Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review - AllAboutTheGames

AATG writes:

"Aside from the tweaks to the game's multiplayer, there's nothing in MW3 that should surprise anyone that's played any of the previous games. But for fans of the series that's no bad thing. New maps, weapons, killstreaks and modes are all that's required to keep the faithful, well, faithful. The single player, meanwhile, rather than being a throwaway companion to the real meat and bones of the game is instead a brilliant bombastic showcase of set-pieces and action. Take Call of Duty for what it is and embrace its dumb, nonsenical and scripted, but nonetheless hugely entertaining action sensibilities. Enjoy the ride. It's awesome."

[megaworm25]

THIS IS A REVIEW FOR MW2!!!!!

'' 07/11/2009 at 17:04 ''

to the people who have approved this article did you even read it????????

Tachyon_Nova
rpad

[Echo307]

The person who submitted it just used the wrong link. The site really does have their MW3 review up, though it's a day early and will likely be taken down shortly.

Well written review, though. Love this line: "And for those that continue to dismiss to the series as soul-less and immature, in an industy where we celebrate games like Bulletstorm for using the term 'dick tits' or Saints Row 3 where you can bludgeon people to death with a giant dildo, perhaps some perspective is required."

[Gazondaily]

Lol that was well worded but hold up, who accuses this game of being "soul-less and immature"? It's more an accusation of "recycled and lazy development". The reviewer really desperately tried to force that comparative point across but those who perceive will clock on to the error within it. The irony of perspective.

I want to see what the big reviewers give this game. Hopefully it gets scores like this one so I can rejoice and look forward to a great game ...(although saying that, *reads reviews for the abysmal Black Ops........sigh*)

[Basjohn]

At least bulletstorm was creative and fun in the gameplay department. Honestly? I had a thousand times more fun playing it than the any generic military shooter this decade.

[DatNJDom81]

Just a quick thought.....

"Aside from the tweaks to the game's multiplayer, there's nothing in MW3 that should surprise anyone that's played any of the previous games."

Wasn't this a complaint by many reviewersaround the gaming media Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, Killzone 3, and just about every other Sony exclusive?

But when cod or gears does it, or just about any other xbox game, its totally ok?

This media is so hypocritical that its flabergasting. Yes wether you guys want to admit it or not, there is Sony hate out there. Now go ahead and disagree away, but the truth is staring all of you right in the face.

[jrbeerman11]

Datnjdom, I agree with you how cod never takes a hit for lack of originality. modern warfare has been selling $60 dlc for five years, yet uncharted AND gears get criticized for it and brought more to table.

Gears got more criticism for same old same old than uncharted 3 did. It really depends on what publications your reading.

Don't make this a console war, system has nothing to do with it.

[Bimkoblerutso]

@DatNJDom81

I agree that CoD is afforded a LOT more leeway than almost every other franchise, but I honestly don't think it has anything to do with console loyalty. For one, this is a multi-platform game. I think it's just FRANCHISE loyalty.

And Gears of War 3 has a lower aggregate average than Uncharted 3, just for the record.

[Tonester925]

@DatNJDom81 Well this is like their 5th game. With the same engine. So consumers are getting tired. You can compare with Madden consumers.

[Drabent]

Np its MW 2.5 anyhoo so just add .5 bro^^

[Shojin1]

Call of booty! (professor? whats another word for pirate treasure? well I think it booty booty. Thats what it is!!!

[trancefreak]

Whatever you say man just waiting for my cod preload countdown to finish woot woot.

I know its probably old news but I got a free copy of Modern Warfare with my purchase of MW3 off of Steam. That one is a classic i don't mind playing again.

I wanna see how the original stacks up to the latest tbh.

[TheBlackMask]

Here we go...."perfect scores" like it's up to the same quality as Batman AC, Gears 3 or even Uncharted 3....and yet every year nothing ever changes. I hate how other games get overshadowed by this crap when games which developers have actually worked their arses off never get the sales this game gets....lets be honest the only reason people buy it because there friends are buying it and their friends, friends...and so on.

Really all this game is, is a social gimmick.

.....

