Following the release of last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, publisher Activision initially said that the annual military shooter franchise would take a year off. This is what made the late summer announcement of a third game in the rebooted Modern Warfare spin-off fairly strange. With reports beginning to reveal that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was initially conceived as an expansion to its 2022 predecessor, the disappointing end result makes sense.
Potentially going down in franchise history as the worst COD since 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, everything from single-player to multiplayer feels half-baked and rushed. Despite being a fully priced $70 game, the lack of overall value in Modern Warfare 3 (even considering series low points) is simply mind-boggling. If there’s any indication that the mainline entries in Call of Duty need to take a break post-Microsoft acquisition, this release should serve as the ultimate example.
Developer Sledgehammer Games takes the reins of MW3 after 2021’s middling World War II entry, Vanguard. For this entry, the single-player wonkily divides the mission structure between more traditional linear moments the series is known for and Open Combat missions. Meanwhile, multiplayer is a backstep that doesn’t push the most important aspect of the series into new directions. The fact that the launch lineup of maps is directly pulled from the OG Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 seems like a lazy cash grab.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available now on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X|S and PC. Here are our thoughts on the shooter after playing around a week and a half split between single-player and multiplayer modes.
With a short single-player campaign and an expansive but familiar set of multiplayer options, Modern Warfare 3 is a lackluster package that you're better off waiting on a sale for.
What we liked about it
Single-player campaign takes some interesting chances
Outside of providing a narrative and showing off the series’ Hollywood blockbuster-like production values, a COD single-player campaign’s main goal is to get players comfortable with gameplay mechanics for multiplayer. Considering how much has changed with the series with battle royale-favorite Warzone and DMZ later on, both modes were going to influence the single-player campaign eventually. This is where the introduction of Open Combat missions come into play.
These missions essentially take place in a large open map and allow players to take on objectives in any way they see fit. Players can attempt to be stealthy or run in guns blazing. There are even weapon stashes conveniently placed around the maps, which takes away from the level of realism developer Infinity Ward attempted to display in the first two Modern Warfare reboots. However, there is a small bit of entertainment value in attempting to play out missions differently. The first mission features series protagonist Farah Karim attempting to secure American-made missiles at a port from reimagined villain Vladimir Makarov. These Open Combat portions make up nearly half the single-player campaign, but the more standard linear missions still stand out the most.
The opening mission in MW3 is definitely better than that of the last entry and serves as a grand introduction to Makarov. Players initiate a raid on the Zordaya Prison Complex situated in Verdansk, where players get a clever understanding of how evil the fictional Russian warmonger is from the jump before things get even darker. In a callback to the OG Modern Warfare 2’s controversial No Russian mission, there is one mission that does establish Makarov as the most ruthless villain in franchise history. Other highlightable missions include a fairly dynamic mission in Siberia alongside a flashback mission in Verdansk Stadium that takes place during a terrorist attack where serious precision is a must.
Presentation is still top-notch
One thing that remains consistent with any mainline COD game is the phenomenal audio and visual presentation. Though it doesn’t push any new visual boundaries, MW3 stands next to its predecessor when it comes to graphics quality. Everything from texture detail, animation and lighting to pre-rendered cutscenes all look fantastic. It doesn’t matter if players are in linear or Open Combat; the game manages to maintain a speedy and smooth frame rate without any noticeable dips. Like other games in the series, it’s extremely scalable on gaming PCs alongside different visual modes for both PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Regardless of how one plays MW3, players are in for a visual treat that performs well too.
What players hear is just as important as what they see when it comes to contemporary COD games, and MW3 manages to deliver in spades as well. Guns sound incredibly powerful. The soundtrack composed by Walter Mair (following the departure of series reboot composer Sarah Schachner) is as cinematic as ever. All of the cast from the previous games returns, including Barry Sloane as SAS Captain John Price and Samuel Roukin stepping back in the shoes as Lieutenant Simon “Ghost” Riley. It’s also important to note that Julian Kostov brings a real gravitas to Makarov as one of the most memorable villains.
Loads of things to do in multiplayer
Considering how short the single-player campaign is (more on that later), the multiplayer will make up a majority of your experience with MW3. Thankfully, there’s tons to do when playing against or with various individuals online. One thing that returning players will appreciate is that all progress from last year’s MW2 gets carried over too.
As mentioned previously, the first set of standard multiplayer maps at launch is directly pulled from the original MW2, which could be considered problematic for some. It’s been well over a decade, so many of these maps may be new to series newcomers, and they’ve been visually updated. It would be nice to have some fresh places for battle during more standard modes like Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, Kill Confirmed and Hardpoint. One new mode within the rotation of maps is called Cutthroat. The 3v3v3 mode has three teams attempting to kill one another in sets of three rounds. Players can get placed into a knocked-down state like in Warzone and can potentially be revived by teammates.
