The third installment of the Modern Warfare series is a direct sequel to 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and the eighth game in the Call of Duty franchise. Unlike the past two Modern Warfare's in which Infinity Ward handled everything from background texture to multiplayer, the finished product for part 3 is from the combined efforts of the aforementioned Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, with Raven Software (having assisted in development.) Why the change in formula in regards to the creation of the latest Modern Warfare? The long and short of it is that after the release of MW2, Activision fired the founders of Infinity Ward—Vince Zampella and Grant Collier—in with them a mass exodus by key staffers from the studio behind the game that felt slighted by Activision's treatment of them as employees and the founders of Infinity Ward itself. The months (and years) that have followed have resulted in an ongoing legal tussle full of intrigue, accusations and allegations of sabotage between Activision, Zampella and Collier.
With all that being said, like the previous Modern Warfare's, the player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, often changing perspectives through the progression of the story. Each mission throughout the 6-hour campaign features a series of objectives that vary in their requirements, ranging from having the player arrive at a particular checkpoint, to eliminating enemies in a specified location, or standing their ground against enemy squadrons. The objective based gameplay through the single-player is the straw that stirs this game's drink so to speak.
gameplay
What made the last two Modern Warfare's single-player campaign so memorable were the epic set pieces such as the snow mobile chase in Modern Warfare 2. However, there is something lacking in the supposed epic moments in the latest installment of the game. From chasing down a train in the London Underground in the back of a pick-up truck to a fierce fire-fight in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, MW3 attempts to out perform the previous titles that bare the same name with varied results. On one hand, these set piece moments have the potential of being just what's needed for the adrenaline filled pulse pounding moments of the game, but on the other hand the game itself seems as if it is trying too hard to be mentioned in the same breathe as Modern Warfare and the sequel. Maybe it's a little bit of the jaded gamer in me but MW3's campaign could have explored a few new game mechanics with a bit of realism through into the mix.
Another issue with the single-player campaign are the enemy AI. There are several instances where I would enter an area of the game—say a large corridor—with boxes and other scraps that are useful for hiding and in typical first-person shooter fashion enemies would floor behind said boxes and stuff, hopping up or out from cover in a very rudimentary style. Due to this Wac-a-Mole/Duck Hunt style of gameplay, there was rarely a moment where I felt challenged, sure I died a few times during the campaign but what is lacking from this particular game are those moments where you are so disgusted and frustrated by the level of resistance that you throw down your controller and turn off your system in order to recuperate. No recuperation is necessarily.
MW3 features a new Survival Mode; a cooperative gameplay where you in a partner fight endless waves of enemies, with each wave becoming increasingly difficult. This mode can be compared to Horde Mode from the Gears of War series; however, this mode is available on all multiplayer maps in the game. In the mode, players earn money for use on items such as weapons, upgrades, ammo, air/ground support and equipment. Special Ops also returns from Modern Warfare 2, with a few changes such as challenge missions now featuring up to 48 stars, unlike its previous installment, which featured 69. Also some weapons in Spec Ops are exclusive to that game mode.
With another Call of Duty, comes more multiplayer, however, the entire Killstreak reward system (now known as Pointstreaks) has been revamped. Kills are no longer the only way to increase the player's pointstreak. Completing objectives such as planting the bomb in Search and Destroy or capturing a flag in Capture The Flag awards points towards the player's Pointstreak. The rewards for Pointstreak are organized into three different “strike packages” called Assault, Support and Specialist. Each package works differently through multiplayer as Assault offers the chance to use Predator drones and attack helicopters while Support offers support-style rewards, such as UAVs and SAM Turrets. Along with the revamped Killstreak system, Modern Warfare 3 has also modified Ranking and Unlocks system, which does not use a currency system for unlocks.
For the first time in the franchise's history, player's primary weapons now levels up alongside the player, and unlocks a number of “Proficiency” perks such as Kick (reduced recoil while aiming down the player's sight). Another great new addition is the ability to equip Hybrid Scopes on a weapon, such as a Red Dot Sight and ACOG Sight on the same weapon, giving player's the ability to switch between the scopes. Prestige also returns to the game and MW3 introduces a “Prestige Shop” which is unlocked after a player prestiges for the fire time. The "Prestige Shop" allows Prestige players to use tokens they gain from using the Prestige option to buy exclusive features such as double XP and a extra custom weapon class.
graphics
The graphics are of a decent quality but they don't quite compare to those of (its counterpart, competitor or the recently released) Battlefield 3. For example, in Battlefield 3 you can toss a grenade towards a wall and after the grenade explodes chunks of the wall, smoking, crumbling to the ground leaving a sizable hole where the wall use to be. In Modern Warfare, when you toss a grenade and it explodes near a wall there's only smoke left in the aftermath. With three studios working on this game I expected deeper and richer environments instead there is lots of uninspired graphics found in both the single-player and multiplayer maps of MW3.
sound
As always the sound of war is both loud and booming. The combination of rattling shell casings bouncing against the pavement with orchestral tones and beats throughout the single-player campaign keeps even the most average of moments a little hair-raising. From hand guns to semi-automatic rifles, from grenades to RPGs, Modern Warfare 3 is rich with the sounds of war and violence.
replay value
If the focus of Modern Warfare 3 were simply the less than stellar single-player campaign I would have to recommend against a second play-through; however, the game's saving grace are all of the extras—Multiplayer and Spec Ops modes being two of them—packaged with the single-player story. With all of the possibilities of weapon and character upgrades as well as the new rewards system attached to multiplayer, there are strong reasons to keep these games in your console.
bottom line
With the Call of Duty franchise becoming more and more like the Madden football of FPS's, with a new game release on a yearly schedule, it is perfectly reasonable to start to see where more than a new coat of paint needs to be applied to this series. Regardless of the issues between Activision and the former heads of Infinity Ward, I was still expecting a thrilling wild ride to the finish, instead, I find myself torn between the many things I disliked about the third entry (the single-player campaign) and the new elements of the game (the Pointstreak system).
Review by: M. Quann Boyd
Posted: 12/13/2011
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Gameplay:
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7.0 |
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Graphics:
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7.5 |
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Sound:
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9.0 |
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Replay Value:
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7.0 |
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Bottom Line:
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7.5 |
