Modern Warfare 3

 

Modern Warfare 3’s campaign starts us right smack in the middle of World War 3 which is also where Modern Warfare 2 ended. Of Course, we also get a multiplayer experience and the return of Special Ops. I will cover each in this review.

Let’s start with the campaign. We are reacquainted with Price and Soap along with some new characters. This is one thing that draws people in, characters who actually drive you and are not just random soldiers. It helps immerse you into the story. And the story does not disappoint, in fact it was very well written and ties things off very well. The gameplay controls and mechanics are back and familiar. The graphics looks better and the sound is spot on with no disappearing acts (thankfully). As far as the difficulty and enjoyment of the game I can say it was a fun ride and a good challenge. Not overwhelming, but challenging. We do have along the story a scene that may be disturbing to some and you get the option to skip. This is smart and help widen the appeal and acceptance of the game. It took roughly 6 hours to complete the campaign.

Special Ops is another challenge, but luckily we can bring a friend! Here we have some timed and objective based missions that fit along side the story of the campaign. These missions play like the campaign and offer three difficulties. They are indeed fun and challenging, too! Along with those mission we get a new option. This is survival mode and the easiest way to describe it is by comparing it with horde of Gears Of War or zombie mode of the previous Call Of Duty games. The differences being that you face off against waves of military enemies and can purchase weapons, equipment and aerial support as you earn points/monies by killing said enemies. This is one that you want a friend as it gets very challenging. All of the game modes in Special Ops also have a ranking system that is separate from multiplayer, but otherwise the same concept.

Big bad Multiplayer is back with 16 maps at launch and more coming via DLC.  Quite frankly multiplayer is everything we know and love from Modern Warfare 2 with a few changes. We now have strike packages which we can alter the way are kill streaks work. Assault Strike Package works in the traditional sense while Support Strike Package works in, well, a supporting role. Not only does dying not count against your Strike Package, these kill streak options provide much needed support on the battlefield. An example being ballistic vests that you can earn then drop for your team. Another addition is  the Weapon Rank system. Choose your weapon as as you get kills with it, it ranks the weapon up and unlocks proficiencies and attachments. Proficiencies allow things like less recoil, multiple attachments, stability, and less flinching when hit-just to name a few. Jumping in to multiplayer was rush, the graphical change blew me away. It looks great and feels much more responsive and faster, too!

And last but not least let’s talk about Elite. Elite is a new service both paid and free that allows you to get stats, change load outs, improve your skill and even compete with others for prizes. Those of us that paid for the yearly membership at $49.99 or 4000 MS points get even more access and a years worth of DLC included. A few other things to point out is that the service integrates into the game and in accessible on the Xbox 360 (or PS3) as well as online and even as a smartphone app (iPhone and android). This is a way to extend the community of MW3 and future Call Of Duty titles and help create an more immersive experience. It was unfortunate that the service was not available on launch do to some server issues, but Activision is giving all of us that paid for it an extra month free. Not bad at all.

All in all, I am impressed with Modern Warfare 3. It provided a fun, challenging, and frustration free campaign. A immersive and fun multiplayer experience along with the new Special Ops that are just as fun as the campaign. In my plays through (yes more than once) I encountered no glitches and in multiplayer I can only see the usual lag or AT&T DSL connection problems I get with most online games. Based on my experience playing this game and the fact that I will be returning to multiplayer again and again, I hereby give Modern Warfare 3 a score of 9 of 10. It’s not perfect but it sure comes close. Wink, Wink.