MW3: Campaign Review - Is It Worth It?

Modern Warfare 3 Campaign mode has finally been released on a global scale to early-access players. Despite the game being released for a minimal time, hardcore Call of Duty fans have already completed the campaign, leading to opinions, insights, and critiques of the new Modern Warfare 3 narrative.

MW3 Campaign Review: Missions

The Modern Warfare 3 campaign is a direct sequel of the Modern Warfare 2 narrative, leading to the same characters, locations, and, most importantly, timeline. With the developers deciding to bring arch-nemesis Vladimir Makarov back into the mix, hardcore fans anticipate an incredible title with tense missions.

Over the last sixteen years, Modern Warfare has never failed to captivate and engross the player base in complete immersion. However, I feel this immersion was ruined through player freedom" in MW3's Open Combat missions.

The campaign features several "open combat" missions, allowing players endless freedom in completing an entire mission objective. This leads to a lack of direction, confusion, and frustration trying to complete objectives that aren't particularly exciting, such as "diffuse four bombs across the map." No Activision. I want more night vision missions. 

On the contrary, the general missions of Modern Warfare are exceptional. Whether you're engaging enemy operatives in the dead of night or fighting alongside our favorite Modern Warfare character, Simon "Ghost" Riley, Modern Warfare invigorates the soul.

MW3 Campaign Review: Narrative

Call of Duty Modern Warfare titles are notorious for great narratives, and it's safe to say Modern Warfare 3 continues this legacy. Soap, Price, Ghost, and Gaz continue their badass footprint and remind us of their previous heritage with great voice acting and portrayal of the original characters we all know and love so well. 

Not once was I particularly confused or overwhelmed by the campaign's narrative; easy-to-follow is an understatement in Modern Warfare 3. The campaign makes an effort to pay tribute to the original MW series, referencing several iconic features of the old franchise on numerous occasions, which plenty of players love. 

Vladimir Makarov plays the villain in Modern Warfare 3; his pure evil and hatred for the West are constantly portrayed throughout the campaign. I felt Modern Warfare 3 slightly exaggerated Makarov's ability to "complete" numerous objectives in minimal time. 

A singular man cannot make so many appearances throughout such an intense and fast-paced campaign. His name is referenced within almost every voice line, and it becomes slightly infuriating not to have another strong sub-villain to take the pressure off Makarov. 

MW3 Campaign Review: Gunplay

The gunplay in Modern Warfare 3 is mental, allowing players to feel properly in sync with their weapons. Weaponry feels ultra-lifelike and co-aligns with the general overtones of realism trying to be promoted throughout the Modern Warfare games. 

Combat within Modern Warfare feels real, forcing the player into a somewhat combative state and thinking about cover, suppressing fire, and teamwork. This is contrary to most shooters we see today, allowing players to run and gun. It's without a doubt, the combat mechanics in Modern Warfare 3 are the best we've seen yet. 

The weapons don't provoke any negative feelings, with iconic old weapons such as the UMP returning to the title and leading to great nostalgia. Each weapon is intensely modified within the campaign, promoting the professionalism the special forces have taken within the title towards their special operations, again being more realistic.

MW3 Campaign Review: Conclusion 

The narrative, characters, and gunplay in Modern Warfare 3 are great, transporting you back to that nostalgic state from the original MW titles in the late 2000s. Players can become engrossed and involved in this campaign, feeling a strong desire for love for our task force 141 brothers and hatred for Makarov.

The developers have explored new avenues within the campaign with open combat and introducing independence to the player. Players want to experience an excellent narrative and be handheld through missions with iconic characters. We don't want to walk around soulless and alone, stumbling between objectives. 

Overall, this Modern Warfare is great. However, it's not consistent enough to be excellent due to the Open Combat missions the developers implemented. The developers tried to fix a game that wasn't broken; fans love originality, so why try to change that?