Now I guess you think I'm a Battlefield 3 fanboy because of what I've just said, seems like anyone who calls the game now loves B3 in some way <sigh>

[DonaldBeck]

a 5/5 for the single player campaine?... really? :/

[HairyArse]

It's 5/5 for the entire package and not just the single player. If you'd actually read the review you'd know this.

[Somebody]

"...the entire package and not just the single player.."

So were the reviews for BF 3 and yet it's painfully obvious that the SP that brought it's scores down from perfect.

Besides the article doesn't talk about "...the entire package.." It mentioned nothing about the graphics. Or sound. Or Elite. Wouldn't those missing features make the article more of a full review covering EVERY aspect the game?

Why would the article doesn't mention anything about the graphics? There's tons of articles praising Uncharted 3, Batman Arkham City and Rage for their graphical fidelity.

[raWfodog]

@ Somebody

This same review site also gave BF3 a 5/5 so you have to stop trying to give the same scoring criteria to different review sites.

And why would they talk about graphics since everyone keeps complaining that they are the same as MW and MW2...

[floetry101]

Because Call of Duty isn't about the visuals. How do people not realise this yet?

Consider any of the biggest multiplayer games in the last decade and even further back. Graphics are a shell for the crux of the game. Starcraft, Diablo II, Counter Strike, Quake, Goldeneye, Timesplitters etc. None of them were mind-blowing visual packages, they just played beautifully.

[antz1104]

@ Somebody

Elite is a paid service beyond the game itself, why would he review the game AND that?

[Hufandpuf]

you don't have to be a fanboy of anything to see this is exactly what's happening.

[Ezetta]

Agreed.

[ATi_Elite]

I read their BF3 review and MW3 review side by side. Both SP campaigns are the exact same and they even say how BF3 seems to just copy MW2 in which they also say MW3 is just more MW2.

they use the same references to describe both...corridor and set pieces but MW3 gets a perfect score while BF3 gets a low score.

[Heartnet]

Cause Bf3 copied but did it worse than CoD....

Thats why it got a lower score lol

just accept the fact that CoD is better :)

[finbars75]

Heartnet accept the fact that COD is better?what exactly are they better at?giving you the same game every year without change?To lazy to bring it to another level.Wow either people are really that delusional or just blind to see that there actually afraid to admit they they are stuck in activisons rut with them.Theirs no way this game is near perfect.I think translate googles review hit it right On the nail with a 7.6/10.Nothing new at all to the gameplay or innovative.It just shows that maybe more and more gamers are truly blind to what a good game really is.To be more honest I cant figure how how people actually think COD is fun?it was fun maybe 5 years ago but when when you play the same type of game over and over with the only change in it is the name.I'm glad that I'm not going to be one of the millions of suckers who will buy such rubbish when I will be playing great games like Batman,Drakes,Skyrim and even BF3 which has so much more to it in replay value.The one good news about the release of COD is that I won't have to play against chickens running around with there heads cut off in BF3 since we all know how much skill is in COD.

[Veni Vidi Vici]

So you complain about COD giving us the same thing every year yet you think DICE gave us anything different with BF3? BF3 is nothing more than BC2.5. Throw in a few more vehicles and prone on top of BC2 and that's exactly what BF3 is. I can't tell you how disappointed I was in that game yet people buy it hook line and sinker because the media hype tells them to. DICE couldn't even be bothered to add any new game modes. At least IW added a couple new game modes.

I think both games are rehashes if their respective predecessors but I'm more disappointing by BF3 because it took them like 7 years to make a game that has ZERO innovation at all. They couldn't even come up with a new game type. They added nothing to it. It's basically a giant map pack. With COD, you at least get a map pack with a couple more game types thrown in.

[news4geeks]

but CoD is more fun than most games, can't a game get a perfect score on fun factor alone?

[Getowned]

What are you looking for to be changed in Call of duty ? people keep saying that yet they never say what they want changed,but infact it dose change and we always get new features and gametypes,new perks,new killstreaks,theatre,new weapons.I like COD not that I would defend it to the death.I just have fun with the game and don't take it seriously like many of you seem too and I'm tired of all the negativity.I never know COD was suppose to be a bad game until I started going on this site everyone else seems to like it.

[RedSky]

Let's see ...

1. A story with characters which aren't completely forgettable and a coherent plot.

2. Branching paths for storyline. Imagine a hostage mission where botching the rescue can send you down a completely different mission afterwards. Or at least change your objectives somehow.

