Modern Warfare 3 review: Multiplayer salvages lackluster campaign
Activision Open Combat Missions and the return of a fan-favorite villain aren’t enough to salvage an otherwise short and forgettable Modern Warfare 3 campaign. On the other hand, Multiplayer delivers one of the most memorable experiences in years.
Modern Warfare 3 is a particularly special game to review. For many, including myself, MW2 (2009) was my introduction to the Call of Duty series, and those memories of playing Rust 1v1 matches in a friend’s basement live on forever. MW3 is a spiritual successor to the iconic game in many ways but only fulfills half its potential.
Ironically, Modern Warfare 3’s main game modes directly oppose each other. Multiplayer is a love letter to Call of Duty fans and relives the glory days of playing Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Yet, the campaign also had a chance to tap into that nostalgia but wastes an all-star cast of memorable names.
Fortunately for Call of Duty, multiplayer does more than enough to bail out Modern Warfare 3 and make it one of the best series entries in years.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Key details
- Price: $69.99/£69.99
- Developer: Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward
- Release Date: November 10, 2023
- Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC
Modern Warfare 3 release trailer
Contents
Modern Warfare 3 campaign review
Activision Although slightly convoluted and confusing at times, Modern Warfare 2019 and MW2 managed to create a compelling storyline. Despite that, the absence of memorable villains kept both campaigns from reaching the same heights as other critically acclaimed single-player experiences.
First, MW 2019’s primary antagonist, Roman Barkov, ultimately played second fiddle to other antagonistic forces. Then MW2’s main baddie, Hassan Syani, suffered a similar fate, as General Shepard and Commander Graves stole the show with a twist betrayal.
MW3 rectified that weakness by bringing back the franchise’s most iconic villain, Vladamir Makarov. The power-hungry Russian mastermind is back and better than ever after starring as the main antagonist from the original Modern Warfare trilogy. But was his outstanding performance enough to carry an entire campaign on his shoulders?
Open Combat missions don’t feel like a COD campaign
Call of Duty campaigns, at their best, are a relatively straightforward equation to understand. Enthralling cutscenes, exciting set pieces, and shocking twists and turns combine to create a winning formula. MW3’s new open combat missions stray too far from what the franchise has built its reputation on.
Open Combat missions take the leash off and let players complete tasks however they see fit. Straight from Warzone’s book, you loot weapons, Killstreaks, armor, and Field Upgrades. On the surface, at least, It’s a fun opportunity to try out new guns and toy around with dumb AI enemies, but the novelty wears off fast.
The large open areas designed to serve as a playground are devoid of any life or personality, and it doesn’t help that most open combat missions use the same lazy script.
Precious Cargo has Farah go from objective to objective, placing GPS devices on missiles. In Reactor, Price destroys three helicopters, Crash Site has Farah locate electronic devices, and Ghost defuses three bombs in Gora Dam. Doing the same thing over and over again, under the guise of a new environment and with different characters didn’t add anything meaningful to the overall experience.
Oligarch stood out as the only memorable open combat mission, as Gaz fights his way from the bottom to the top of a Konni outpost to capture Makarov’s right-hand man. Oligarch finds the perfect happy medium between an open world and a classic mission, creating multiple ways to reach the top. It would have just been nice if the other open-combat missions achieved that same level of creativity.
Modern Warfare 3’s marquee addition ended up doing more harm than good, as open combat missions disrupted the story’s flow and felt out of place.
Makarov gets his time to shine
Activision Placing the spotlight back on Makarov, he successfully puts the world on the brink of World War III, and campaign fans finally get the villain they have been waiting for from Modern Warfare’s new timeline.
We see Makarov is willing to go to extreme lengths during two pivotal missions, but it can sometimes border on cartoonishly evil. Both show an egregious amount of violence on screen and don’t necessarily add substance to our villain. Still, they deserve credit for accurately painting the picture of a man willing to die in the name of his sick and twisted ideas propagating throughout the masses.
And his plan goes off without many hitches. In a concise window after breaking out of prison, Makarov easily frames the Urzikstan Liberation Force (ULF) for multiple attacks on Russia and even ties in the United States because of the CIA’s relationship with ULF.
MW3 does a great job of setting the stage for a potential major conflict between the East and West. And all credit goes to Makararov, whose performance raises the stakes to a level we haven’t seen since classic COD campaigns.
