The end of the warfare sparks the beginning of many battles to come.
Modern Warfare 3 is a game that has been hyped up by millions of people, but being the 8th game in the main Call of Duty franchise, would it be able to live up to the hype and keep the franchise a success? The answer to that question is yes.
Modern Warfare 3 did not add all that many new concepts to the Call of Duty series, but constantly adding new things to a series that doesn't need much updating won't do it any good. They fixed a lot of the bugs that the previous games had and improved upon it, as opposed to just adding tons of new goodies to make fans happy for a little while.
Instead, Modern Warfare 3 brings back the favorite characters, weapons, items and storyline that fans of the Modern Warfare trilogy have loved since the first Modern Warfare game came out several years ago in a superb attempt to end the series with a bang.
Some may call this recycling old concepts, which is true in a way, but what Infinity Ward really wanted to do was find out the strong points of their series and strengthen it to make this the best game in the series, and it definitely achieves that.
Modern Warfare 3 features the biggest arsenal out of any of the Call of Duty games to date, but unfortunately it seems as if they went for quantity over quality on some parts of it.
Unfortunately, a campaign with a lot of stale moments does take away from the overall experience. Modern Warfare 3 has some of the most exciting moments in any Call of Duty game ever, but it also has some parts that branch from the story and are pointlessly added to fill time in an otherwise short, but great campaign.
Bringing back Special Ops was a great idea, but it isn't anywhere near as fun as the Special Ops from Modern Warfare 2. It's much easier and lacks the intense Juggernaut matches and massive stand-offs that really sparked in its prequel. The Survival mode is a great addition, but it does get old after a few hours of playing it.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 features the same control scheme as you're used to from the previous Call of Duty games, which really makes it easy to jump back into if you've ever played one of the Call of Duty games before.
Graphics
It's true that Modern Warfare 3 hasn't evolved much in terms of graphics since Modern Warfare 2, but it is still a very spiffy-looking game. Aside from the occasional visual artifact or technical glitch, there is actually quite a bit of detail in the maps, especially in the single-player campaign and Special Ops. Multiplayer graphics do suffer a bit and a noticeably lesser amount of detail.
The campaign looks great, and the cut-scenes are actually quite great. There is lots of action going on, so it's nice to see they didn't get sloppy with the explosions and the inaccessible parts of the map. The character models look alright, but are nothing to be admired.
Sound
All of the voice actors did a good job to help make the game feel more realistic, aside from Makarov's, who I'm almost 100% sure is a different voice actor than the previous games. He sounds much different than he did in previous games, which kind of confused me at first.
The sound effects in the game are as good as ever, from loud explosions to the soft footsteps of an enemy about to come up behind you and knife you. The game is best played with a headset or nice speakers, however.
Story
Modern Warfare 3 does a good job at picking up right where Modern Warfare 2 left off. The game takes place directly after the ending events of Modern Warfare 2.
The only troubling thing about the story is how many different perspectives there are. Don't get me wrong, it's great that they incorporated new characters into it, but some of the sections just feel like filler. It would have been nice to see a bit more of Soap and Price.
Aside from Yuri, who is Soap and Price's new teammate, you will also play as Task Force 141 member "Frost", and you're teamed up with Grinch, Sandman and Truck, who are great additions to the Call of Duty series.
Multiplayer
Modern Warfare 3 doesn't feel as balanced as Modern Warfare 2, as many guns still have yet to be nerfed, such as the Akimbo FMG9s, Type-95 Rapid-Fire, PP-90M1 and the MK14.
There are plenty of new items, such as the Trophy System, which is a large dome-like configuration on legs, which takes down two enemy projectiles, such as grenades and flashbangs. If placed tactically, it can be very useful for snipers in windows who are getting pelted with grenades.
Other new additions include EMP Grenades (which temporarily disables electronics), Bouncing Betties (anti-personnel mines) and the Portable Radar, which is somewhat like a stationary heart-beat monitor.
As usual, this entry to the Call of Duty series has plenty of levels (80), and 10 Prestiges to keep you going. Unless you're a hardcore Call of Duty player, you probably won't make it to 10th Prestige until the next Call of Duty game comes out, as it takes around 20-30 hours (depending on skill level) to Prestige.
As you Prestige, instead of just getting new slot unlocks, you'll also be able to unlock different things with Prestige Points, such as special titles and emblems.
There are also plenty of perks to unlock and use, and Infinity Ward has done a good job at balancing them out. Some of the old favorites from Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2 have returned, as well as a bunch of brand new perks such as Overkill, which allows two primary weapons at once, though the second one cannot have any attachments.
And of course, killstreaks and deathstreaks are back. There are now three different "sets" of Killstreaks: Assault has killstreaks that are powerful and intended for offense, but your killstreak resets upon death. Support has killstreaks that are meant to support your team, such as EMPs and Juggernaut suits. Finally, Specialist, which gives you extra perks as you get kills, as opposed to killstreak rewards. There are some new and old deathstreaks, such as the ever-so-popular Martyrdrom and Final Stand, and the new ones include Dead Man's Hand, Revenge, Juiced and Hollow Points.
Knifing is still a bit glitchy, and if you're sprinting at an enemy and go to knife him, you might just go right through him and get killed because of it.
Longevity
With all the content there is to be had in Modern Warfare 3, you won't be bored any time soon. Even if you aren't a fan of the multiplayer, there's still a good 5-10 hours to be played on the campaign (difficulty dependant), and quite a few hours to be had with Special Ops. If you're not interested in the single-player aspects, there's a great multiplayer experience, though it still has its issues. If you really get into it and start Prestiging, you're looking at a few hundred hours of total game time.
The Verdict
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has attracted lots of controversy and stereotypes from gamers, but it's a really enjoyable game. It's a great end to the Modern Warfare trilogy, and with a multiplayer that brings back a lot of the old stuff fans loved from the prequels, it's one of the most addictive games this year.
Pros:
• Great end to the trilogy
• Superb multiplayer
• Voice-acting is great
• Lots of content
Cons:
• Filler parts in the story are not as much fun
• Glitches and visual artifacts
• Knifing issues
Gameplay: 8.5
Graphics: 8.5
Sound: 8.5
Story: 8.5
Multiplayer: 9.0
Longevity: 9.5
8.5/10