There are some new maps that lend themselves to various usage of Urzikstan from Warzone, including Ground War and War. Like previous iterations, Ground War is a 32v32 mode that attempts to reach the scope of Electronic Art’s Battlefield games. A more containable 6v6 mode called War features an interesting concept that has one team completing a linear section of objectives as the other team attempts to stop them.
The most interesting mode is Zombies mode, which comes to the Modern Warfare subseries for the first time. The best way to describe this take on Zombies is that it blends the open-world objective gameplay of DMZ with light inspirations from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction. Players land on a zombified version of Urzikstan and complete objectives. Between objectives, players can upgrade their player and guns like previous iterations of Zombies.
Modern Warfare 3 offers a compelling multiplayer experience, especially with the inclusion of familiar maps and Cutthroat mode. While some may find the recycled maps from MW2 a bit nostalgic, the addition of new maps that tie into Warzone and the introduction of the Zombies mode make MW3 a unique and engaging installment for both returning players and newcomers alike.
What we didn’t like about it
Single-player is incredibly short
Since the franchise began decades ago, the average COD single-player campaign usually lasts between 10 and 15 hours. This is usually enough to get a respectable narrative while playing around with various combat scenarios. On a casual playthrough, MW3 can literally be finished within a night. During our playthrough, we clocked in around five hours before the final credits rolled.
The Open Combat missions add some replay value to missions, but not enough to make them feel like completely different experiences. Like MW2 and unlike MW3, there isn’t a collateral damage score for accidentally killing innocent people when those moments happen.
Now, MW3 does end on a cliffhanger, so maybe some more single-player campaign missions will be available down the line. Right now, though, the lack of real meat is noticeable.
Considering the short development time that Sledgehammer Games had as well as reports that MW3 was originally going be an expansion pack, the shorter single-player is understandable. The problem comes in charging $70 for a handful of short missions.
Enemy AI and Open Combat missions are problematic
Though Call of Duty as a series has continued to make progress when it comes to single-player, one thing that hasn’t gotten better is the enemy AI. When playing more linear missions that get players from point A to point B in the most cinematic way possible, there are many ways for enemy combatants to rush and flank players. The same is true for MW3. Nothing changes in terms of AI dynamics during the more traditional moments; it’s literally the same even during more stealth missions.
Even during stealth missions, there’s no real tension, as AI isn’t very smart.?One mission titled Deep Cover places players in the shoes of series regular Kate Laswell as she infiltrates Arklov Peak Military Base. It’ll remind many of the Desperate Measures mission from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War where players infiltrate the KGB — but?without the clever yet tense moments.
The worst flaws in the enemy AI become more pronounced during the Open Combat missions. When attempting to be stealthy, enemies barely react to their teams being killed in front of them. Outside of a short alarmed state and possible running to an alarm to bring in more combatants, it’s relatively easy to use the open world against them. Once engaged in a firefight, they have to be dedicated, because enemies always know a player’s position. It’s impossible to play cool cat-and-mouse games like in Far Cry or The Last of Us.
Whether navigating linear or stealth missions, the persistent lack of adaptive enemy AI detracts from the overall experience. As the series evolves, addressing these shortcomings is paramount to unlocking the full potential of the immersive and challenging narratives that the Call of Duty franchise has the capacity to deliver.
It feels like an overpriced expansion
The single-player is remarkably short, and the multiplayer is pretty much made up of mostly recycled assets. Why is this game fully priced? Considering this game was only in development for a year and a half and initially created as an expansion pack, the lack of real consumer value with MW3 is borderline disrespectful.
Even the quality of multiplayer has taken some hits this time due to spawn points that are bad enough for Activision to pull maps from player rotation. MW3 might have been a different recommendation if the price were significantly less, but this year seems like a shameless cash grab. It’s obvious that there will be more maps, characters, guns and the like coming via seasonal updates that’ll probably cost real-world money. This means that dedicated players are going to be paying more than $70 for a game with less value than its predecessor.
Bottom line
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 dissapoints with a short and lackluster single-player campaign, presenting a missed opportunity for innovation and narrative depth. The recycled maps in multiplayer, although nostalgic, contribute to an overall sense of the game being an expensive expansion.
Despite the top-notch presentation and the addition of new modes like Cutthroat, the game thoroughly falls short. When Modern Warfare was rebooted in 2019, it set the stage for something that many hoped would resurrect a slowly dying series. Though the rise of popular spinoff Warzone has made the series as popular as ever, the sacrifice is that mainline entries lack a real spirit.
