Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review: little to play and no…

After essentially exhausting every possible setting, the Call of Duty franchise has been in its reboot phase for the past few years with a fresh take on the Modern Warfare trilogy. Despite these fresh takes never quite reaching the same heights as the games they’re reviving, they’re fun enough to be appreciated by both new and returning fans.

it all ends here call of Duty Modern Warfare 3,

With twisty open missions in its unremarkable campaign and a shockingly timely story about terrorism that has nothing of value to say, modern warfare 3 The campaign fails to capture the same electrifying energy of the final chapter of the original trilogy. While the multiplayer still offers the best gunplay in the business, the sequel’s cluttered storefront-first UI layout, lack of original maps, and tired design frustrations dramatically diminish the multiplayer experience.

Modern war 3 This isn’t just a misstep for Call of Duty – it may be the worst game in the franchise’s history.

no style, no substance

modern warfare 3The campaign has gained momentum since last year modern warfare 2 and sees Task Force 141 return to the fray once again, this time against possibly the most memorable villain in the history of the series: ruthless Russian terrorist Vladimir Makarov. This villain served as the omnipresent antagonist of the original modern war 3 (2009) and became known for his heinous acts, such as orchestrating the second game’s “No Russian” mission. His appearance here should have been an exciting twist to the rebooted trilogy, yet nothing about the game’s story or characters really works throughout the four-hour campaign.

Players connect emotionally to the characters, not the conflicts, so we need to care about the people in our stories before we can actually care about the world they’re trying to save. The actors playing Task Force 141 and their enemies are clearly talented people who make the best of what they’re given, but their performances are weighed down by a script that lacks even the slightest bit of gravitas. It happens. I would find it difficult to match the names of some characters and their faces modern warfare 3, leave alone remembering anything personal about him. They exist only to spew some military jargon or remind us that “Makarov is bad” in short pre-mission cutscenes that rarely slow down enough to give us even a fleeting glimpse that they’re the “good guys.” Who are beyond?

A game doesn’t need an emotionally rich story or deep, engaging characters to be good. If that were the case, Mario’s extremely simple goal of saving the princess for four decades still wouldn’t have landed his title on Game of the Year lists. However, while it’s a colorful platformer about a plumber who can transform into an elephant, it’s a game about an effective terrorist who inflicts rapid and devastating amounts of human suffering, yet it’s also based on extraordinary stress. There is nothing worth saying about the period of time in the world when it is perhaps most important to do so.

Granted, for many players who don’t really care about narrative, all of this will ultimately be secondary to the meat and potatoes of the Call of Duty campaign: tight, responsive gunplay and thrilling set pieces. Whereas modern warfare 3 The latter is a bit lighter than previous entries, which is no surprise given that it continues the excellent gameplay we’ve come to expect over the past few decades. The shooting feels great as always, and the selection of guns and gadgets are a lot of fun to use. The in-game lighting, environmental textures and character models are particularly stunning, with cutscenes reaching an uncanny valley effect that is truly stunning to behold. I just wish the game had higher production values ​​to actually make it more enjoyable to play.

Unfortunately, this year’s new Open Combat missions, flirting with a Warzone-esque single-player sandbox, make up about half of the campaign levels. These walks take you to a map and give you free rein to complete predetermined objectives. One of these asked me to work my way up each level of a tall, dilapidated building – often sending me on scaffolding and makeshift bridges to scale its walls – and it’s probably the most exhilarating mission of the entire campaign. . I cleared rooms and hallways at a breakneck pace before my steady progress culminated in an epic shootout on the rooftop, which left me yearning for increasingly exciting content of that caliber. Spoiler alert: I didn’t find any.

Instead, this departure from strictly linear missions is more of a gimmick than a revolutionary change that often slows down the game’s pace as you wander around looking for items. This ultimately steals the sense of urgency and tension that the franchise is known for. The tasks are mundane, like finding intel, disarming bombs, or blowing up some helicopters – and whether you do things stealthily or with guns, there’s no meaningful consequence. The myriad secret locations scattered around the map at least add some incentive for dedicated completers to replay missions, but I suspect most other players will lack any motivation to do so. I’m concerned that these missions serve to provide a glimpse into what open-world Call of Duty might look like in the future, and if that’s what we should expect, I’m not so sure it’ll stick the landing.

