Positive Review
WW3 has been declared, so Matt and Alex review the game to help you determine if you should join the fight or stay neutral.
By Matt Swider on November 8, 2011 @ 08:00 AM
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 opens with the invasion of New York City by Russian forces, a result of the American-blamed terror attack that occurred in a Moscow airport during MW2. With world-famous buildings being annihilated and iconic-looking yellow taxi cabs set ablaze by falling skyscraper debris, the gutted streets of Manhattan already look lost to the series’ persistent Russian enemy. However, the same can be said about Call of Duty’s fight againt its exterior opposition. Battlefield 3 launched two weeks ago with strong support from the PC community, the original Call of Duty developer, Infinity Ward, lost a chunk of its founding staff during development, and a few outspoken gamers are calling this eighth edition of Call of Duty “more of the same” and “merely downloadable content.” However, the fall of Call of Duty is as likely as the Russian’s winning in the end of MW3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s thrill-ride of a campaign, impressive Spec Ops additions and greatly expanded multiplayer mode makes this the easiest $60 you’ll spend in 2011.
The Campaign
Beginning the game by gunning your way through bombed-out buildings of New York’s Financial District strikes a nerve, one that FPS rival Homefront wasn’t able to deliver earlier this year. You’ll navigate your way through the twisted steel of the city’s forever-changed concrete jungle, snipe enemies while taking cover behind the statue of George Washington in front of Federal Hall and flank Russian soldiers holdup in the booths of the stock market trading floor. Ending this NYSE-located battle with “Your stock has gone down, comrade” is entirely up to you.
What’s not your call is the tempo of the action; it’s always intense. The MW3’s six hours touch all parts of the globe, notably countries that are typically terrorism-free. Watching New York, London, Paris and Germany fall in their own unique way, then touring the globe to take revenge is riveting enough to keep you playing through all six hours in one sitting. The campaign’s seamless transition between missions never gives you a chance to be bored and the mission structure itself offers a good amount of variety. The second level, for example, has you scuba diving through a submerged Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, storm the cockpit of an enemy nuclear submarine and make your getaway in a speedboat. Subsequently, you perform a little bit of quick-time-event surgery on a fallen buddy in the third level. This means that in a half hour’s time, you’re a scuba diver, nuclear sub captain, speedboat pilot and doctor - it’s hard not to feel as if you’re a jack of all trades and Call of Duty is the master of fun.