3. Elite features for free. Other lesser revenue generating games and Valve are doing it, so can Activision.

4. Continued support for games past release, look at the number of updates TF2 has on the wiki, a game that is still supported but was released before CoD4.

5. Something like moving battlefields centers around capture and hold would be great. Even purely dynamic maps with conditions like weather that force you to adjust your tactics. Again I'm not saying anything new here other games have done this, and it would not in any way ruin CoD's infantry close quarters no vehicles feel.

The thing is its undeniable that every CoD release has a single player campaign with high production values, and some genuinely exciting scripted events. That the multiplayer is similarly reliably fun based on iterative changes. But 'more of the same that works' isn't 85+ score worthy, more in the realms of 75-85. At some point you have to realize that the games that are truly taking risksamd innovating need to be able to score higher and when CoD is getting 95-100 there's no room to do that.

[Getowned]

Sounds like you want cod to be a different game then it is,and that you want it to be a BF3 clone.I'm not agents games that take risks at all I never said that and as for review scores I'm not a reviewer so theres nothing I can do.really it sounds like your making excuses to hate the game and want it to be BF3.Cod if Cod not BF3 and people play cod because it's cod.

[RedSky]

If you read:

"Again I'm not saying anything new here other games have done this, and it would not in any way ruin CoD's infantry close quarters no vehicles feel."

So no. None of what I said has anything to do with BF3.

[Getowned]

no you didn't mention BF3 but you did mention features of BF3.

"Something like moving battlefields centers around capture and hold would be great." BF3 has this.

I agree and wish they did support there games more like TF2(one of my favourit shooters on PC I can't stop playing it)

I just got MW3 a while ago and it's not bad no where near as laggy as MW2 or black ops.Fun quick fast gameplay full of chaos.My only issue is I wish they added more guns to the game not that theres a lack of them but seriously why cant they add all the guns from the previous cod games! RAH!

[RedSky]

That lag is ever an issue that's not fixable on your end for an FPS astounds me. I don't know how you consolers accept being pedaled P2P instead of the option to hire/buy dedicated servers.

[Wizziokid]

5/5.. sorry but no way will a COD game be perfect, I can bet on balance issues and bugs

[DonaldBeck]

modern warfare 1 was the best cod so far, but every other call of duty ive bought has been bug ridden and glitchy ever since. im passing on this one for now.

[Wizziokid]

agree 100% after COD:MW the series went down hill, Not to say it's all down to the devs, they are just getting rushed so much to have a new game ready every year it must be stressful for them

[raWfodog]

@ Wizziokid

COD games have a two-year development cycle. Development duties are given primarily to Treyarch and Infinity Ward to release their versions of the COD franchise every TWO years.

And there are very, very few games that I believe can be perfect out the gate but that's just my opinion. But if bugs and glitches are a criteria, then what game is 'perfect'?

[WANNAGETHIGH]

@Wizziokid really?..Just how BF3 also had bugs when a review gave it a perfect score u forgot to mention it but when its Cod u remember???

[Wizziokid]

when did BF3 get a perfect score :S

[raWfodog]

for BF3 'perfect' review scores:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

Looks like 4 critics gave it scores of '100' but, like I said before, that's just opinion so don't put too much stock in another person's opinion.

[optimus]

wow, really? in the past 5 yrs. the buggiest game i have played has been battlefield 3. which i found yet another bug last night that affects gameplay...and i'm not talking multiplayer for either.

[finbars75]

Wow optimus you must not have played cod4 or MW2 if you think BF3 is buggiest game you have played.I havnt had any problems with BF3,but we can talk about people flying around in maps or unlimited ammo crates or unlimited anything or maybe the non dedicated servers which causes about every problem there can be.So maybe before you go around and tell us that bf3 is the buggiest game in the last 5 years then my question to you is what rock have you been hiding under or maybe it's just you are in denial of how bad COD mp has always been a shit show from day one and on.

[optimus]

funny that you would automatically assume that i was referring to multiplayer (even when i said i wasn't). since i don't really play it...the single player is what i'm talking about and indeed battlefield 3 is the buggiest, glitchfest of a game i have played in the last 5yrs.

