Modern Warfare 3 review: Back to basics multiplayer spares campaign's blushes

Modern Warfare 3 is a mixture of nostalgia and attempted innovation, but very few new standout features separate it from the rest of the games in the series. There's no denying that running through OG MW2 maps with the classic UMP45 is an incredible feeling, but how long will it be before the magic fades and the community starts craving something fresh?

In theory, MW3's unique offerings should have been in the form of a transformed Zombies experience and a less linear campaign with open-world elements. While venturing into high-level threat areas and tearing down undead foes is certainly fun, Zombies doesn't feel fresh - it's more or less a spin on the typical DMZ formula.

As for the campaign, the inclusion of Open Combat Missions stifles the story’s pacing and makes the entire experience painfully forgettable. Not only that, it's completely void of dopamine-inducing set pieces, solid mission design, and a satisfying conclusion.

Despite all of this, Modern Warfare 3 is saved by the gunplay and unbelievably fun multiplayer, but a lot of the community will likely feel short-changed after paying full price for what feels like an expansion.

Memorable missions & satisfying story is MIA

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It’s hard to talk about the sub-par story before delving into the elephant in the room - which is Open Combat Missions. Introduced as an attempt to innovate by Sledgehammer Games, their purpose is to scrap the on-rails gameplay of previous titles and give players a space where they can complete objectives in any order they please. Unfortunately, they fail to provide any sense of freedom and adaptability as the objectives you’re set within them are all painfully linear.

Defuse a bomb here, pick up an object there - these missions don’t break any boundaries or empower a player as the devs promised. Instead, they simply replace the set piece and predetermined moments that made CoD campaigns such a thrilling experience. This new direction to mission design has been inspired by multiplayer modes like DMZ and Battle Royale. Unfortunately, intertwining these elements together has been a failure, and I'd love to see a back-to-basics approach in the next chapter.

Overall, this feels like a story that didn't need to be told, and under the framework of Open Combat Missions, the narrative fails to be either gripping or impactful. While there's one surprising story moment at the end, it doesn't feel earned, and there's little sense of closure with the campaign kicking its narrative into the seasonal content to come.

Makarov's presence in the story has some highlight moments with Passenger (a new take on the infamous 'No Russian' mission) being one of them. However, it's hard to imagine his next appearance will be particularly impactful as the nostalgia wave of seeing the fan-favourite villain for the first time has already been washed away.

Maybe as CoD fans, we took the standard formula for granted as campaigns often sacrificed realism for an extra level of excitement. Well, MW3 has reminded us that a departure from the beaten path is not always positive. In search of innovation, the devs have reduced the single-player, on-rails rollercoaster experience to a slow crawl across identikit locales.

A new Zombies experience that feels a little too familiar

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The news that MW3 Zombies would not be adopting the typical round-based format was a massive disappointment to a lot of Call of Duty fans. There was something special about getting a group of friends together and taking on endless hordes of undead flesh-eaters in a desperate attempt for survival, often drifting into the early hours of the morning.

MW3's Operation Deadbolt takes a different approach, instead combining the open world, contract completion, and extraction of DMZ with the hordes of Zombies we've come to know all too well. Beginning on the edge of Urzikstan, you're tasked with completing linear objectives to earn resources so you can spend them on perks and weapon upgrades. This in turn will allow you to progress further into more dangerous areas of the map, which are populated with increasingly formidable enemies.

The risk-to-reward elements of the DMZ format are certainly here, leading to exhilarating moments of danger where everything you've collected is at stake. Do I have enough resources to progress? Shall I play it safe and extract before it's too late? These are the heart-thumping questions that will be constantly running through your mind. This is especially true when you run into a boss Zombie or are on the very edge of your seat attempting to escape a deadly situation - and it's where Operation Deadbolt truly reaches its peak.

Unfortunately, there is a massive caveat to all this excitement, with the mode requiring you to complete repetitive missions and slowly make your way through a giant map to earn these special encounters. If that wasn't enough, the mode's mediocre story missions are unlocked by completing these boring objectives, making it feel like you're forced into a grind that's simply not fun.

Long periods of downtime where nothing interesting is happening are a regular occurrence, especially at the start of a match. This was fine in round-based as the creepy enclosed environments maintained their terrifying charm, even when the threat level was low. This is not the case in Urzikstan, which just feels like any other giant DMZ-style location.

Overall, Operation Deadbolt is DMZ with a coat of Zombies paint on top, and while this will be brilliant for some players, others will be less satisfied - feeling like they've seen this all before. MW3 Zombies will certainly deliver memorable and exciting encounters, but the question is, are you willing to put in the hours of repetitive work to earn them?

Action-packed & nostalgia-fueled multiplayer

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With Zombies being satisfactory and the campaign being an outright disaster, it's a good job Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer has held up its end of the bargain. Beginning with the maps, revisiting the 16 OG Modern Warfare 2 (2009) locations feels like a nostalgia-filled dream.

Whether it's the baron landscape of Afgan, the chaotic enclosed spaces of Terminal, or the dark streets of Skidrow, all the maps play brilliantly and still hold their own in 2023. Graphically, it's hard to criticize Sledgehammer as well, with every environment looking sharp and maintaining all of the iconic details they're known for.

As you would expect gunplay is absolutely immaculate, with every shot fired feeling satisfying and impactful. If that wasn't enough, the return to a slightly slower TTK has only made gunfights more competitive, with it feeling like your accuracy is more important than ever before. Weapon choice is also a strong aspect of MW3, with all of MW2's arsenal carrying over, players have 114 guns available to choose from at launch. How the devs balance these out will be a task for the future, but it's certainly a promising start.

Moving onto key additions, the return of red dots on the minimap is great and ultimately results in faster-paced gameplay with competitors always looking to track each other down. On top of that, detailed weapon stats are a godsend for customization fans, and the new movement feels unbelievably smooth.

There's also the fresh 3v3v3 Cutthroat mode which while it isn't groundbreaking, spices up the playlist with another intense and exciting mode. Not everything is perfect though, with spawns already causing huge issues and inconsistent audio leading to a massive amount of frustration.

While a solid experience, the biggest point of contention for multiplayer is that it doesn't change the formula or innovate successfully enough to justify being a new title in the franchise. The OG maps are keeping the community happy for now, but doubts are already beginning to set in over whether Modern Warfare 3 could have done with another year in the oven. That way, it feels like it could've brought a lot more to the table.

The Verdict

Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer is the shining light of this year's Call of Duty offering and is without a doubt the glue holding the whole package together. Unfortunately, it's hard to ignore the glaring cracks in what should have probably been an expansion for MW2.

Zombies may be solid, but it's ultimately difficult to push away the thoughts that a typical round-based experience would have just been better. Treyarch's innovation of the formula is certainly commendable, but the injection of DMZ elements may have done more harm than good to the undead mode.

Rounded off with a campaign that completely missed the mark in nearly every department, Modern Warfare 3 is disappointingly mediocre. However, as any CoD fan will tell you, the legacy of MW3 will be determined over the course of its multiplayer lifecycle, and how Sledgehammer chooses to respond to community feedback.

3/5

Reviewed on PlayStation 5. Review code provided by the publisher.