Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is the latest of the franchise from Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and the third installment of the more recent Modern Warfare Trilogy. Playing as members of an elite special forces called Task Force 141, we take on multiple threats across a variety of fictitious territories. The game's narrative follows in the footsteps of Modern Warfare 1 and 2, and it has seasonal cinematics like those seen in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's most recent live-service multiplayer version.

That's why, across the game's 15 missions, you'll find gameplay mechanics that seem instantly familiar. But this latest release may have been rushed due to the team at Sledgehammer having to work under exceptionally tight deadlines. Several issues we had with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) campaign have only been made worse, making for a disconnected and poorly handled experience that fails to live up to the standards set by the excellent campaigns of the past.

The first major action sequence in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is an old favorite. A team of elite soldiers enters the Soviet prison camp known as the Gulag to free a hostage of great strategic importance. Following the trend created by the previous two games, this rendition of Prison Break is a lot more subdued than the 2009 original.

Combating into the main prison facility utilizing night vision goggles and cutting power are some examples of the more realistic action scenarios. There are several battles throughout, but those anticipating slow-motion breakthroughs will be sorely disappointed. The missions are faithful to the original Call of Duty model, retaining the series' trademark fast pace, exciting set pieces, and occasionally effective narrative. The campaign was shorter than ever before, but unfortunately, this is the only instance of such high quality.

This level is followed shortly by an open battle mission that is far less appealing. These free-form battle missions serve less to further the story than to pad the campaign's duration with repetitive open-world quests. Avoiding the need to artificially create heroic occasions or AI allies to battle by your side. Captain John Price, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick, Ghost, and Farah Karim, among others, return here.

The most notable change, however, is unquestionably the return of nemesis Vladimir Makarov, who has been placed at the head of this campaign, giving it a lot more intriguing feel and energy than last year's Call of Duty. Makarov is, generally speaking, very nicely represented. He appears to be a bit as shrewd and brutal as he was in the first Modern Warfare novel. Many of his tactics, however, have a different outcome than expected, with fresh targets and an approach meant to confound players.

These alterations do little to enhance the impression that this character is particularly cruel. His goals appear to be significantly less grandiose. since the game's plot is heavily reliant on the invention of the cities of Verdansk and Kastovia and the nation of Urzikstan. Having the opposite effect of what we expected from his tremendous attacks. I also find it bothersome that this campaign, like many others in the Call of Duty franchise, recently relies too heavily on oversized side characters. The lack of conflict between them, of individual shortcomings, and any sense of real progress across the story makes them appear unreal.

In fact, engaging and active characters have never been a strong suit of the Call of Duty series lately. While always present, it was less evident in earlier campaigns because of the emphasis on action sequences and other elements. Since the missions are less abstract and linear, we spend more time with each character, highlighting the flaws in the game's scripting. On the other hand, the mission structure of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) contains the game's most fundamental shortcoming, which makes these problems seem very small in comparison.

However, the gameplay mechanics of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) are mostly unchanged from those of its predecessor. And that's why it's so strange that 90% of the campaign is based on creeping up on and silently killing enemies. These games have no stealth movement besides crouching and going prone. When you're close enough, there's a takedown move you can use.

Nonetheless, even this is constrained because you cannot take an enemy prisoner, hide their body, or initiate this takedown from a particularly advantageous vantage point. There are bottles you can toss to distract attackers occasionally, but they don't appear to work very well, and you'd be better off just blasting groups of foes quickly.

Although not new to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023), the tack posture allows you to shoot while leaning your pistol at an oblique angle rather than looking down its scope. This is a fantastic update that balances the convenience of a compact site with the use of larger scopes like thermal or magnified sights. When firing from the hip, the weapon sprays and bullets scatter more widely, reducing their effectiveness.

It's also possible to employ the Tac-Stance while sliding, which might be useful during intense multiplayer matches. In terms of the campaign, I was able to make good use of this function in a few different situations. The game frequently equips the standard weapons with thermal and NVG sights. However, the default control method makes activating it awkward, especially in close quarters when you're likely to be the target of enemy fire.

It's hard to imagine a Call of Duty game without the zombie mode. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) contains the MWZ mode for the many folks who buy the game only for the nostalgic enchantment of COD Zombies. Since Treyarch previously worked on an epidemic in the Cold War, it makes sense that this is their take on the theme for Modern Warfare.