modern warfare 3 It’s at its best when it puts you through traditional missions that lead you to scripted segments, such as its opening prison break sequence. Although none of these reach any notable heights for the series, some of them at least provide momentary thrills. Then there are a number of missions that force you to watch civilians be murdered (or in one case, be an unwilling participant) in an attempt to sell us a new “No Russian”. These sequences are certainly uncomfortable in the moment, but come across as hollow shock-and-awe moments that are forgotten between shootouts. It’s all flavored cheap bubble gum that’s gone before you even chew it, and by the time it’s on the bottom of someone else’s shoe you’ll have forgotten about it.

what’s old is new again

Call of Duty has consistently perfected the fundamentals of run-and-gun shooting for two decades, blending excellent game experience and pacing with memorable maps, guns, and features that keep things feeling fresh, even if the surface But why not? Most of this continues modern warfare 3, Movement is fast and fluid, the gunplay produces some of the best feedback the series has ever offered, and both new and returning modes provide compelling reasons to dive in. This is especially true of the brand new Cutthroat mode, which offers heart-pounding 3v3v3. Elimination showdown where strategy is paramount and every shot counts. But despite its familiar ups and downs, modern warfare 3 It also highlights the increasingly disappointing decline of the franchise.

We’ve all learned not to expect any massive changes from year to year, but it’s still shocking modern warfare 3 The game is the first Call of Duty to launch without a native 6v6 map. Instead, it chooses to tap into the nostalgia of its players with maps recreated from the original. modern warfare 2 (2009). While it seems a bit lazy to specifically reuse old maps for a new game, I can’t deny that every single one of them looks absolutely stunning in their modern glory, and I enjoyed seeing that. How they have been reimagined for a new game. generation.

Most of the changes to these locations are minor (there are now doors that can be opened, and previously uninhabited waters are now swimmable), making it exciting to interact with an old favorite spot. But as I said in my modern warfare 2 review Over the past year, Call of Duty maps have slowly become filled with unnecessary amounts of clutter and an abundance of entry routes to every area. Reworking these classic maps ensures the trend continues.

Veterans of the franchise who grew up playing these maps may be thrown off guard when they discover that some obstacles or locations have been drastically changed, and some brand new sight lines change how Firing takes place at well-known places. Unless you’re a spawn-study expert with the reflexes of a cat, chances are you’ll often be overwhelmed by enemies firing at you from multiple angles at the same time – especially when Call of Duty focuses on vertical dominance. Increases more than ever.

This casualization of the franchise means that almost everyone gets a chance to score at least a kill or two, regardless of their skill, but it also means that the ceiling for competitive play is much higher. Overcoming this design choice and avoiding cheap deaths requires a deeper level of dedication and map awareness than ever before. Alas, I’m not superhuman and can only see in front of me, so I long for the days when shootouts depended almost entirely on my speed and aim rather than tracking a dozen sight lines at once. On my capacity. Your Mileage May Vary.

Enjoyed online fun in modern warfare 3 That’s when I was able to settle into a groove and enjoy shooting the gun. Like most multiplayer gaming, it’s just as enjoyable with friends who can strategize and laugh with you in equal measure. Still, there’s only so much nonsense I can tolerate before my irritation levels take over from benign enjoyment. Behind every irritation, there is something else that pushes me beyond my limits.

It’s one thing that the destructive UI makes every aspect of navigating the menus as unintuitive as possible. But then I also had to deal with a $70 game that was aggressively nudging me towards micro transactions with endless ads and prompts, effectively treating me like a user rather than a player. I can ignore the fact that all guns look the same overall. But then I have to admit that the sound of the footsteps of my friend sitting far away is much louder than the sound of my enemies sitting right above me. I can stomach the bad spawn points because, hey, Activision might as well market spawn camping as a feature, given that it’s still As such A prevalent issue after 20 mainline games. But I still have to endure blood-boiling inconsistencies that astonish me.

Combining all of these exciting elements with a single-player mode that feels like Dr. Frankenstein thrown together, modern warfare 3 This is the most important step forward for a franchise that has been on the rise for almost a decade. The short and forgettable story isn’t even remotely entertaining, and its multiplayer has no identity in the ever-expanding sea of ​​unique shooters. But hey, at least you can spend $20 for a celebrity skin. So maybe it’s time for the company to ditch the campaigns altogether and rebrand the series as what it really is now at its core: a storefront with a multiplayer mode attached.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 reviewed on PS5.