[paranoid1971]

i take it you didn't play fallout 3 or fallout : new vegas then.

[optimus]

@paranoid- I did play fallout 3 for a week but I didn't get far enough to encounter any glitches or bugs cause I was sooo bored with it. I returned it. That game remains as one of the most overrated games I have ever played...and you people need to start reading carefully what I said since I did say "I". You all may have played worse games in the past but that was you, not ME...but bugs and glitches I could put up with IF a game was FUN to play which battlefield isn't...FOR ME.

[devilmaydance]

To most of the people commenting, I like how you're complaining about the score, but if you read it you would have seen it was a Modern Warfare 2 review. Shows exactly what's wrong with the industry right there.

[Wizziokid]

MW2 didn't even deserve a 5/5, happy?

[HairyArse]

The review has been fixed. Sorry guys, the link broke somehow.

And for those of you not actually reading the entire thing, it's a review of Single Player, Multiplayer, Special Ops and Survival

[Goeres]

It sounds like shit and looks like shit.. How's it even possible for a PERFECT score then? All other games get nitpicked for small stuff like menus and such, honestly..

[shikamaroooo]

3 more hours till its reeased in australia

[fastNslowww]

weird how other top games get smack for being too similar..yet COD gets a free pass. A full 5/5...come on now. It's the same formula..re-skinned with the same terrorism plot. gsus!

[Laxman]

I agree. Its like CoD is the only series this doesnt apply to to the masses;

[Fishy Fingers]

Best thing about COD getting good reviews is the crying in the comment section :)

[CBaoth]

I've put almost 5 hours into MP, over 5 hours into Survival mode (not even really messed around with Spec Ops), took me almost 12 hours on Veteran to complete the game and I have no problem saying the game is the best one in the series since COD4. The last level is the hardest mission since the Flak cannon 88s in COD: World at War. Maybe even a notch above the airplane epilogue in COD4 in terms of difficulty. Aiming is back to the COD4 days, tight, no curving bullets.

I gave the game an 8.5, docked it for some minor issues and the fact they reused the same Quake engine, but noted it was as clean as COD4 and not the blurried look of Black Ops. I even played the PS3 version because it was the worst version last game and it STILL was much improved.

Any fan who buys this for whatever platform they game on will be happy with the effort. IW did a great job and frankly, I was sick of the series but wanted to see how it ended. Color me impressed given how it could've turned out.

I knew once the game's reviews started flowing in it would piss off the Hammer Legion members here at NaG.

[Bastion17]

woops

[Bastion17]

Here, here!
This comment has some COMMON SENSE.
Thank you for stating this, as some ppl here can't seem to be bothered to use it. Bubbles for you good sir

[Bastion17]

woops

[49erguy]

The campaign is already short enough and this reviewer is spoiling the hell out of it! Have some damn restraint! Some of us actually play the campaigns!

[Noticeably_FAT]

Did people actually expect MW3 to get negative reviews? come on now, it's going to score very high and sell a ton of copies. It's Call Of Duty people. Get over it, or cry some more about it.

[TopDudeMan]

Mw3 gets a perfect score IN SOMEONE'S OPINION. Cue battlefield fanboys throwing a tantrum because people aren't entitled to their opinions.

[Xenial]

Reviewer got a nice pay check from Acti for this review. Gj. :)

[optimus]

would you say the same for the reviewers that gave battlefield 3, batman, uncharted, little big planet, 9's and 10's? how can you say a game doesn't deserve it's scores without playing it? granted a 10 is a bit far fetched for ANY game because to me any game that gets a 10 is perfect and there wouldn't be a need for improvement , yet they give us the updates and the inevitable sequel with "improvements".

[HairyArse]

Do you really think Activision pays for reviews? If so you're completely deluded.

Of course I didn't receive any money for it, and if anything, I'm risking being added to their sh*t list for breaking the embargo and posting my review of the game before I'm officially even supposed to have it.

Fact is, I got it quite early, steamed through it over the weekend and posted my honest thoughts and feeling ahead of the release date.

[Xenial]

First off, i wasn't serious about that statement. I was implying that MW3 does not deserve the rating it got in the review. And yes, i have played the game.

