If you just want some stupid fun and aren't bothered by shallow gameplay and a convoluted story, this is your game.
Take heed, though. This game is gory and bloody. Not so much as the first two games in the series, mind you -as I've yet to disembowel anyone with a shotgun- but still, this is not for the faint of hearted. Exploding heads, dismemberment and general oh-damn-did-he-just-turn-into-a-bloody-pulp-ness are the order of the day here. You've been warned
So, let's talk story. Without the slightest introduction, the game drops you off in this Middle-Eastern city with a guy named Miller. You don't really get any background on who you are (You don't play as the old protagonist Mullins anymore) or who Miller is. All you're told is that you are to protect some Chinese ambassador. About 10 seconds later you're allready shooting terrorists in the face, as you try to reach this ambassador guy. When you do, Miller turns on you, mucks everything up and from there the story just doesn't make sense anymore.
It's not like you should really care, though. The game isn't even trying to tell a tale here, and the story really feels like it's just there to give you an excuse to shoot a legion of terrorists in the face. Wich is really what the game is all about, and what it does right.
If you're used to Ye Olde SoF gameplay, some aspects of the game are going to feel familiar to you. The weapons, although not too accurate, are all insanely powerful, literally tearing enemies apart (Very, very literally). Enemies pop out from out of nowhere (Also, sometimes literally), and your basic assignment is to shoot them. A lot of them. This takes place in jungles, terrorist hideouts in the deserts, industrial areas, etc.
The health system takes a different direction, though. No longer will you need to scavenge for medkits and armor. This time around, the health system is very akin to Gears of War or R6: Vegas. The more shots you take, the redder your screen will become, eventually leading to your untimely demise. But if you just take some cover, wait for a few seconds, you'll recover comepletely. This takes the tedious scaventing for health and armor away, but also makes some firefights ridiculously easy or difficult, depending on wether you can find proper cover.
It's ridiculously easy to see that the enemies are pure cannon fodder, though. They're all completely braindead. Sometimes they'll get smart and run for cover, but most the the time they'll run straight at you, shooting (Or not shooting), or more ridiculously, trying to get behind your back to punch (Not shoot, punch) you. These guys are a sad bunch, really, but I guess it kind of makes you feel less guilty about tearing them to pieces.
The game moves forward at a breakneck pace, and it's really over before it gets boring. An average player should spend no more than 10 hours to get through the campaign, 5-7 being enough for the more triggerhappy among us.
In the visual department, the game does allright. The enviroments vary from slightly drab to quite good looking. Live enemies animate a bit oddly, but they usually don't live long enough for you to notice. Dead enemies are a far neater bunch, with Havok enabled on everything you shoot off them. The game's main attraction, the blood and gore, looks good. Enemies spurt blood, crawl around in panic when you shoot their legs off, and generally die in very satisfying ways.
Audio isn't too different. The music isn't bad, with usually some cheesy action flick music playing on the background. Voice acting isn't bad either, but nothing remarkable. Guns sound excellent, though. From the squeek of a silenced sniper rifle to the satisfying boom of a shotgun, these babies sound like they mean it.
All in all, if you just want some stupid fun and aren't bothered by shallow gameplay and a convoluted story, this is your game.