When it comes to gaming certainties, there are few things more certain than an annual release of the storied Call of Duty franchise. In any of its many iterations, the franchise traditionally is seen as a benchmark for which other FPS games aspire to. Some years are good years (Black Ops, Modern Warfare 2), and others are so-so (CoD3, World at War). The commonality between those up and down years is obvious as Treyarch really only has one high end edition of CoD to its credit, while Infinity Ward has traditionally been the driving force behind much of the franchise’s high quality products. With some well documented developer talent changes being made and some of the multiplayer work being done by newcomer Sledgehammer, Modern Warfare 3 had the potential to wind up in the pile of so-so CoD games. The end result, to be honest, is a bit of a mixed bag.
Recent entries in the series have essentially come to set the expectation that Call of Duty games are comprised of 3 or 4 different modes, each a separate entity unto itself. This time around is no different. In MW3, we find the standard single player campaign, which picks up in the extended aftermath of MW2, with the world essentially on the brink of global war. Also included this time around are the standard multiplayer offering, as well as some cooperative gameplay elements. Players can partake in the returning spec-ops mode, found in MW2, or in an all new survival mode. Survival mode plays out much like a combination of horde mode from Gears of War, and the established zombie mode found in numerous other CoD entries.
On screen action can get hot and heavy at times.
The single player campaign plays out just as anyone would expect it to. Players can expect to see numerous set piece events which would make Michael Bay shed a single tear much like a Native American in a commercial about littering. Behind all of the pomp and circumstance lies a story that unfortunately plays out predictably, rarely bringing the heat that MW or MW2 brought. Only once did we find ourselves with a sense of surprise throughout the story, and for a series that has built a reputation on epic, memorable moments…that’s a cause for concern. Still, the story isn’t all bad. The characters are fleshed out well enough, and we did have a strong connection to them as it’s essentially been the same cast of characters for three games now. The good in all of this is that very few are picking up this game to experience the single player story alone so it’s not as though the product relies on a strong story to complete the experience. One area that we do want to nitpick before we move on is the never ending monster closets. We feel it’s time that CoD and its subsequent developers start finding a way to incorporate enemies into games that don’t involve us having to cross an invisible line for never ending waves to finally end. Just a small thing we felt the need to bring up.
The task of carrying the load, as in all CoD, games falls on the robust multiplayer. With a vast array of options, CoD always seems to be king of the console multiplayer market, at least when it comes to shooters. While the multiplayer system has had its share of issues, the teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer have gone to great lengths to improve some inconsistencies from previous entries. Gone are the days of killstreaks, which have now been replaced and renamed as pointstreaks. The most basic summarization of the new system is that kills are no longer the only action which goes into a player’s success as planting a bomb or capturing a flag in an objective based game now matters. The system is broken down into three packages: assault, support and specialist. Assault offers up rewards like predator drones or attack choppers. Support offers up ammo crates, UAVs, things like that. Specialist rewards players with perks of their choosing for every second consecutive kills.
New rail-shooter elements provide a little variety.
There are several new game modes for players to enjoy as well. Kill confirmed is a version of standard deathmatch which requires players to collect the dog tags of downed opponents to finish their kills. Team Defender is a mode similar to a cross between Capture the Flag and Death Match. It starts with a flag being dropped near the first person killed in the match. Teams are tasked with holding onto the flag while they rake up kills. Each kill made by the team with the flag is worth double points, while the team without gets credit for single kills.
For the most part, the multiplayer is what anyone would expect. It’s a high quality experience and with the right group is a tremendous amount of fun. However, therein lays the problem. While the CoD community is extremely large and passionate, it’s also full of what we refer to as niche gamers. Niche games can be anything from WoW players, to Madden fanatics to CoD fans. A niche game is someone who specifically plays one type of game, spends an inordinate amount of time with that game and becomes almost too good for others to enjoy. Add to this fact that the CoD community seems to rife with homophobes, racists, sexists and in general some of the most angry, cynical bunch of people in the world, and you’ve got an environment that’s extremely discouraging for veteran gamers to become immersed in, much less new gamers or kids. Really though, none of this is new.
As a casual CoD fan, I can hold my own. I haven’t been great at a CoD game’s multiplayer since CoD2. But I’m not terrible and I’m very good at objective matches. As someone who just doesn’t have the time or desire to play any one specific game repeatedly, the multiplayer in CoD at times can be punishing. For those who don’t yet understand, allow me to simplify: CoD rewards repeated and extended play. We’re okay with this in principle. Practice makes perfect, it’s how anyone becomes good at anything. The issue we have is that while IW and Sledgehammer did a nice job of working out some of the balancing issues from MW2 and Black Ops, this created a whole new set of issues.
Things start out in the Big Apple.
