“And the best selling game of 2011 goes to…” If history is any indicator of the future, it would be a safe bet that Activision’s cash cow, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, will be among the highest selling releases of the year, if not of all time.  Though the franchise has been steadily bankable since being established back in 2003, lately its expansion into the public psyche has reached new heights of marketing absurdity.  For God’s sake, there is a new model of Jeep branded after this fabricated video game universe!

After the release of Modern Warfare 2 there was a bit of a shakeup that saw a good portion of Infinity Ward’s development team jump ship for Electronic Arts.  Due to this drastic change internally, development of the single player portion of the game was split between Infinity Ward and the newly formed Sledgehammer Games.  If there were any doubt about the quality of the product in wake of the exodus, Activision has done everything in their power to assure the audience that this is the same great Modern Warfare game that they have come to know and love.  But can it stand up to the scrutiny of comparisons to predecessors, or are we looking at another game design by recipe?

Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward / Sledgehammer Games
Genre: First Person Shooter
Price: $59.99
Pros: Same great multiplayer that you have come to expect from Call of Duty
Cons: The single player campaign still has issues that have plagued the franchise for years
Verdict: A solid game that plays it too safe to innovate.

Acquired via Purchase

What would a holiday season be without the return of everyone’s favorite first-person shooter?  At this point it would be safe to say that there has to be something in the water at Activision that breeds Call of Duty success.  Thankfully those that have been long time fans of the series will be happy to know that the title picks right up where Modern Warfare 2 left off, with Soap in dire straits and Price doing everything he can to keep his comrade alive.  However, this time the duo are actually wanted by the government for war crimes that they were framed for in the prior game’s narrative.

For the first time ever, players never actually get to go behind the scope of Soap MacTavish.  This time around players are laced into the boots of a newcomer to the franchise by the name of Yuri, a previous protégé of perennial villain and general terrorist nuisance Vladimir Makarov.  After witnessing Makarov’s atrocities first hand, he deserts the maniacal leader and comes to the aid of the heroes.  Price is reluctant to accept aid, but with Soap’s life hanging in the balance and a sizable bounty on his own head, his hand is forced into taking whatever help he can get.

And thus begins another whirlwind quest to once again save the world, one mind adrenaline pumping firefight at a time.  Without elaborating any further on the overarching plotline too much, it is safe to say that there will be more than enough political intrigue, kidnapping, murder and terrorism to make every player feel like a crime fighting hardass, time after time.

Despite being fairly predictable and very much cut from the same cloth as other games in the series, Modern Warfare 3 provides the experience that players have come to expect, cranked up a few more decibels.  It is almost as if they were following the same blueprint as two years ago, only with a bit more ambition.  This overachieving expresses itself in the form of increasingly massive show pieces, such as thwarting a fast paced nautical invasion off of New York’s coastline.  Every element that defines the franchise makes an appearance from FPS goodness, to high speed getaway chase on a boat.

It almost feels as if the single player campaign is designed with an attention deficit child in mind.  Players are constantly being thrown different gameplay experiences, in order to punctuate the shooter elements.  Driving tanks, piloting drones, arming mini-gun turrets, piloting boats, and even parachuting out of planes are all on the menu, with the feel of the game constantly shifting back and forth.  If variety is the spice of life, then Modern Warfare 3 is a bowl of spaghetti with just a bit too much oregano.  That is not to say that this is necessarily a bad thing, it just makes it rather difficult for players to get comfortable with any one aspect of the game before being strong-armed into trying something new.

One area where the campaign continues to encounter friction is the sometimes lackluster and dare we say clichéd mechanics that have plagued the single player since the series’ introduction.  For example, monster closets, filled with infinitely spawning enemies are still aplenty.  Furthermore, the AI seems to think that the smartest thing that can be done when facing gunfire is to run directly at their assailant, without so much as raising their firearm.  Plus, there are trigger points that can’t be hit without killing every enemy on the map, which is a trope of game design that should have been left in the 1990s.  The fact that designers still use it as a crutch now should be a crime punishable by buck naked inverted waterboarding, in shark-infested waters.

As always, the plot in a shooter like this seems like a necessary evil, in order to string together a series of unlikely mission scenarios.  Surprisingly, this time out there seems to be a bit more natural flow to the progression.  The story feels tighter than it ever has before, but honestly that isn’t saying a whole lot when comparing it to previous Call of Duty games.  If nothing else, maybe this is a byproduct of Sledgehammer and Infinity Ward tag-teaming the single player campaign.

But let’s be honest; who buys a Call of Duty game to play by themselves?  Given the previous dominance that the brand has had in the multiplayer arena, it would safe to assume that there is a large audience that has never even touched the campaign.  At the end of the day, multiplayer is where Modern Warfare 3 will either sink or swim.

Returning veterans are going to notice a few very welcome changes, right out of the gate.  First of all, the cash based purchasing system has been tossed in favor of persistent leveling more akin to what was found in the original Modern Warfare.  Now, in order to unlock weapon specific perks, weapons must be leveled up through proficiency of the player, further enhancing the device’s ability over time.  This alone is a huge improvement that does far more for encouraging use and perfection of many different weapons, which in turn keeps things fresh for all parties involved.  Killstreaks have also been the recipient of a tweak or two, including the ability to customize the perks available at any given time, in order to cater to each person’s unique playstyle.

Featuring sixteen different multiplayer maps, set in a variety of locations around the globe, this is by far the most generous multiplayer game on the market.  It is very apparent that an inordinate amount of time has went into balancing and tweaking map layouts, drawing from their vast background experience from past titles.  There is pretty much something for everyone, with each map offering a vast amount of strategic options for those with an excessively high skill level, while still being approachable for newcomers as well.  Just be sure to play with the microphone muted, unless you are interested in receiving a vile stream of consciousness from the surly under-aged masses and ignorant racists.

The last feature making a very welcome return is Modern Warfare 2‘s increasingly popular “Spec Ops” mode.  Being able to play through a wide selection of different missions and scenarios, in either single player or coop, once again steals the show.  Newly added is the ability to level up and tweak weaponry load outs, much like what is found in the multiplayer, with a few special items that are exclusive to the mode.  If there were a perfect way to introduce the game to newcomers, this is it.  Pieces of the single and multiplayer meld together perfectly into a sweet nougaty chunk of gaming goodness.

Is Modern Warfare 3 a worthy heir to the Call of Duty throne?  Absolutely.  Will it set the bar for first-person shooters going forward?  Not so much… While the title is without question the best game in the franchise, they are still playing things too safe in virtually every aspect of its design. The original Modern Warfare took risks and rolled the dice, and as a result, redefined what an online shooter could be on a console.  Four years later they are making almost the same game, just with higher production values.  Hopefully the next installment’s focus is more innovation and less iteration.

GrE Grade: B+

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