Campaign Review: Even With Improved Shooting, The Campaign Of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Still Misses The Mark

Though some people really do enjoy the campaigns of Call of Duty games, it’s usually not the main reason why one would pick up the game, as campaign modes in Call of Duty games are often being overshadowed by the multiplayer, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is no exception.

However, the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogy is widely regarded to have some of the best campaigns that the franchise has to offer, so much so that even players who bought the game primarily for multiplayer would give it a try.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a continuity reboot of the original which offers a brand new storyline whilst retaining some of the characters.

A Game Of Cat And Mouse

The story is a continuation of the previous installment, with the opening mission from the point of view of the antagonists in a rescue mission for the new villain, Vladimir Makarov, from prison. After the rescue, Makarov regroups his army and attempts to start World War 3.

We then transition to Urzikstan, where we get reintroduced to Farah Karim, who also appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and the rest of the protagonists, Team 141.

Team 141 ends up finding Makarov’s base, where we see chemical weapons being inserted into missile to create a weapon of mass destruction. While attempting to intercept these plans, Captain Price almost perishes, and its here where the stakes are set, and how Team 141 will handle them.

It’s not often that we get a great Call of Duty campaign, but the opening segments of the story, especially the first mission where we have to rescue Makarov, set my expectations sky-high for what’s to come. Everything up to this point, from the character building to the stakes at hand made the experience really exciting.

The infamous No Russian mission also made an appearance in the game. Knowing the iconic mission would be coming next, and my experience thus far being great, the level of excitement I had when Makarov arrived at the airport was off the charts, as I looked forward to an epic remaster of the classic mission.

However, the mission was not what I expected, as it was taken in another direction completely, with the focus being shifted to a suicide attack by one of Farah’s soldiers on planed filled with Russians, acting as a revenge plot by Urzikstan onto Russia. The mission ended up being just a 7-minute cutscene with minimal amounts of gameplay, not what expected from the mission.

The last mission has you attempt to diffuse a chemical bomb placed until During the mission, Soap ends up being killed by the hands of Makarov, which then proceeds to make his escape. The story then ends with Price being unhappy that General Shepherd’s mistake caused these events, and kills him.

In total, it would take about 4-6 hours to clear the story, which is really short for a campaign. The concept of the story was pretty nice, being like a game of cat and mouse where Makarov spreads chaos, as Farah and the Team 141 tries to figure out his plans, but feels poorly executed.

Whilst it was heading off to a great start, fleshing out backstory of how Team 141 arrested Makarov 4 years ago, and building Makarov up to be a dangerous threat, the story starts to fall apart after the No Russian mission, starting to feel rushed and boring.

Despite Soap’s death being one of the more emotional moments in the story, I can’t say I felt much of anything as the game hadn’t given me enough time to get emotionally attached to these characters.

Ending at a cliffhanger to set up for a sequel after only 4 hours of gameplay also rubs salt into the wound, leaving me feeling unsatisfied after the end of the story.

The Warfare

There are two forms of gameplay to the campaign of Modern Warfare 3. The first one is pretty straightforward, following the original format of following instructions and completing objectives. This as my favourite of the two, as the objective is clear from the get-go and shows the characters cooperating to defeat the enemies. The gameplay from this mode is what you come to expect from Call of Duty campaign, consisting of missions where you have to sneak into an area to complete the objective or a engage in a shootout.

Although basic, I still liked the variations in missions, as they felt different enough to keep me engaged, something I wish was applied to the second form of gameplay.

There’s also the open combat missions, which is similar to Call of Duty: Warzone or PUBG. Before the start of a mission, you’re able to customize your loadouts with weapons such as guns, grenades, and some special items. You will be placed in a small open world, a carbon copy of Warzone’s DMZ map, where you’re given an objective. There will also be an abundance of supply boxes that allows you to gear up with weapons that either specialize in stealth or heavy firepower, and even vehicles that allow you to traverse the land.

I really enjoyed the freedom that was allowed in the open combat missions, as you’re given the freedom to complete the mission however you desire, so you can even use a vehicle to mow down your enemies to complete the objective, but the game still controls what the player does to a certain extent. Initially, I stuck to using a more stealth based approach, but it seems like the game discourages this form of playstyle, favoring a more aggressive style of gameplay where you collect strong weapons and blow up the enemies.

The mode can get repetitive quick, as there’s only so many times you can complete the same mission before it begins to feel like a slog. The freedom give to the player was nice, but undermined by the fact that the game actively discourages certain playstyles, which is the cause of the repetitiveness.

In terms of controls and interface, it’s just like any other Call of Duty game. Everything was smooth and easy to understand, being easy to pick up for anyone with experience with a Call of Duty title, which is to be expected from a tried and true formula. However, we would’ve appreciated some new mechanics to spice things up.

Modern Graphics

Various landscapes such as a tundras, beaches, and mountains were present throughout the campaign, with every single one of them being beautiful. There was a scene in the first mission that stood out to me in particular, where the characters approach a prison that was pouring with rain and shrouded in a dark environment that suited the scene well, emanating the sense of danger to the player.

Due to the short length of the campaign, we don’t get to see too many cutscenes, but the cutscenes are all really well animated. The faces and movements of the characters were all very dynamic and expressive, which made the experience more enjoyable.

Special effects such as gun fire or explosive cars were practically the same as the previous installment. However, the water effects such as the rain, water reflections, and even bubbles underwater had noticable improvements, looking

Although the special effects and graphics are great, its important to note that it might cause some lagging, so do keep that in mind before playing on max settings.

Despite the story itself leaving more to be desired, the game was visually amazing, with the cutscenes, environments, and special effects being really well made and a treat for the eyes.

Verdict

The campaign of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was visually appealing, but leaves more to be desired in terms of the actual story.

Everything up until the No Russian mission was really well done, with good character building, stakes, and visuals. However, what comes after is a largely rushed, and uninteresting plot that ends on a cliffhanger.

Although the ending of the campaign feels incomplete, Call of Duty games is still largely catered towards an audience that prefers multiplayer, so the campaign being underwhelming isn’t a massive detriment to the game.

This review only covers the Campaign of the game, and does not apply to other modes such as Multiplayer or Zombies.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available for pre-order now.

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