When Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 was announced I did feel a bit robbed by Activision as we only just got Modern Warfare 2 (2022). I feel the rate at which Call of Duty games are coming out nowadays makes for poor title instalments rather than gaming masterpieces like we got with the Original Call of Duty Moder Warfare Trilogy and Call of Duty: World at War. These were the Call of Duty games that will forever be the pinnacle of the franchise for this reviewer.
When the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 campaign trailer dropped and we saw the return of Vladimir Makarov, I did believe that they could be onto a winner. They also revealed that they would be introducing open combat missions to the campaign which at first sounded interesting and I was looking forward to seeing how it was going to play out. That being said, the release date was fast approaching and then the reviews started to surface and what I once had hopes for quickly became a disaster once again.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against their ultimate threat. The ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov is extending his grasp across the world causing Task Force 141 to fight like never before. We are all familiar with Vladimir Makarov. He is meticulous, cold, calculating, and a soldier to his core. The web he weaves is vast, already influencing the events of Modern Warfare 2 and beyond through his pawns such as the PMC Konni Group, and others– whether they know it or not.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 features similar gameplay to its predecessor (Modern Warfare 2) and other games in the series. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 single-player campaign features a mixture of linear missions which I love about the Call of Duty single-player campaigns but introduces open-world missions known as “Open Combat Missions”. In these missions, there is a sense of freedom where you get to choose how you want to approach designated objectives. This tries to encourage the player to choose how they want to tackle the missions. Do you go in all guns blazing (open combat) or go for the stealth and ambush tactics.
You get access to a map that includes a tactical map, which outlines objectives and equipment that you can add to your arsenal. This is where I felt a bit let down by the campaign as it started to feel like Warzone/DMZ as there were caches of weapons, gear, and specialized equipment. It lacked the gameplay that I loved about a Call of Duty Campaign. Enemies are meant to react accordingly during these missions but I felt like it was difficult at times to avoid all-out gunfights even when trying to be stealthy. They do search for you if you manage to get out of their line of sight and they will call for reinforcements when needed.
My favourite missions in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 were the linear ones as they felt more like the traditional campaigns that we get from COD. The Open Combat Missions just felt like rehashed Warzone locations and mechanics that I didn’t feel had a place in a campaign setting. The idea of open-world missions is good and if they had done it with a bit more passion rather than just recycling what we have already seen they maybe I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 campaign did have some fun moments but most of the missions felt like Spec Ops rather than a cinematic masterpiece. I read before playing the campaign from other reviewers that it was super short and could be completed within three to four hours. I felt super let down at this as normally the campaign lasts longer and packs more of a punch. So, I decided to play the campaign straight off the bat on veteran to try and make it last longer so I got my worth out of the campaign. Though even playing it on Veteran it felt easier than previous instalments Veteran was difficult but there was the running frustration of enemies throwing ridiculous amounts of grenades.
There were some good missions that I enjoyed playing, these being Frozen Tundra, Deep Cover, and Highrise. I believe these struck a fondness to me due to the familiar formula they use and follow compared to previous COD Campaign missions but as much as Deep Cover might want to relive the glory days of All Ghilled Up. It just goes to show that no matter how many times they try to put a stealth mission into a COD campaign with a suppressed sniper it doesn’t always lead to a winner.
I’m not sure what Sledgehammer Games were thinking when they recycled the majority of this campaign from Warzones Battle Royale map but it didn’t go down a success as I think they had imagined it would. The campaign does seem to try and swing the storyline back towards Vladimir being the main influence rather than the mess of a story we got with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The thing with Call of Duty games at the moment is they seem to be coming out way too quickly which is starting to show in the gameplay and story.
If they took the time to make a decent story as we had back in the day with the original trilogy, then we could have had something special with this current MW trilogy but instead, we have simmers of the past, butchered in the Modern Day. Modern Warfare (2019) campaign was a solid starting point but they quickly detreated following the release of Modern Warfare 2’s (2022) campaign and then a year later with this one.
Conclusion
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 single-player campaign does blow me away and feels like a rushed attempt at finishing the trilogy. What showed signs of promise in the lead-up to release with Vladimir Makarov making a return, I was excited to see what Sledgehammer Games had done. However, it instead ends up being a lackluster attempt to relive the glory days from twelve years ago. Some story missions had moments of enjoyment but it’s attempted to introduce new open combat missions designed as an interesting premise but doesn’t work when you put it into the campaign.
It tries to promote player freedom that instead makes the campaign feel more like a spec ops mission rather than a cinematic masterpiece we are used to seeing with Call of Duty. Don’t get me wrong, the gunplay is still great, the graphics and sound design are top-tier, and there were some enjoyable missions but I couldn’t help but feel I was just playing a DLC pack rather than a state-of-the-art story. It does put into question what direct Activision is going as this quality isn’t anywhere near what we’ve come to expect from a Call of Duty campaign.
Personally, this franchise could do with a little vacation or time out to rekindle the flames at what once made this series’ Campaign missions hit hard and produce memorable moments. For this reason, I’m giving Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Single-Player Campaign a 5 out of 10 for showing signs of potential but falling flat at the finish line.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Trailer
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