Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: The Review

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Single-Player

To start the discussion on single-player, I would like to say that MW3 resembles both of its predecessors. In a lot of way. Either for good or for bad. We all know how InfinityWard rediscovered the FPS games which were lost in WWII and with that game, they gave players a breakthrough single-player and an exciting, rewarding and something entirely new experience in multi-player, which is why there are still people playing the game even after 4 years.

2009 marked the height of series (at least in financial way ), with Modern Warfare 2 delivering a new experience with Single-player, adding spec-ops to the package and giving an exciting multi-player (for consoles) to the players. Many people I talked to said that t was a step down, in the single-player part, from Modern Warfare but nonetheless, it was quite good fun even if the story wasn't intriguing, it still got many positive reviews.

Now comes the last (presumably) part of the trilogy which brings an end to the main story.

The engine is the same old one here, no surprise here. They haven't even changed the fonts of the game and menu designs. I don't know how to put this but I was expecting something more from a game that is going to be the successor of the best selling game.

The story picks up where the previous one left, just, literally, after some minutes, where Soap and Price after killing Shepherd are going to a safe house of Nikolai'. There Soap survives and so begins the hunt for Makarov who has triggered multiple full scale attacks across the Europe and USA. And this is what its all about, really. Kill Makarov. Which isn't a bad thing entirely though.

The campaign design, levels are very similar to its predecessor. But there is something different to it.

e.g. the large scale battle are great and provide good fun, although playing on hardest difficulty, I found myself dying a lot, three bullets is all it takes.

Aside from these large scale battles, they have included some new weapons to the game. Besides this, there isn't much to say here. You are taken from USA to Europe and back to USA and the missions are familiar. Extremely familiar.

It took me approximately 8 hours to finish the campaign and frankly, it wasn't as disappointing as I anticipated it to be. Better in some ways and worse in others, it left an overall positive impression.

The ending is epic, really. I was stunned by the ending design. I wasn't hoping for something like that but still it was damn good.

Campaign is short, bear in mind. It isn't long and it should've been but there's nothing we can do about it

8.5 out of 10

Special-Ops

There are two modes when it comes to spec-ops, survival and missions. There are about 15-20 in each section and can be played solo or with a friend. I've played some solely and I found it to be a lot of fun.

Survival mode, especially, is really fun and it gives the player complete control over the map with weapons armoury, killstreak rewards and else.

As you level up you unlock new weapons, which can be bought within the game. You unlock new perks and killstreak rewards to tackle the difficult enemies.

At higher levels, the enemies turn surprisingly difficult. They hide behind cover, throw grenades at you and will show aggressive behaviour.

I was able to get to the 22nd wave in the first map of survival mode and by then, it becomes almost impossible to handle them alone.

Missions, too are a great fun to be had. Some are really nice and are derivatives from single-player campaign. Some of them are really challenging and extremely fun.

9.25 out of 10

Multi-Player

Its a no brainer that games these days are designed to deliver a good multi-player experience, reagardless of how good or bad the single-player experience is.

But things have changed since the early days of the franchise and they hardly focus on single-player now. Its almost all about the multi-player :(

But, for me, its hard to swallow, given the history of the franchise, known for delivering excellent and long single-player campaigns.

But I guess this is where everyone is headed these days.

Multi-player in Modern Warfare 3 is a lot similar in many ways to its predecessor and different in a lot of ways too.

To state the obvious similarities, hmmm... lets say, the same engine, the same action packed, fast paced gameplay. And above all, the same font.

But there are changes made in multi-player which makes it more diverse, if you may, than ever.

For starters, there is an excellent addition of weapon customization, which to me is great addition. It gives you complete control of the weapon and is quite helpful in many ways.

Then there are three classes, which are great too. All of them have their own ups and downs and none of them feels over-powered. The balance is just right.

The new game mode kill confirmed is as exciting as it sounds. Its great, if you ask me. It creates a sense of immersion among the players and tell them that to win, you just can't sit in a corner and camp. You have to constantly move to win.

Then there is a new mode in which a movable flag is to be captured and held by the team as long as they can. It, to me, is the first time the franchise has put emphasis on teamwork and this mode here is all about teamwork. I really, really enjoyed this mode.

The rest is the usual Call of Duty experience you've come to like or hate. There isn't really much to it but what is, is great and in my opinion, dare I say, this is the best multi-player experience to date from the franchise, on par or besting the original one.

The game has 16 newly designed maps which are good, for the most part. Some of them are really good ones and the shortness of them really makes the player stay attentive all the time.

The new point streak system is good too. It is good for new players but not too good for the experts of the series.

I haven't had the chance to play with Call of Duty Elite but a friend of mine (on Xbox) says that its great.

8.75 out of 10

The Verdict

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is a good game in many ways. Yes it is awful lot similar to its predecessor which is both in its good and in its bad.

The same old engine is what bugs me the most. Then there is the things which might only be a problem to me is that the formula sticks extremely similar to its predecessors. These proven-mechanics are good for some but not for all. There is a handsome amount of money they ask and I don't think the price tag justifies some additions. For this price, we should get something different, not some additions.[/left]

Nonetheless, it is a great addition to the series which gives a good campaign, excellent spec-ops and great multi-player.

8.75 out of 10

[Muhammad Farrukh]

No feedback? :(

[Roger H. Veteran]

I'll be getting a Xbox 360 again oneday and this is one of the games that makes me miss having it. BF3 I guess is another.

Moved to Reviews by Members for Members

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Moved to Reviews by Members for Members

Sorry about that. Guess I wasn't attentive enough :p

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Great Post Mohammed!

[Packet1009]

Dear lord - 22 waves is where you died on that first level?

friend and i could only get to wave 4 when we started playing last night

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Great Post Mohammed!

Thanks. Appreciate the feedback (Y)

Dear lord - 22 waves is where you died on that first level?

friend and i could only get to wave 4 when we started playing last night

On the first map. It was my third attempt.

[Razorwing]

I just finished it. The story was good, but i didn't like the fact the 3rd party character... Frost? Didn't have a real connection to Soap nor Price. I like how in MW2, you either played as either and they end up having much respect as we can see at the mid-point of the game.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

I just finished it. The story was good, but i didn't like the fact the 3rd party character... Frost? Didn't have a real connection to Soap nor Price. I like how in MW2, you either played as either and they end up having much respect as we can see at the mid-point of the game.

Yeah, but I guess Sandman was pretty close to Price so that's one way of looking at it