The Call of Duty franchise can be described as a habit. Whether you like it or not it’s just something that you keep playing and mostly because everybody else is doing it. While this may sound negative, in this case it’s not. The reality is people keep playing them because they keep getting better and bringing that level of entertainment to the masses. The Modern Warfare franchise is said to start this trend for the series and the third one continues that.
Getting straight to it the single player throws you into the madness that you had left from the previous game. Crazy firefights, endless amount of explosions and insane chase sequences are all here. It’s pretty much the standard here and it does it better then ever. While the intense amount of visceral action spreads across the entire game with little time to breath, it does bring everything together quite well in a solid 60 frames. Players either enjoy the speed and heart pounding tone of the single player or they don’t but chances are if you’ve played the last two then you do.
This game ties up all the loose ends from the previous two and finally end this story. Where the single player falls short is how linear it has become. It’s roughly the same length as the previous two games. Endless stairs and hallways become mundane. Waves and waves of enemies seem to be around every corner after awhile in certain difficulties. While you do get some very intense moments in the game it does somewhat feel like a rinse and repeat cycle. Still it is amazing how some of those intense moments feel like a roller coster ride that you want to go on again and again.
Spec Ops makes its return with a set of missions to either play solo or cooperatively with a friend. Missions that will have you and your partner do various things for different missions. Sometimes stealth, sometimes disarming bombs or controlling an area. Beyond this is a survival mode in Spec Ops that will let you and a buddy try to kill endless waves of enemies with increasing difficulty as you progress. Essentially it’s horde mode but with only two people. We’re not sure why there isn’t four players or so here but we assume it has to do with it’s timely release date. They are a nice addition to have either way.
Whether you enjoy the single player, Spec Ops or not, the real enjoyment comes from the multiplayer. When you break it down, not much has changed. However some of the new additions makes old feel new again. The new maps feel solid and are different in size according to bigger or smaller matches. The new offensive or defensive kill streaks are a big welcome. For the player that ranks up kills and is a loan soldier out in the field, offensive is the way to go. For the player that thinks defense is the best offense should be well suited with the defense kill streak. They are both meant for different tasks as they still work by reward for number of kills and will benefit how they see fit.
New modes include Kill Confirm which has become one of my new favorites. Not only do you have to kill your opponent but you must collect his/her dog tags from the fallen body to confirm the point. If you or someone from your team gets killed you can try to deny the opposing team of scoring the point by recovering their dog tag first. This takes matches and makes them up close and personal. Another is team defender where anyone from either team needs to grab a flag on the stage and hold on to it as long as they can. This game type is particularly fun as I’ve seen a lot of crazy strategies done to hold the flag down.
Unlocking kill streaks, weapons and perks are here and work in the same way. Weapons also have levels with different unlockables like before. This hasn’t changed here but together it becomes a frenzy of level ups. I’ve seriously have never leveled up more in an RPG then I have here. All other returning game types are here as well, along with custom game types to do what you will with them.
Something that was a concern for me was how the sound design for guns and the game overall fell kind of flat. Weapons feel like a blur of repetitive noise with no high or lows to them. They might be slightly better then the last but not by much. Voice however is done well and can feel the intensity of some of the in the single player. You can’t fully appreciate it as it gets lost with the noise of what’s going on around you.
Of course in terms of the Call of Duty franchise takes a major step forward by introducing Call of Duty Elite to players. Elite is the new way to check stats, leader boards and everything else involving the game. When you link your game account to the service you will be able to change/edit weapon load outs, find strategies, make in game videos from recordings and make a clan. There’s a website that will let you take advantage of this but there is also a dedicate app on the consoles as well. Much like the Battlefield 3’s battle-log and Halo Waypoint it is your center for Modern Warfare 3 goodness. Paying the premium or buying the Harden edition to the game only gives you more access. Getting first dibs on new DLC, map layouts and clan leveling is only some of it. If time is invested can easily improve your game.
Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games set out to give us the fix we were waiting on. The engine is dated but still holds up with how it throws everything at you but stays together at 60 frames. Single player closes the story, Spec Ops passes the time with a friend and multiplayer keeps you fixed for months on end. It can feel like the same game with a quick pass but with many of the new additions its the best it has ever been and will keep the fight going on.
