Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Single Player Campaign Review – Despite Shortcomings, It Delivers in the End

Activision is back this year with yet another premium single-player FPS experience. Developed mainly by Sledgehammer, with support from Infinity Ward, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the sequel to 2022’s Modern Warfare II. The latest game’s story continues from where the previous title ended. The Campaign features Task Force 141 members Captain Price, Soap, Ghost, Gaz, Alex, and Farah taking on Vladimir Makarov in a battle against time.

Similar to all the past releases, the developers have tried to give an impressive single-player COD in 2023. But is it actually worth spending one’s time on? Also, does it offer an engaging Campaign mode or not? This review (mostly spoiler-free) will try to answer these questions.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 shines with its realism, gameplay, and intriguing Open Combat elements

The game begins with a fantastic opening mission titled ‘Operation 627’ in the Kastovian Sea. Featuring a captivating cinematic tone, it successfully gravitates the eyes towards a brilliantly done rescue quest. Not to mention it’s for Makarov (call sign Czar 9-0), the main villain himself. Right from the first mission till the end, the game has got various moments where one can feel the attention to detail, especially, when it comes to cutscenes with all the important characters showcasing realism.

Moving on, there’s the gameplay itself in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. In general, there’s nothing too spectacular about it. But it keeps getting good with all the options available in terms of choosing the weapons. One reason is also due to the introduction of open combat missions. They offer an abundance of guns, snipers, shotguns, and pistols for different scenarios. Also, there’s no actual bug or crash-related issue that shows up in the middle of any cutscene or combat.

Modern Warfare 3 Important details to know

• Developer: Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward
• Publisher: Activision
• Price: USD 69.99
• Release Date: November 10, 2023 (November 2 for Campaign Early Access)
• Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Battle.net and Steam

Read More: “You’re Watching Real Human Acting”: Modern Warfare 3’s Makarov Clears Doubts Over Voice Acting in Latest Call of Duty Campaign

‘No Russian’ stands out, once again

Yes, it’s there in the Campaign of Call of Duty 2023. Although the quest’s title doesn’t indicate, players will make out the resemblance with the original quest from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2. However, what makes the latest iteration of the controversial mission unique is the way it’s treated in MW3.

Instead of showing Makarov wreaking havoc on innocent people, the game throws the player into a bizarre situation. Ultimately, it all comes down to proving one’s innocence while trying to stop a bomb from exploding inside a flight full of passengers. In short, the new iteration of ‘No Russian’ stands out on its own by not imitating the original in any way. Fans will remember it moving forward.

Underwhelming aspects and shortcomings of Modern Warfare 3

What keeps Modern Warfare 3 far from being excellent is its lack of character engagement. Simply put, the plot keeps going forward at a rapid pace without giving time for interesting dialogue. For example, in Modern Warfare II, there were numerous scenes featuring Valeria where the devs included extended conversations. They were quite good. In the sequel, however, there’s no such mission where any of the characters are having an elongated exchange of words.

Also, there’s no new face like Alejandro, Valeria, or Graves to be an instant hit this year. Yes, the Campaign reveals a character named Milena Romanova (an ally of Makarov) during the mission ‘Oligarch’. But her appearance doesn’t last long. Plus, her role in the story was really short. Maybe that’s the basic reason why she didn’t get more spotlight.

Another major drawback of the game is its overemphasis on open combat missions (OCMs). Despite them giving a fresh perspective of approaching a single-player objective, they do hamper the linear format that most of the COD fans are habitual of. While some of the missions like ‘Gora Dam’ and ‘High Rise’ are engaging with creative choices, the same can’t be said of the remaining four OCM quests. It would have been amazing to see just two or three such missions throughout the Campaign.

Modern Warfare 3 is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. It will be fully released later this month on November 10, 2023.

Reviewed on PC

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