Yet another article that I feel compelled to begin with a short retrospective. When I first picked up an installment of the Call of Duty franchise; it was Modern Warfare (2007). The first of now three games that have pushed the envelope of console-based first-person shooters. Modern Warfare was a refreshing game in a genre that was dully and tiredly dominated by first-person shooters based in the World War II era. The fixation on WWII by the Call of Duty developers always seemed like it bordered on Oasis/Beatles levels of obsession.
In my Battlefield 3 review, I remarked that if BF3 were The Wire, Modern Warfare would be The Shield. The great thing about both shows was that they were both equally great at what they did, but it was almost an obscene gesture to try and compare them because each of them told their stories from different angles and utilized different styles in which to convey their action. Battlefield 3 relies on realism and a strong sense of immersion; MW3 shares some of those elements but ultimately accentuates other areas of the game to make itself unique. In the aftermath of the Infinity Ward kerfluffle, Sledgehammer Games has successfully expanded on what was built by the previous developer and delivered both a single-player and multiplayer campaign that can only be described as one thing: balls-to-the-wall-insanity.
Single-Player
Don't bother looking up "intense"; the definition's right here.
Despite single-player taking a backseat to the multiplayer portion, the quality of the storytelling was not skimped on in the slightest. The story picks up immediately where the final cutscene of MW2 ended. Events seen in the first two games have culminated into the sum of all fears: World War III. As seen in the trailers leading up to the game, very large and epic engagements are fought in New York, Prague, Paris, Berlin, and Africa. The first few segments of the game – primarily those involving New York – are a combination of the finest elements of the single-player campaign. Standing on a war-torn Wall Street surrounded by ash, dust, and crumbling buildings brought about old feelings (me being a born-and-bred New Yorker). However, I was impressed by how much the visual and auditory elements of these first few chapters set the tone for the rest of the game.
Just like the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, I was knocked on my ass immediately in awe of the mission design and all of its bells and whistles. While there is noticeable linearity to the missions, the scope and the size of the action on screen is unlike what I was used to in the previous games. With the environments and situations changing, the mode of the action keeps a fresh and intense feeling. Progressing through hordes of enemies and switching between on-foot and vehicle-based action lends a certain ferocity to the overall feeling of the single-player mechanics. As mentioned earlier, the New York-centric missions speak to both of these elements. At one point you are watching the buildings of the city crumble around you as you engage in close-quartered firefights with Russian forces and in the next you are engaging in a stealth-themed mission to hijack a Russian submarine. The best parts of the mission are the boat chase that comes after and the chaotic helicopter chase oddly reminiscent of scenes from Godzilla (1998) through and around the metropolis that concludes the mission.
Unfortunately like other SP campaigns in MP-heavy games, there is repetition in the formula in of all the succeeding missions. This is curtailed for the most part by the beauty of the sound design and graphics. Compared to MW2, many of the visuals have been given a smooth polish; your HDTV and sound system will be thoroughly raped double-teamed from every conceivable angle. Most of the run-and-gun gameplay on the ground becomes tiring and I only felt rejuvenated after the mission would switch to a vehicle-based mode. The best of which was the return of the AC-130; this was one part of the campaign that not only paid homage to the first Modern Warfare but improved on it substantially.
The script written by Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Traffic, Crash, Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, et-f$&@ing-cetera) relies primarily on action, and like the previous two games is largely plot-based—surprising given some of the aforementioned films he wrote were heavy character pieces.
Ultimately though, there is nothing in the campaign that is truly memorable; MW had the stunningly immersive “All Ghillied Up” mission in which the player stealthily moves through a radiation stricken Chernobyl, and MW2 had the highly controversial “No Russian” where players had the option to massacre an airport full of civilians. There is one “WTF” moment in MW3 but even then it doesn’t compare with the space scene from MW2.
Still, with the insanely high level of quality in the sound and graphics, MW3’s story avoids coming off as something simply phoned in. It’s like a Michael Bay film this time around, a glistening, beautiful campaign; a cheap thrill. It’s like bland food, or grapefruit juice in the morning; you just can’t help serving yourself some more.