[04soldier]

you wont be put on their shit list because you broke their embargo. YOU gave it a perfect score. Now if you had given them a 4/5 or a 3/5... you might be in hot water.

[vortis]

Steamed through it over the weekend and marked with a 5/5?

LOL, dude how is that worth $60? That's rental scores right there.

Play the game an entire week and then I'll consider the scores to be more legit.

Not everyone is going to throw $60 at a weekened-worthy game.

[Xenial]

Exactly as you said, no game deserves a ten. Better yet when MW3 releases we'll see if it even deserves a 8. This game shows close to no innovation at all. And for the other games no. Atleast they actually offer something of high quality and not just a rehashed multiplayer.

[HairyArse]

I'm pretty sure I scored the game 5/5 not 10/10. There's a difference. But either way, how can you say it's a terrible game when you yourself haven't even played it yet?

Jeeez...

[optimus]

well it doesn't matter if it's 5/5, 7/7, 3/3, the point is you set your limit of "perfection" at 5. if it was 5/10 then yes there IS a difference. if we say 10 it's more because that is the number synonymous with perfection in relation to your score.

[Xenial]

5/5 10/10 same concept... Both are full rating scores. -_- I have played MW3. And from what i have the game doesn't deserve a 5/5. 3/5 8/10 at most.

[0neShot]

Are you gonna say the same to BF3, GoW3, Halo3, DeadSpace 2, all games with new iterations because they are all similar to their predecessors?
Kids using the COD hater 'same formula' argument are simply kids, they don't understand what they're saying.

[vortis]

Well I'm not a kid and I do use the "same formula" concept because it is the same formula. Kids like you DON'T understand that, though.

They re-added features that was already available in Halo 1 TEN YEARS AGO. People got excited.

They removed character customization saying it would make the game better and people got excited (expect this feature to return next year with rave reviews and exclamations of innovation or in a dlc pack for $15 bucks).

Everything about the game is freaking tired. There is more innovation in DICE's 1999 title Codename: Eagle than there is in MW3 but it doesn't matter...Activision could strip Call of Duty down to next to nothing and fanboys will defend it to their death.

[GraveLord]

Someone should make a list of the all the Battlefield fanboys crying. I'll send you some kleenex!

[saf100792]

Tampons because they are butthurt? He can't be serious that doesn't even make sense tampons don't go in ur ass

[capcock]

5/5? I can understand if an 11 year old kid would give the game that score, but a grown man? that's just sad

[CoryHG]

this guy's gonna be rich. IN B4 "I TOLD YOU SO"

[SephirothX21]

I downloaded it for 360 and I've played the first mission and second mission. It is based in New York and you have to blow up a communications dish near the end before mounting a gun on a helicopter. I was playing on veteran and the mission was too easy and the ai were as dumb as hell. They just run out in the open for you to shoot them. I started the second mission where you plant the explosives on the Russian submarine. This was the level showed off at this year's E3. The second mission is better but ultimately fails to be innovative and wasn't as fun as levels from previous CoD games. Its just the same old thing. Peek out of cover and shoot a guy, get shot, go back behind cover or prone to the ground and rinse and repeat. I know a lot of FPS games are like this and Battlefield 3's campaign was also a bore. I haven't gone online because I'd be banned for playing early. I'll try the multiplayer tomorrow and if its good, I'll buy it but it won't be for the campaign.

Spoiler
One good thing about the campaign was the intro. You see Soap being revived after what happened to him at the end of MW2 and you play as Soap in the first two missions. The opening sequence is very well done. The cinematics are also great and a reason to play the campaign.

Spoiler

[Der_Kommandant]

There comes the perfect scores, There goes the payment checks

[Kahvipannu]

"Aside from the tweaks to the game's multiplayer, there's nothing in MW3 that should surprise anyone that's played any of the previous games. But for fans of the series that's no bad thing. New maps, weapons, killstreaks and modes are all that's required to keep the faithful, well, faithful. "

Hmmm, yes, it's good to not mess up the formula too much, but fourth time the same. Really? And WaW wasn't that different either.

I'm not commenting if the game deserves 5 or something else, that can everybody deside by themselves, but seeing the effort going in these games by developers, is really depressing. Basically Activision is doing what they did with guitar hero, and Tony Hawk franchises, just milk it with annual releases. And how did that end?