With a new prestige token system, players are able to earn prestige level guns right away based on accomplishments in other titles. This has created an imbalance from day one as players who have or do spend an inordinate amount of time playing the games are rewarded. And while some may say this is a good thing to reward loyal gamers, the negative side to that is it can be extremely daunting to newer gamers or those such as myself who spend time playing so many games; they just don’t have the time or desire to devote to just one game, like CoD. Throughout the game, players will find standard level guns which are inordinately powerful or weak. Some shotguns require up to three direct hits to register a kill, while other rifles require only one even at a distance. The game’s gun ratings never seem to really match and soon enough gamers will find out which guns are stronger than others. It’s not game breaking by any means, but it certainly is frustrating. To a certain extent, some of the skill of the game is taken out with all of these ‘upgrades’ as really the only thing someone needs to get the best of everything is time. The availability of this obviously will vary depending on players, just don’t expect to level up to prestige heights quickly if you, like me, have to squeeze gaming time in between 10 hour work days, and father/husband duties.
As an optional service, gamers are also given the chance to register for the all new Call of Duty Elite service. For $49.99 a year, players are given the option to form clans that can level up and gain perks, track their stats, incorporate social networking into their game and receive monthly DLC at a cost that’s included in the subscription price. While the service was extremely buggy and had massive, well documented connectivity issues to start, things seem to be worked out and the service is actually well done. The DLC being included was the big kicker for us. For those who don’t have any interest in this sort of thing, free versions are available with just stats and social networking available. I don’t know that I’d say it’s the genre changing event it was made out to be, but it certainly does add a viable element to the games experience.
The new survival mode and the returning spec ops modes are both well done. Survival mode handles almost exactly like the former zombie modes, just without the undead hordes clamoring for your precious bodily fluids. Spec Ops has some new twists with more timed missions than we’d care for, and some punishing restrictions on three star challenges. Prepare ahead of time if you plan to tackle these, or prepare to rage quit and come back later as some of these missions are absolutely brutal. The difficulty isn’t a problem though, as players can blow through a one star challenge of the same mission and have no issues, or crank it up to two, and then three to increase their skill level incrementally. We did feel overall that the spec ops was not as good as it was in MW2. The missions, as a whole, were less memorable and while sometimes more challenging, we felt this was due to limitations the game gave us, not because of our own skill level.
An example of what an Elite gamecard looks like.
We haven’t discussed much about the game from a graphical, audio or technical standpoint so allow us to gloss over that quickly, before we get to our final thoughts. From a graphical standpoint, the game is on par with everything else that’s out there. To be honest, we weren’t blown away by the graphics. There are some really neat effects sprinkled throughout the game, but nothing that sets the game apart, really. The good that comes from all of this is that the game operates and handles at a consistently high rate, with almost no stutter or lag. The games soundtrack is as epic as ever with a well done score highlighting appropriate moments throughout the campaign. Authentic sounds round out the experience and really add to the games immersion level.
Modern Warfare 3 is both everything that is right, and everything that is wrong about gaming. While I may take a ton of heat for a sweeping statement like that, hear me out. I love the CoD series. I’ve never enjoyed a Battlefield game save for Bad Company 2 so I don’t have an agenda here. There are so many game companies out there that would do almost anything for the community of devoted followers CoD has. With a community this large though comes both good and bad. If players aren’t playing with a closed party, chances are they’ll be called a racial slur, a homophobic epithet, and mocked for their perceived lack of skill all in one sitting. Chances are it will be by someone with a God complex with limited real world exposure who’s only measure of worth is by their CoD K/D ratio. And while I fully acknowledge this comes off as sour grapes, I cannot stress enough that it’s not. A community is only as strong as the members it’s comprised of, and while the CoD community is vast and larger than any other out there save for possibly WoW, there are none that are less inviting, less welcoming to new players and who are less forgiving of those who possess inferior skills to their own.
As a multiplayer-centric game, it’s our opinion that CoD and others like it can only be as strong as the community which comprises it’s players and because of this, the game suffers. Players can fire up a session, and have a remarkably enjoyable time, running through round after round of quality matches with good competition amongst a large group of friends. Should they run the risk of playing alone though, chances are good they won’t enjoy themselves nearly as much. It’s this inconsistency and inability to ensure a repeatedly enjoyable experience online that brings the game down a notch in our eyes. It’s no fault of the game itself. It’s just the nature of the beast. But if Activision wants us to shell out $49.99 a year for advanced stat tracking and extra DLC, then these inconsistencies need to be shored up. We need better matchmaking, custom profiles that actually work so we can determine that types of games we play with and a live feedback system which punishes gamers who are poor sports, routinely harass other players and generally ruin much of the joy that comes with an online shooter.
For those willing to look passed these issues, MW3 is a must have. For those who are on the fence about online multiplayer to begin with, you likely won’t be won over here unless you have a close group of friends to play with more often than not. We’re enjoying our time with Modern Warfare 3. We’re just not enjoying the time we’re forced to spend with some of the less desirable gamers we see as we try to enjoy the games multiplayer. Ultimately, the choice is up to you.
Overall Rating: 9/10