The map is designed as an open-world zombie exploration game, with you arriving via helicopter before being free to explore the vast landscape and solve the map's many challenges. Zombies are scarce in the Tier 1 zone because of the low threat level. In the more challenging Tier 2 and 3 zones, more zombies and other dangerous creatures await you.

You can play only for points and exploration, or you can perform contracts on the map designed to resemble a combat zone, and the benefits of doing so are already there. Finding blueprints and unique items is the major goal of this vast, open-world area; if you have them all, you can still leave, sort of like in DMZ, and you take everything with you.

You may disarm the weapon, but you should leave the pack-a-punch at home. If you make it out with the schematics, you can recreate the improvements you uncovered and put them back into service, but you leave behind many other upgrades. There's a massive upgrade tree in the game with a lot of stuff going on that I have no idea about. This model is a good beginning for zombies despite being hastily put together and still having some problematic spots.

Sledgehammer utilized and used the available resources to bolster the campaign and give it a more finished feel to design what are essentially free-form stages called Open Combat Missions. These ops typically use MW1 and MW2 content, particularly the Battle Royale map. You have to face off against vital AI opponent patrols in certain areas.

The point is to let you tackle assignments whichever way they see fit, whether by taking an alternate path or digging out rewards. Each player has a unique set of Spotter Scopes for marking enemies. They're free to roam wherever they desire as long as they don't cross the invisible lines. You can use parachutes and Ascender cables to get up high, find Night Vision Goggles to help you find your way around caverns, and utilize silent rifles to sneak up on the enemy and take them off one by one.

Call of Duty's campaigns proved effective throughout its existence because they mainly relied on writing to promote the story-driven narrative. The storied settings and vast scale of the combats would make us appear as though we are literally a part of the action. But Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) campaigns are very similar to those in the Battlefield series.  If these missions were a choice, like the COOP SP missions from the previous year, they would have been a welcome addition to the campaign; however, they must be completed.

They can be boring no matter how you slice it, and the campaign's penchant for stacking them one after the other only adds to the monotony. The game's massive multiplayer landscapes were reworked by shifting the game's time of day and adding stealth action mechanisms and weapon caches at a fundamental level. And like previous campaigns, the end product feels lifeless and incredibly old.

When all the screenplay and blatant action movie parallels are removed, all that's left is a first-person stealth game with maybe just a fraction of the variety and depth that intrigues games in this genre. And being stealthy throughout gameplay does not earn you any bonus points. It makes sense to stock up on protections and use them to blow away the opposition. There is no difference in the cutscenes depending on the path you choose through the game.

A major factor in the failure of these unrestricted combat scenarios is that the stealth features of Call of Duty aren't well suited to unplanned, impromptu gameplay. You'll be familiar with them from last year's Modern Warfare 2 because they're exactly the same, featuring dynamic sprinting, mounting, and field upgrades, in addition to previously announced features like mantling and hanging from ledges for Modern Warfare 2.

The core gameplay in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Multiplayer is what I enjoy the most. Multiplayer as a concept, atmosphere, and design goals were all excellent. Feedback was taken into account by Sledgehammer Games, and changes were made to the brightness and visibility of the maps. Most maps' brightness and saturation have been raised since the beta, making colors somewhat more vibrant, and the fog Haze effect has been toned down in the background.

In terms of visuals, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Multiplayer is among the series' finest. The brown color scheme engine is prominently used in nearly all the others; the world is dusty and dismal, adversaries are hard to see, and it's dark. That actually occurred on occasion during beta testing. It was hard to spot enemies from afar in the beta, but in the final version, it works great.

So you shouldn't have difficulties spotting dark places or people lurking in the mist. It's also fantastic that many multiplayer maps are available right away. It has been a while since Call of Duty launched with a sizable map pack, especially for 6v6 multiplayer. It's great that many familiar maps from Modern Warfare 1, 2, and 3 have been remade or reimagined here, such as the terminal, subbase, overpass, etc. The lack of true novelty is disappointing.

