balanced perk system comes at the price of the developers playing it safe, with all of the perks on offer being what we've already seen in the past, albeit with slight, slight adjustments or a having a different name. It's a bit saddening to see that there's not much room for perk experimentation this time around.
In terms of leveling, you now level up your gun with use, and this is how you unlock different scopes, camos, and other attachments. The more kills you get, the more experience the gun gets, leading to more unlocks becoming available.
The gets culminated into the new "Weapon Proficiencies" option, which are a set of weapon-specific perks that you'll unlock and attach over time. These include adding range to the gun, decreasing its kick when fired, or increasing its melee speed. You may even recognize some of the "Proficiencies" as former perks, such as the two attachment perk, "Bling," now known as "Attachments." Although you can look at this as taking former perks from one area and adding it to another, the "Weapon Proficiencies" do add another level of depth to the already robust class-customization, and serve as a welcomed addition to the barracks.
The other new addition to Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, and undoubtedly the biggest, is the revamped Killstreak system. Now known as "Strike Packages," this system breaks the Killstreaks into three distinct classes: Assault, Support, and Specialist.
Assault has your typical set of steaks, including UAVs, Predator Missles, AC-130s, and the like. New additions like the Reaper have you sending laser-guided missiles to their targets, and a strafing run will send five choppers across the map, gunning down whoever is in their path. All work well, and all are fun to use. On the flip side, there is still a large amount of emphasis on aerial gameplay, negating the aforementioned idea. It's still a common notion to be stuck hiding in a building for minutes at a time.
Support sees you playing recon for the team, where your streaks include only team-specific streaks, such as the aforementioned UAV radar, counter-UAV, EMPs, anti-aircraft turrets, and the ability to airdrop Juggernaut armor for yourself, which makes your the proverbial walking tank. Those who were wishing that Call of Duty become more team-based oriented will surely find joy here.
Lastly, there's the Specialist class. Here, players can unlock an additional perk with each streak, ending in a total of six perks equipped. While at first this sounds game breaking, rest assured that is not the case. Also, players can only select their already unlocked perks for the streaks, so they can't select the level 39 perk "Scavenger," for instance, if they are only level 4. The lone-wolf players of the world will find that this setup will suit them nicely.
The "Strike Package" system doesn't necessarily evolve the original Killstreak system, though it's good to see that Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have been tinkering with ideas in which to add some flare to it. Would I prefer this system over the prior ones? Probably not.
If there's one drawback to Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, it's in its map design. Or it could be the spawn system. One or the other. The maps offer the tight gameplay that Infinity Ward said would be offered, which is great, but this also comes coupled with the spawns essentially being on top of one another, and it isn't unusual to spawn right in the path of enemies, or them spawning in your path. It's great to see that there is less downtime between the respawning and action cycle, though at this point matches can play out rather frustratingly.
It's also unfortunate that, timeline issues not withstanding, some elements from Black Ops have been omitted. The dive mechanic was a useful tool when caught off guard in a firefight, and was quite balanced, and the lack of Wager matches is an upset. Granted, there are no COD Points anymore, but they still could've been incorporated somehow.
Still, even with its downsides, some of which can be rectified in the future, Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer is as addicting as ever, and with the constant spamming of XP and unlocks ticking across the screen, you will always be saying, "just one more match 'til that unlock."
"Spec Ops" is Modern Warfare 3's co-operative offering, and comes in the form of missions and wave-based survival. The missions rip scenes straight out of the campaign and have you and a buddy performing altered objectives of what was offered in the story. These bite-sized chunks are fun and require communication, such as the mission where one player is the gunner in an AC-130 while the other is pressing the opposition on the ground. They will certainly test your team skills.
The survival mode is the more addictive of the lot, and mixes up the gameplay with the ability to buy Killstreaks, perks, and weapons from one of the stations located on the map. The levels available here are also ripped from the other modes, so you'll have an advantage knowing the lay of the land.
"Spec Ops" also has its own level progression, adding yet another carrot dangling in front of you.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 wraps up the trilogy in a tight campaign, and anyone who has been following the series since day-one will enjoy how everything pans out. The multiplayer gets props for trying to keep the formula fresh after all these years, though heftier additions and revamps in future iterations would do it some good. Still, you'll be glued to the screen for hours on end as you mow your way through countless levels, and anyone who enjoyed a Call of Duty game in the past will find a lot of joy here.
Review based on the Xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 3, which was provided by Activision in the form of the "Hardened Edition." Due to current issues, ELITE was not utilized at the time of this review.
Review based on the Xbox 360 version of Modern Warfare 3, which was provided by Activision in the form of the "Hardened Edition." Due to current issues, ELITE was not utilized at the time of this review.