Unfortunately, MW3 pulls the rug out from under a story, just finding its wings. After a few weak filler missions, the story’s final mission finally delivers a twist worthy of a COD campaign. However, that shocking scene should have served as a rising action rather than a climax.
Stopping right before the fun begins
There is no payoff to the story or resolution to the conflict with Makarov. The best we get is another surprise in the end-game credits that sets up the events for COD’s next campaign. It’s tough to justify a four-hour campaign when Modern Warfare 2019 and MW2 delivered six-hour stories and answered every question about their primary antagonists.
Meanwhile, MW3 leaves fans hanging, amplifying the campaign’s other issues. For example, Deep Cover is a stealth mission, but all you end up doing is getting a disguise and walking through the front door. Tasks like this would be acceptable if the climax made the boring parts worth it, but it feels pointless when there is no proper ending. The same could be said about completing tedious tasks in open combat missions.
Looking back at the experience, you are much better off just watching a YouTube video summarizing the events of MW3 and moving on to the next campaign in hopes of a return to form.
Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer review
ActivisionModern Warfare 2 put multiplayer firmly in the shadow of Warzone, and that mistake drove fans away. MW3 rights those wrongs and then some by finally giving community members an experience they will want to load up and play every day. It all starts with the maps, and oh boy, Sledgehammer Games cooked up something special here. Modern Warfare 3 remasters all 16 maps from the original 2009 Modern Warfare 2, and they look glorious.
It’s not just legendary maps that make MW3’s multiplayer shine. Sledgehammer Games cleverly capitalized on frustrations that mounted during MW2 and reignited love for the franchise by going back to the basics.
First and foremost, being the return of slide canceling. The movement mechanic makes maneuvering around the map and outplaying enemies easier. It’s important to note that slide canceling no longer resets tactical sprinting like it initially did in Modern Warfare 2019. So, the controversial feature no longer has the same instantaneous feel as before, but the change turned out to be an excellent deterrent to players abusing it.
Other notable features brought back include the classic mini-map, dead silence as a perk, slowing down the time to kill (TTK) speed, and map voting. All of these contribute to multiplayer being everything fans requested but didn’t receive in MW2.
Feeling like a kid again
Funnily enough, Modern Warfare 3 excels not by adding prominent new features but instead by rewinding the clock to a simpler time. The first thing players will notice is the absence of weapon tuning. Gunsmith still pales in comparison to classic COD class builders, such as the reportedly scrapped Pick 10 system, but there will at least no longer be the added headaches of balancing a weapon with confusing sliders.
Instead, you get what you see at face value from an attachment, and Sledgehammer Games finally brings back detailed weapon stats to make things even more accessible and understandable. The days of relying on loadout websites or content creators to know what attachments specifically do are finally over. For example,
Last but not least, MW3 strips down the perk system and finally makes it so all chosen Perks are available at the start of each match. The combination of classic maps and features finally make it feel like a traditional COD game again, and it’s a feeling fans haven’t felt in years.
Not every feature hits it mark
Activision For everything great Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer does, it’s still not a flawless product. Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) is a silent but deadly killer. When you feel like you are getting better, the game’s brutal matchmaking system gives players a harsh dose of reality by matching them up against much more skilled opponents. Sure, it’s good to be challenged, but that’s why there is a separate playlist for Ranked.
MW3 also uses a questionable new weapon progression system called Armory Unlock. Most items in the game can be unlocked traditionally by just leveling up. But with Armory Unlock, some weapons, Equipment, Perks, Killstreaks, and Attachments can only be unlocked by completing challenges. The convoluted system creates an annoying roadblock that bogs the game’s progression down for no reason.
It’s also a good thing that map voting is back because there are still a few MW2 (2009) environments not worth revisiting, even after a much-needed facelift. Maps like Derail and Underpass still leave players feeling a little lethargic in comparison to favorites such as Highrise and Terminal.
Lastly, and arguably most importantly, the jury is still out for whether Sledgehammer Games will remain committed to delivering new multiplayer content. Season 1 promises to offer three new 6v6 multiplayer maps and the fan-favorite game mode Gunfight. But the first major update also introduces a brand new Warzone map, and we know all too well what game mode received preferential treatment in MW2.
The Verdict – 3/5
Modern Warfare 3 is a breath of fresh air and the closest we have come to having a genuine Call of Duty experience in the last few years. A forgettable campaign holds the game back from being an all-time great, but we could be in store for a fun ride, dependent on future content and support.