I think fans of the franchise would deserve better, but right now big A don't have to do anything but push these games out.. Right now what they are doing is basically stuff that could be done with decent modding-tools..

[vortis]

THANK YOU.

Bubbles to you sir.

I've seen more impressive mods for Max Payne 1 than what's featured in Modern Warfare 3.

I think that's the thing, this game sells like a $60 game but has all the quality of a well-developed mod.

There are Half-Life 2 mods out there more game-changing than MW3 yet MW3 supposedly is a $100 million dollar investment that required a whole bunch of teams to work on.

It's insulting to the intelligence of gamers for Activision to say that the game required millions of dollars in resources yet it's still running on ancient tech and there's nothing about the game that makes look anything remotely different than MW2.

[Kahvipannu]

Yeah, tell me about it. As a modder myself, I know exactly what your talking about.

Hopefully they are done with this gen machines, and are already investing in new engine and next-gen. But I would not be surprised if there would be "black-ops2" or two more coming up, hehe.

Activision is clearly testing what consumers are willing to buy, like the new Elite feature, which I can not understand at all, it's like PS+. Pay for content that should be free.. Besides the map-packs, but even then it's straight robbery. We will see..

[Shojin1]

Ive skipped the reviews because I think Ive killed enough dictatorships/revolutions/spys and enough soldiers in my last 10 years on a VG console.

Looks just like the last 500 call of dutys. I think it should be looked at in just the same way GOW3 was except they should compare it all the way back to COD1.

[shadowboricua]

So MW3 gets perfect score for changing nothing and keeping the formula unchanged. Uncharted 3 gets slammed for it in some reviews, and BF3 gets killed for its innovations without changing the game in a revolutionary way. MW3 might as well be an expansion pack. MW3 its staying on the store shelf and I am keeping my money. BF3 is awesome and years ahead of BF2. Sure Bad Company 2 was great, but BF3 improves on both BF2 and BFBC2. PLaying BF3(PC,) Batman(PC), and Uncharted 3 (PS3) for now... will save my money for Skyrim.

[QuantumWake]

I don't know about you guys, but I've always enjoyed Call of Duty's campaign. Sure, it may be a bit "Michael Bayish" (as most of you call it) at times, but overall, it has a great campaign. Never been a fan of multiplayer though... Just not my thing. I have always found other FPS games like Halo to be a bit more enjoyable in the multiplayer department.

Definitely not shelling out money on this game as I have Skyrim and Halo: Anniversary to look forward to. I'll probably rent it or wait till it's in the bargain bin.

[Kahvipannu]

Personally I lost interest in CoD-campaigns during BO. It's just explosion after another, scripted tube-running, and story and characters are as generic as you would expect from molitary shooter. I know it's supposed to be like that, but enough is enough, it just doesn't have that wow factory it had in MW1.

It's a rollercoaster-ride so to speak, it's supposed to last short time, so people want more of it, but even in short rides, if you ride enough, it gets boring. On a sidenote WaW's and MW1 campaigns were the best by far imo.

But yeah, none of my friends play CoD online anymore, but some are going to get it for the campaign anyway.

[tonywood]

Sequals that come out every year or every other year, should cost less money. I don't care about the reviewes, just tired of seeing annual titles going for $60.
-Madden
-cod
-killzone
-resistance
-NBA2k
-hockey
-MLB the show

[Kahvipannu]

I'm pretty sure that KZ and Resistance are NOT annual releases, but besides that yeah.

Tought it would be pretty strange if new sports game would not come out every year, but there is a solution to that; buy one NHL, or which you play, every 2 to 3 years. It's now 3 years I bought my last NHL, it still plays great with friends, but now would be propably good time to update.

[dcortz2027]

Resistance and Killzone games are not annual releases!

[XIIIWARRIOR41]

I don't care what anyone says or thinks about this game! I'm getting it & I'm going to enjoy it! CHEERS!

[Soplox]

BF3 - Multiplayer/Online
MW3 - Single Player

[bobrea]

Riiiiiiiight....

[JoelT]

And this my friends is why public relations folks DESPISE european gaming media. These mofo's wouldn't know what an embargo was if it smacked them in the face.