Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review
The Call of Duty games have become so big now that the brand is now just as much a household name as Super Mario. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the latest in the blockbuster series that continues to break records each year. Does it live up to the hype? You better believe it, says Stephen Ebert. Why, it’s the best Call of Duty yet.
Ever since the first teaser trailer rolled out, excitement for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been in overdrive. Call of Duty has very quickly become a gaming phenomenon loved by many and mocked by some. Yet the games continue to do the business. Now in Modern Warfare 3, we have the most accomplished Call of Duty game of the lot.
The good
The plot isn’t anywhere as difficult to follow as the Black Ops sometimes was. Developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have kept things simple – allowing time to concentrate on what Modern Warfare 3 does best. In a continuing story, the war has spread across the world to New York, London and Paris in search of villain Vladimir Makarov.
The action never stops. From the start, players are cornered on New York’s Wall Street in a mission full of explosions, airborne set pieces and urgency. It’s a blistering start, but where other shooters run out of stamina, Modern Warfare 3 keeps bringing it, as players are taken from one warzone to the next with little to no time for rest. It’s something that Modern Warfare 3 does better than anybody else. Not one single minute is used as a filler to pad out Modern Warfare 3’s length. In order to keep up such a frantic pace, chapters are shorter, yet the experience still clocks in at a decent seven hours long – just enough for this type of shooter.
Sledgehammer Games unashamedly attempts to shock and awe. Stunts that a Hollywood stunt team wouldn’t dream of see players swerving through the seats of Paris on four wheels, and piloting fighter jets in Russia providing cover to those below. This is all-out war, and unashamedly so, with none of the boring bits in between.
One of Modern Warfare 3’s biggest strengths is in its brilliant multiplayer modes. Additions include a new approach to killstreak rewards. Players no longer have to kill to earn these in a new approach that rewards skill and different playing styles. Weapons now level up. Use an assault rifle over time and you’ll get the chance to upgrade it with an attachment that reduces kickback, helping players become better and encouraging others to try out the rest of the guns.
The new maps are great and cater to pretty much all playing styles offering plenty of variety for fans of close quarter gun combat and long range sniping. A new mode called Kill Confirmed shows that the developer listens to its audience. Players still battle it out with another team, but the difference is each that each felled opponent drops a dog tag. So to score a win, each dog tag must be recovered in a mode designed to deter players that like to make others do all the work.
Spec Ops missions return, These are even faster-paced short missions taking anything from 50-seconds to 10 minutes to clear, in short-burst scenarios that have players rescuing presidents and defusing bombs. Spec Ops survival is a new, and very fun addition where players must survive waves of soldiers, attack dogs and even helicopters. Combined with a multiplayer mode that can easily keep players entertained for a year, this is the most complete Call of Duty package of the lot.
The bad
At seven hours Modern Warfare 3 does anything but outstay its welcome, yet some will feel this is far too short for a single player campaign. Others will say that Modern Warfare 3 isn’t sophisticated enough, that it doesn’t offer anything new. While these statements have some truth in them, there’s no denying that what Modern Warfare does offer is backs to the wall fun.
The bottom line
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is this year’s best first-person shooter, offering more fun and excitement in a just a few minutes than some rivals can muster in eight hours. From beginning to end, the execution is fantastic. Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t offer anything new, but what it does offer is one of the most exciting games of the year.
