Innovating is not always positive. Sometimes, on rare occasions, it may be better to take a conservative stance. After years of this design philosophy etched in stone, Sledgehammer Games has decided to innovate with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The developers have tried new things to, according to them, create “the Call of Duty we have always wanted to make.” But like the carefree child who plays Chemicefa, the experiment has blown up in their faces.
The best thing about the delivery that arrives in stores today, in the absence of testing the multiplayer, is what has not changed since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This includes, mainly, the gameplay, frenetic and magnificent, and the action. But leave out the story and the innovative Open Combat Missions.
Let's recap. For the first time in the franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a direct sequel to the previous game that is published consecutively, precisely, to the previous game. The story begins right where we left off in the fall of 2022: Captain Price and Task Force 141 must stop Vladimir Makarov (we know he's the bad guy because his name sounds Russian) from causing World War III.
This will take the protagonists through locations such as the Siberian tundra, some islands in the Mediterranean, London, Saint Petersburg and even Verdansk. And it is here, in Verdansk, where the problems begin. This is the name given to the first map of the Battle Royale Call of Duty: Warzone, a huge open space designed to host frenetic combats between the 100 players who participated in the online skirmishes. It is not a map designed for a campaign mode.
At Sledgehammer Games they had a great idea: to intersperse the typical linear missions of Call of Duty with open world missions – the Open Combat Missions – in emblematic locations of Verdansk. This, which, at first, may sound like recycling content in a crude and shameless way, was sold as a great innovation and a decisive commitment to the replayability of the campaign. And it surely is so. TRUE? TRUE?
The plan seemed perfect: recycle mechanics and the map of Call of Duty: Warzone to lengthen an extremely short campaign mode – about four or five hours – sacrificing the finesse and spectacularity that characterize the saga. But reality has imposed itself and has been revealed for what it is: a crude stratagem that does not work and that takes the player out of the experience.
Besides, what's the point? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a game that costs at least 80 euros. While Call of Duty: Warzone is a free Free-to-Play. Those who buy the paid game are because they are looking for something different, an experience closer to Michael Bay's cinema – yes, also with many American flags – than to Fortnite.
Although let's be honest: how many people buy Call of Duty for the story? Let's talk about multiplayer.
In the absence of testing the multiplayer modes, we can give a few glimpses of what this new one promises. Modern Warfare 3 arrives just to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise and, for this reason, its multiplayer modes will be a kind of celebration of its history. Sledgehammer Games has recovered 16 original maps from the first Modern Warfare 2 (2009). In addition, classic modes such as Hardpoint, Casualty Confirmed and Cutthroat also return.
Continuing with the (non) innovation, for the first time in the franchise, much of the content of Modern Warfare 2 (that of 2022) will be carried over to this new installment. This includes weapons and operators, among other things. Because... why change something that isn't broken?
Call of Duty is getting closer than ever to gaming as a service, with a Modern Warfare 3 that is almost a new season of Modern Warfare 2. Activision Blizzard has also confirmed that, during the months after launch, 12 new maps will come to the game for 6v6 modes.
As it could not be otherwise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 also has zombies mode. Although, this time, in an open world. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Zombies (MWZ), developed by Treyarch, is what is known as an extraction shooter. Your platoon is deployed on the battlefield along with others and you must all fight against the zombies to collect the best loot and escape alive.
Activision Blizzard promised that Modern Warfare 2 was the start of a new era in Call of Duty: the next generation, more power, more realism and fireworks. But their ambition has devoured them. What seemed like a panacea from the marketing department – "now Call of Duty has open world missions!" – has turned out to be a fiasco that is far from what fans expected. Luckily, it seems that the multiplayer has undergone few changes and, in this context, this is very good news.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 llega hoy, 10 de noviembre, a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S y PC.