MultiPlayer
After playing through the multiplayer for about a week now, I am in awe of how far this game has come. Let’s put things into perspective: MW had a few game modes and three killstreak rewards: UAV, precision airstrike, and the attack helicopter. It was simple, to the point, and since there was nothing like it before, it lasted a long time. MW2 dumped a ton of new content into the mode in the way of more killstreaks, some extra game modes and a slew of new, different maps. MW3 not only continued this trend, it turned it on it’s head and has delivered the most robust and balanced multiplayer out of the three, starting with the immense amount of weapon customizations and perks, and ending with the most important out of all: killstreaks.
The bread and butter of the multiplayer system was always the killstreaks. The whole point of pimping out your character with the finest perks and weapons was to have the ability to live long while accruing as many kills as possible; the overall goal being one thing: domination. That being said, the killstreak system was given a major overhaul and has more variety and customization options than ever before. Instead of there being a static system, players can now choose between three strike packages: assault, support, and specialist.
Assault is the classic system; heavy on offensive-themed killstreaks ranging from familiar predator missiles and sentry guns to the new AH-6 Overwatch (a helicopter that follows you and provides cover) to the Osprey Gunner (an off-shoot of the now defunct Chopper Gunner killstreak). The Harrier killstreak was also removed likely due to overlap with the Attack Helicopter and Pave Low killstreaks. The Tactical Nuclear Strike was also removed, for what seems to be obvious reasons. All killstreaks under the assault strike package require that the player not die, just like the previous games.
Support is a system geared towards players that don’t necessarily rack up a high amount of kills all at once. Notable killstreaks include three different UAVs (regular, jammer, and advanced), a portable surface-to-air (SAM) missile turret, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and an Osprey aircraft that delivers and defends multiple care packages. What makes the support class appealing is the offensive killstreaks that have been sprinkled in to add a little bit of spice: the Stealth Bomber and a remote controlled Sentry Gun. Different from the assault strike package, the killstreaks continue to build even after death.
Specialist is different entirely, relying only on the games perks and none of the killstreaks. After a certain amount of kills, players unlock three of the games perks. When all three are unlocked, the player has access to every single perk in the game, at once. The absence of killstreaks is a bit of a downer, but with the right mind, a player can be a proper killing machine with every single perk at their disposal.
In the realm of maps and game modes, multiplayer features “more of the same.” Maps are derived from the games various missions, with only a couple being original. New game modes include “Kill Confirmed” in which players must pick up dog tags off of their downed opponents; however, the enemy can also pick up their own tags thus negating the kill from being registered in the teams score. This mode actually encourages a mixture of camping and run-and-gun tactics. Another mode is “Team Defender,” a hybrid of sorts of “Capture the Flag,” and, “Headquarters,” a very intense game mode to say the least. New multiplayer modes were also featured in the private match settings but I have not had a chance to try them.
It’s funny; the one thing I was turned off by regarding the multiplayer had nothing to do with the weapons or the killstreaks: it was the titles. One nuisance about leveling up in previous MW games was that a GIANT EFFING LOGO would encompass the entire screen, blinding you for a few seconds. Thankfully this was removed in the current multiplayer, but this also applied to the flash of players titles on screens as well. If there was one thing about MW2 that I loved; it was knowing that whenever I got a multi-kill or significant killstreak, “My Lil Pwny,” or, “Noobtuber” would flash across every players screen. Now, it’s not the case.
Final Thoughts
This game is the total package. Evidenced by it’s 6.5 million copies sold on launch day (totaling $400 million gross revenue). In addition to the SP and MP modes, there is also the returning Spec Ops mode and the new Elite package. The SP campaign is fun aesthetically and memorable in that regard, even if the story isn’t. MP will keep you playing for days on end until the next game comes out; things can only go up from here.
SP – Buy it!
MP – Buy it!
