Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Reviews

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is a low point for the series. A passable multiplayer suite can't prop up the uninspired campaign, and dreadfully dull zombies mode. The series needs to take a break from the annualised release schedule, and inject some much needed creativity into the legendary franchise.

We review the latest Call of Duty entry and analyze if it's really just an overpriced DLC. There are many things to say about the three game modes Modern Warfare III offers but at least two of them can be summarized in only one word: Warzone.

Call of Duty is a weird series. I’m getting some strange déjà vu. I could have sworn that Modern Warfare 3 came out when I was in high school. All the characters in this game feel like I’ve seen them before, same with the maps that are available in the multiplayer. Alright, all jokes aside, it’s been a year since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II came out, and if you’re still playing that, or Warzone, season after season, there’s finally some DLC for you. Unfortunately, it’s the s...

Call of Duty’s twentieth anniversary should be a celebratory moment for the franchise and an opportunity for the studios and Activision to put their best foot forward. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is not that best foot. Rather, the game comes off more as a footnote in the history of Call of Duty as we wait for Treyarch’s next Black Ops and the inevitable Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IV. The campaign feels like a stopgap merely intended to close plot lines left open from Modern Warfare II and to reveal Makarov after the last game’s final stinger. Other than that, little happens in the mercifully short campaign that lacks much of the bombastic action associated with Call of Duty. Multiplayer shines strongly thanks to Sledgehammer reverting many of Infinity Ward’s controversial changes, but it also reuses a lot of older content, is buggy and introduces its own grindy mechanics. Modern Warfare Zombies is an interesting blend of Outbreak and DMZ, but it lacks much of the personality, tension and thrill of discovery that has made Zombies shine so brightly in Treyarch’s own games. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has its moments of triumph, but they are few and far between. There’s still fun to be had in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, but this year’s entry feels like a stopgap while we wait for the next major release.

An unessential Call of Duty that does nothing to overturn the impression that it was made too quickly.

A disappointing campaign and a Zombies mode lacking in focus makes this a hackneyed Call of Duty entry that those thirsting for more multiplayer action will still enjoy. For anyone who plays for the campaign or loves to blast hordes of undead, however, Modern Warfare 3 is hard to recommend.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III recycles old ideas in a stale package that is a downright slog for most of the experience. It commits the ultimate sin of being boring, and it does not bode well for the future of a franchise that, for the last 20 years, has been the pinnacle of popular FPS games.

Although a lackluster campaign and reused content holds it back, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has a few great tricks up its sleeve. The multiplayer engages in a way its predecessor missed the mark, and open-world Zombies is exactly as entertaining as it sounds. There's more to be desired as a whole, but as rushed as it was, MWIII has solid elements that can be enjoyed.

A half-baked, lazy campaign paired with a lacklustre multiplayer makes this a new low for Call of Duty.

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Call of Duty cycles through its lineup of villains on a yearly basis. Sometimes it's Nazis, other times it's Russian nationalists or zombies. But the most dangerous threat is one without a lust for brains or access to weapons of war; it's stagnation. And while many Call of Duty teams often switch up just enough variables to stave off monotony, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III fully submits to the annual churn.   The campaign embodies this, as it rushes to a conclusion with little care for the details. COD missions usually follow a predictable yet mostly effective formula of packing together various one-off gameplay mechanics through fluctuating levels of intensity. Modern Warfare III cuts out necessary buildup and most of the variety, leading to basic stages riddled with pacing issues. Many max out at around 15 minutes, which means the usual rollercoaster of ups and downs has been stripped down to only include the descents. The spectacles are also less bombastic, and the abbreviated journey to them only further diminishes their appeal.

Modern Warfare 3 has moments of Call of Duty classics, with a reinvigorated multiplayer, and a twist on Zombies. However, there is too much Warzone polluting the base experience, and the franchise should try harder to keep both experiences unique.

With one of the best campaigns in the series, the most refined multiplayer experience in the genre and extra modes that will absolutely hook you to the game, Modern Warfare 3 is the best Call of Duty game in recent years, and definitely the best in the Modern Warfare trilogy.