Summary
In general, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has an unimpressive Campaign that is forgettable compared to the rest of the franchise. The game’s multiplayer is expected to carry the load with the return of classic maps that are not even original to the new game and a weird twist on Zombies. The single-player mode of the game does not justify its price.
Developer – Sledgehammer Games
Publisher – Activision Blizzard
Platforms – Xbox Series X (reviewed), Xbox Series S, PC, PlayStation 5
Review copy given by Publisher
Modern Warfare III continues the story of what we saw in Modern Warfare II and now we have to chase down Vladimir Makarov who is causing fear and chaos in the world. John “Soap” MacTavish, Captain John Price, and the rest of Task Force 141 are trying to find the Russian villain and his crew to ultimately make him pay the price for what he’s caused.
While they’re trying to catch Vladimir Makarov there is tension between Task Force 141 and Herschel Shepherd, who ironically helped create this Task Force in the first place along with agent Kate Laswell of the CIA. Throughout the story, you’ll learn more about Shepherd and see it all eventually gets resolved.
Open Combat Missions
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Campaign consists of 15 total missions where you’ll find yourself experiencing the traditional missions that are normal for the franchise and you’ll also get to try out the new addition of Open Combat Campaign missions. The Open Combat objectives allow you to choose your own loadout and discover additional weapons in crates, which is a cool feature.
Open Combat missions have a basic goal where you need to destroy a certain number of helicopters and disarm bombs at different locations. However, these missions can be completed quickly, usually taking no longer than 10-15 minutes, depending on the difficulty level. About half of the Campaign consists of these missions and honestly, it feels like a lazy way to fill out the single-player mode.
Even during some of the regular Campaign missions, you’ll notice they don’t take as long either. For example, Deep Cover which is in the early part of the story will likely take players less than 10 minutes to complete.
Cinematics Are A Joy To Watch
If there is a positive to be said about Modern Warfare III’s Campaign it’s that the Cinematics are superb and great to watch. You can tell Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward put a lot of time into this part of the mode where watching every cutscene feels like you’re watching part of a film.
Graphics Come As Advertised
It’s not a surprise that Modern Warfare III has great visuals in its story mode and in multiplayer. This is one of the bright spots for the new Call of Duty as you’ll probably see the best of these graphics in certain missions where you’ll be near the mountains, water, or even while swimming in the water. The Campaign starts out promising overall with fantastic visuals and throughout the story, it stays true to that.
Did The Campaign Really End Like That?
When playing any type of video game that has a long Campaign most of the time you’ll know when you are getting closer to the end based on the atmosphere of the mission or level you’re on. I couldn’t tell you how confused I was when playing Modern Warfare III’s Campaign when it ended. Usually, the last missions of AAA titles go out with a bang, but this game has what feels like an abrupt ending where I think they could’ve gone further.
It’s not necessarily what happens toward the end that has me mind-boggled, but it’s the way it happened. It just seems like a poor execution where it could’ve done something better. There’s no doubt the story leaves on a cliffhanger, but it’s disappointing for the single-player ending in a way where people will feel robbed for spending $70.00 and this is part of the product they get.
You’d think 15 missions in a single-player mode would last at least 10 hours minimum, but Modern Warfare III will last you a maximum of 5 hours.
Gameplay Feels Like Call of Duty
The Gameplay in Modern Warfare III doesn’t change from last year it’s what you remember and that’s completely fine. The combat in this game can be fun like always whether it’s Campaign or Multiplayer there’s nothing bad to say about it.
Multiplayer
Modern Warfare III didn’t launch with original core 6v6 maps and instead, they decided to bring back what people loved, all 16 launch maps from Modern Warfare 2 (2009). There’s nothing wrong with this and the fact they slightly enhanced all these maps for modern gameplay is great and they do fit well in 2023.
The dislike about Modern Warfare III’s multiplayer is the originality when it comes to maps as you’ll notice one of the Ground War maps is based on an Open Combat mission and all of the core 6v6 maps are from an older game. When a new FPS title releases such as this one, you would like to see something fresh and new along with the classic maps.
In general, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has an unimpressive Campaign that is forgettable compared to the rest of the franchise. The game’s multiplayer is expected to carry the load, as the majority of players enjoy Call of Duty for its multiplayer mode. However, consumers should be entitled to the content they deserve, and in this case, the single-player mode of the game does not justify its price.