Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 review

The Call of Duty franchise has become the biggest of all time and once again Modern Warfare 3 has broken all records in terms of pre-orders and first week sales but are gamers just buying more of the same with a few tweaks or something completely new? If you’re a Call of Duty fan then you’ll be pleased to know it’s definitely better than Black Ops but if you are after something a little different then you’re not going to find it here, the main change being point streaks instead of kill streaks in multiplayer that reward you for not just killing. I’m reviewing the campaign mode in this feature because I tried the multiplayer mode and to be honest it’s not a patch on Battlefield 3‘s destructible environments and real-world movement but in terms of characters and story, Modern Warfare 3 wins hands down.

So what’s going on? Well, it’s set immediately after the events of Modern Warfare 2 where you’ll remember Soap McTavish was shot and left for dead. At the very beginning though, they put him back together (which should be simple, all you need is a bit of water and you mould the bits together - job done). The Russians are now on the offensive in retaliation for the airport massacre and playing as a variety of soldiers you fight in locales such as New York, London, Paris, Africa and Berlin to put a stop to it, rescue some VIPs and stop the naughty man who started it all.

Infinity Ward certainly know how to immerse you in the action and you’re taken on a ride like never before this time. Set pieces are the biggest they’ve ever been whether you’re riding in choppers, falling out of buildings, gunning enemies down on top of a vehicle or watching buildings crumble down around you. There’s plenty of destruction here but, apart from the micro stuff you see when bullets fly, it’s all scripted. Graphically things are also very polished if not a little too much. Everything’s a bit too shiny but this gloss goes with the Hollywood style they’re going for I guess. This game is certainly far from realistic. There’s also another controversial scene which you have the option to skip if you’ll find it offensive where a little girl gets caught in a bomb blast in London. It doesn’t offend me but this gratuitous scene may only fuel the fire for those who frown upon video games and blame them for all sorts of wrongdoing in the world.

Apart from the great story and action, there’s absolutely nothing new here in terms of innovation in gameplay and you’ll get through it in about 5 hours on normal mode but you’ll certainly have a lot of fun along the way. If you’re not into your multiplayer fighting then there’s also the Spec Ops mode where you can do separate missions alone or with a friend and a survival mode where you must fend off wave after wave of enemies.

As for multiplayer, you may not actually like the more open-world gameplay of Battlefield 3 and this might be right up your street instead. For me though, I’ve been spoilt by DICE’s offering so Modern Warfare 3 holds little value for me past the short single player experience. It’s still the best at what it does in that department though so it gets an 8 out of 10.

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Related: Modern Warfare 3 release date, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 review on Youtube