Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review.

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC

Developer: Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Games

Publisher: Activision

Multiplayer: Yes (18 online, 4 offline)

Rating: Mature

Release Date: November 8, 2011

Editor's note: This review is based off the Xbox 360 version.


One of the most popular and highest grossing franchises in video game history, along with attracting the most hate from frequent inhabitants of the internet, is the Call of Duty series. These games have come a long way since their initial WWII beginnings. Each succeeding title strives to become even more ambitious and bombastic than the last, with huge scripted set-pieces and action scenes dominating nearly every frame. The latest entry, Modern Warfare 3, follows the exact same established formula that the first two Modern Warfare titles began. Though the gameplay and production values are still as solid as ever, this unrelenting assault of explosive sequences throughout the campaign is, ironically, growing quite stale and, might I dare say, becoming fairly rudimentary.

As soon as the first initial load screen clears and actual gameplay commences, you know for darn sure that you are entangled in your typical Call of Duty game. Bullets are whizzing past your head and explosions remain prevalent during your trot throughout each level. The story starts pretty much right after the events of MW2, with our heroes Soap MacTavish and Captain Price in a rough spot after defeating General Shepherd, with Soap on the verge of death after the ordeal. From there, the game shifts perspectives on a frequent basis, mainly between new characters like Sergeant Derek "Frost" Westbrook and Sergeant Marcus Burns, among others.

The actual storytelling in this series still needs a lot of work. Slapping together a cohesive narrative with random holographic images in between each load time just seems lazy at this point, especially with this being about the eighth main Call of Duty game in the past decade. The story itself isn't exactly bad, but it's hard to keep up with the game's very brisk pace at times, especially with the constant swapping of playable characters. Trying to follow the story while the action is heating up is also a bit of a hassle, as you will miss a good majority of what people say when you are preoccupied with trying to stay alive. Why not experiment with some third person in-game cutscenes? Or maybe tone down the over-the-top and outlandish amount of action and try to find a better balance between epic set-pieces and some somber downtime? If you bombard the player with set-piece after set-piece, it no longer becomes a "set-piece" in the sense that it merely becomes a common occurrence that the player grows accustom to and expects.

Not all is bad, however. There are some solid twists scattered throughout the story, along with some surprising revelations. You do feel a connection to the characters Soap and Price, mostly because you've been through so much with them in the past Modern Warfare games that you can't help but root for them. I will say, though, that the optional "controversial" scene is one of the most laughably exploitative and pointless parts of the entire game. There is absolutely no set up for it and it just randomly occurs after completing a specific level. The game probably would have been better off just excluding this scene entirely, as I just found it to be jarring and awkward.

Again, as soon as you boot up the game, you should know exactly what you are in for. You still aim down the sights to kill your enemies and constant sprinting is still a valid tactic to escape oncoming fire and grenades. Not that it's necessarily as bad thing, since the Call of Duty games are arguably some of the best controlling FPS games on consoles today. And the consistent 60 frames per second that the developers proudly promote with each Call of Duty release definitely adds to the smooth-as-butter gameplay. The new ability to swap between different scopes for your guns in-game is also useful in the single-player campaign and is a solid new addition.

Multiplayer also sees some minor changes to the popular formula. Pointstreaks are the biggest change. Instead of just relying on kills to gain access to new abilities, players can now choose from a 3 different classes; Assault, Support, and Specialist. Assault is exactly the same as previous games; the more enemies you kill without dying, the more points you stack up in order to use your pointstreak rewards, such as air strikes and care packages. The Support class gives the player more points when they focus on the objective of the game type, such as capturing flags and defusing bombs, as well as killing people. This pointstreak class doesn't reset when you die either, and each of the rewards are defensive based, such as providing bullet-proof vests for your entire team. This does help give the player more incentive to work as a team, which has been a major issue for players in previous Call of Duty games. And finally, the Specialist class rewards the player with perks after each kill, eventually giving the player all the available perks in the game, as long as they don't die beforehand, which resets your points back to zero and takes away all your hard-earned perks.

While it may seem like a major shake-up to the formula, in reality the new pointstreak system really doesn't alter the gameplay all that much. And if you stick with your old-school Assault class, you will probably not even notice that much of a change from past Call of Duty games. These systems do provide the player with more options to approach each match, and they help further customize each class for your character, but again, they don't change the solid foundation that this series absolutely nailed back when Call of Duty 4 came out in 2007. Your weapons also level-up individually now the more you use them, which lead to unlockable attachments and skins. As with most of the new features, it really isn't groundbreaking, but is a cool addition nonetheless.

With the release of Battlefield 3, players were hoping that Call of Duty would step up its game as far as visual fidelity is concerned. Unfortunately, MW3 largely looks the same as previous games, with very subtle new effects present here and there, especially with the lighting. Not that it's an ugly game, it's actually far from it. It's just that we're all very used to the Call of Duty aesthetic by now, and MW3 does very little to distinguish itself from past iterations. It's still a good looking game that runs at a great frame rate, but it's far from being cutting edge.

I feel like a broken record, but the sound is also another facet of MW3 that is very familiar to returning players. The guns do sound better than they ever have in a Call of Duty game. You can tell that Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games have attempted to give each weapon more of a "punch" than in their other games. They sound much louder than they ever have before, and their sound even changes depending on the area you are in. The music also is very much in the same vein of the other Call of Duty games, with thunderous instruments blaring when the action gets hectic. It is appropriate given the amount of action that transpires within each level, but on the other hand, it is largely forgettable.

Despite how similar this game may be to past Call of Duty games, I will say that you will definitely get your money's worth out of this title if you are into online multiplayer and even local splitscreen. Not only is the competitive online mode hefty with content, the spec-ops mode will keep you coming back for more as well. The wide variety of gameplay segments are great fun with a friend and will definitely keep you coming back to increase your star-rating. The new wave-based survival mode, while not entirely original at this point, is addicting as well, especially with the inclusion of a currency system and ranks. This mode is only limited to two players however, which is a little unfortunate.

So in the end, MW3 is a solid game that never really transcends into something amazing. It follows a very predictable set of rules that the Call of Duty franchise has imposed upon itself for quite some time. For those looking for the same Call of Duty gameplay with only some minor tweaks here and there, guess what, you will love this game all over again. However, in order for the industry to move forward, innovation is needed to provide fresh and new experiences for the player, and as of now, Call of Duty is merely settling for playing it safe.

Overall: Fair

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