I find great joy in all these remade maps since they stimulate the nostalgic regions of my brain. I feel like I've gone back to 2011 or 2010, but doing it even better this time is a great feeling. It also eliminates the need for me to memorize new maps, which is a common source of frustration when trying out new first-person shooters. I agree that the game may benefit from some fresh ideas. War maps and ground battles are welcome additions, but I'm eager for fresh multiplayer terrain. When the feeling of nostalgia fades, however, I realize that I may have been missing out on something.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Multiplayer's major flaw is its weapon unlock system, which makes you complete daily objectives in exchange for aftermarket components. If you don't complete the week's worth of tasks, you won't be able to unlock that content until the end of the season.

Once the season is over (which may be 2 or 3 months), doing and unlocking the section will remain a permanent challenge. That makes the process of unlocking exceedingly tedious. Those who are unable to connect for any reason are likewise punished. If you aren't regularly participating in the daily event and forget to get an aftermarket component before you go, you may be out of luck for two to three months.

They probably did this to raise the monthly active users by ensuring more players would log in more frequently. However, it's more likely to create annoyance than anything else since it could make some individuals quite angry if they miss a crucial aftermarket part. That unlock method is terrible, in my opinion. Also, I am not sure the algorithm that uses players' abilities to pair them up has changed from what you all now despise. It is unlikely to change shortly. You're out of luck if you're not a fan of skill-based matchmaking.

Graphic of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) prowess is just as astounding right off the off as it was in 2019. It uses ambient effects well, and the character portrayals and lighting in the cutscenes are particularly impressive. Not much has changed since last year's Modern Warfare 2; nothing here is particularly noteworthy. But it has its charms and technical issues apart; the game ran well without a hitch. Compared to last year's release, which was notoriously unstable upon release, I didn't even see too many issues or malfunctions this time, which is a major accomplishment in and of itself.

The only significant problem was the game's poor artificial intelligence design, which, as I've already noted, makes stealth sequences very unreliable and frustrating. During the lengthier open combat scenarios, I would have appreciated more frequent checkpoint saves and better save-game functionality. After loading from a checkpoint, I saw that sentries I had previously eliminated had respawned, thus wiping out my progress and forcing me to seek new exits from previously achieved objectives.

A further problem with the visuals is that the open combat missions have lower-quality visuals than the more planned missions. Everything from the lighting to the level of detail to the texture quality and surrounding design feels like a step back.

Even the more typical Siberian level didn't feel quite right, either, because the character textures were so drastically different from what we'd seen before. Snow deformation, shown in previous games in the series, is conspicuously absent this time. Overall, it's a bit of a mess compared to what gamers have anticipated from the most recent crop of home consoles. Possibly pointing to the need for a new engine update for Call of Duty next year.

Another major problem emerges at this point: the enemy AI. With a wildly varying field of view, poor hearing, and almost no cooperation, the game's AI detection seems incredibly rudimentary. Even if one of your enemies has a suspicion, they won't tell their surrounding allies or work together to conduct a search.

They'll just wander off on their own and try to find where they belong. The enemy's user interface turns yellow when it becomes suspicious, alerting you to lose line of sight; if you don't heed this warning, the enemy's UI will turn red, and the enemy will engage, giving you only a split-second to eliminate the threat before the enemy fires and alerts the entire base.

Unfortunately, even this is uneven, as there were moments when enemies went on high alert without a loud firearm discharge, especially in this more story-driven quest. It's not the end of the world if you are caught in open combat missions. The enemy will chase you and fire for a while, but if you run and keep hidden for a while, they will lose track of you. Eventually, they'll return to their usual, more careful patrol routine.

Overall, despite the franchise's 20-year development cycle, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) manages to be one of the series' weakest titles. The campaign is among the most underwhelming of the series, and the multiplayer still needs some major liftup. After being a fan of the single-player Call of Duty games for such a long time, seeing such a drastic drop in quality for such a vital series pillar was disappointing.

Unfortunately, it's become obvious that due to the popularity of Call of Duty's Battle Royale mode, Warzone, the studios have stopped putting a premium on the game's single-player content, even though many AAA titles have shown that there is still a sizable audience for excellent single-player adventures.

Call of Duty has produced far better content in the past. Call of Duty hardcore fans would probably buy this release anyway despite its high price tag, but if you're still thinking about buying Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023), wait for a reasonable price drop.