Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Modern Warfare 3 is a completely different game than its main competitor, Battlefield 3. While Battlefield 3 simulates warfare very well, Modern Warfare 3 feels like an adrenalin fueled action movie thrill ride on fire without the brakes. Both games are trying to reign supreme in the land of shooters, but stylistically, they each appeal to different core audiences.
The single player campaign of Modern Warfare 3 plays essentially like a compilation of the climax scenes from top-dollar Hollywood action movies. Every level of Modern Warfare 3 is fast paced, urgent and full of explosions. The single player campaign is cranked to eleven the entire time and never slows down. While previous incarnations of Modern Warfare would feature stealth sequences to break up the overwhelming amount of action, Modern Warfare 3 rarely does. To some this may be a detriment but the majority of fans will find this to be a satisfying and exciting campaign.
One would initially assume the crazy amount of action squeezed into the single player mode would hamper the storytelling but Modern Warfare 3 presents a much clearer and concise narrative than the story Infinity Ward presented in Modern Warfare 2. The oversized set pieces help to communicate an immense sense of scale and really adds to the gravity of the story.
Where the campaign of Modern Warfare 3 falters is in the level design. Most of the boards are designed in a very linear fashion and begin to feel like a corridor shooter with the aesthetics of an open area. While there are a few wide open areas sprinkled throughout the game, the levels are always funnelling the player upon a certain pathway. There are also several vehicle shooting gallery levels which seem to be a device to make sure the player sees the crazy event that is scheduled to happen.
While the campaign is not perfect it is a great singe player experience. Those who have followed the story of Captain Price and Soap McTavish will find a satisfying conclusion to the story that has spanned three games. In addition to single player, an extensive amount of time can be spent with the numerous multiplayer modes in Modern Warfare 3.
Specs Ops mode is back with dozens of two player cooperative levels of varying difficulty. As with its predecessor, Modern Warfare 3’s Spec Ops mode reuses areas from the campaign with different cooperative objectives. The lack of freshly designed levels for cooperative is disappointing, considering Battlefield 3’s cooperative mode did have unique areas, despite a lower total level count.Specs Ops mode is still one of the best ways to spend your time in Modern Warfare 3. Completing objectives with a friend is continually a fun way to play. Even though they use the same areas, the mission objectives and the events that happen within are unique to Spec Ops Mode.
Survival mode is a new addition to the cooperative experience of Modern Warfare 3 this year. Much like Gears of War 3’s Horde mode, two players will try to survive against increasingly difficult waves of enemies and enemy vehicles. Survival is a great way to spend time in Modern Warfare 3 as it can become incredibly difficult and challenging.
The main attraction of Modern Warfare 3 is the multiplayer. The multiple teams that worked on this instalment of Modern Warfare 3 have done a tremendous job in making this the best Call of Duty multiplayer to date. The changes to killstreaks are particularly interesting. Instead of simply building kills, there are three different classes available that attain killstreaks in different ways.
The assault class builds killstreaks the traditional way by consecutive kills without dying while the support class’s killstreak continues to build even after death. The only caveat to the support class is that only support oriented killstreaks are available while the assault class can choose from any killstreak. The specialist class does not build any killstreaks but earns additional perks for designated amounts of consecutive kills.
The inclusion of these different classes is a ballsy move by Infinity Ward but it pays off in an appealing way to players who may not be able to dominate by building large kill streaks.
After playing Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer it is apparent Infinity Ward has an entirely different style of level design than their partners at Treyarch. Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer maps often contain wide open areas where Modern Warfare 3 has more corridors and complex lines of sight. The core mechanics of Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer are largely similar to past Call of Duty games, which provides more of the same addictive gameplay that has made this franchise so successful.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 does feel like a game we have played many times before. But, it is a game that is so good that we can’t help but continually come back to keep playing it. The roller coaster of a campaign is very fun but becomes exhausting due to the nonstop action and clocking in at a mere four hours, it only serves as a prelude to the multiplayer modes. Modern Warfare 3 easily offers one of the best multiplayer experiences on the Xbox 360 this year. The addictive and often soul crushing competitive multiplayer is more complex than ever before yet maintains a balance that won’t upset diehard fans. The cooperative modes in Modern Warfare 3 are challenging and a great way to kill some time with a friend.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 meets the expectations set forth by past Call of Duty games but doesn’t raise the bar in any significant way. It is still well worth your hard earned money and should provide you with hours of entertainment.
