Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

Activision has been releasing a new Call of Duty game every year without fail since 2005, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 being the latest in the franchise. However, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 finds itself in a unique position compared to other games in the series. Reports have indicated that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 had some serious challenges behind the scenes, with the game reportedly having a significantly shorter development time than its predecessors.

Activision and Sledgehammer Games have pushed back against that narrative, but the final product does seem to point in that direction. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is largely made up of content that previously existed in other games or is set to be used in the new Warzone map, which in some ways makes it come across more like an expansion than a fully-fledged new game. Despite these limitations, Modern Warfare 3 actually succeeds in delivering a quality multiplayer experience and a decent-enough Zombies mode. Where it stumbles is its campaign.

The Modern Warfare 3 campaign is full of bland, generic, interchangeable characters that are impossible to care about. It makes big emotional swings that fail to connect and are unearned because the characters get no real development. The expectation is that fans will care about these characters because of their nostalgia for the original trilogy, but it doesn’t work.

Part of the problem is that important story developments occurred in the Warzone battle royale and Special Ops co-op mode between the release of Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3, so someone who only played the MW2 campaign and skipped the BR stuff will be confused about characters like Phillip Graves and Alex Keller suddenly being back in the mix. This also was a problem in the jump from the 2019 Modern Warfare to Modern Warfare 2, ensuring that there is no story cohesion in the Modern Warfare reboot trilogy.

A consistent story may be too much for Call of Duty fans to ask for when it comes to the Modern Warfare reboot trilogy, but they can otherwise count on the same-old campaign gameplay. None of the Modern Warfare 3 campaign missions have an original thought, instead taking inspiration from previous games in the series. There’s the obligatory AC-130 gunner mission, linear “Follow Me” missions (except this time without the impressive set-pieces), and stealth missions that are as tedious as usual. Modern Warfare 3‘s campaign also takes a few pages out of the Warzone playbook with its Open Combat missions.

Open Combat missions in Modern Warfare 3 are a mixed bag. On one hand, it’s nice to have missions take place in large, open areas where players aren’t being suffocated by the typical “Follow Me” linearity that has plagued Call of Duty campaigns for over a decade. On the other hand, the injection of Warzone elements in the Open Combat missions makes the campaign lose its identity. It doesn’t help matters that players are better off making a beeline for the objectives in the Open Combat missions instead of exploring, which defeats their purpose.

Almost everything in the Modern Warfare 3 campaign revolves around Warzone. The MW3 campaign has effectively been Frankenstein’d from Warzone parts, from the Open Combat missions to linear missions that take players back to Verdansk. It’s true that many fans have been calling for Verdansk to return, but they meant in the battle royale, not in the campaign.

The MW3 campaign has effectively been Frankenstein’d from Warzone parts

Modern Warfare 3‘s campaign is mercifully over after a few short hours, offering little in the way of redeeming qualities and establishing itself as easily the worst Call of Duty campaign ever made. The one good thing that can be said about it is that the graphics are incredible, with gorgeous lighting and highly-detailed environments. This same level of polish can be found in the Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, which is the game’s saving grace.

Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer is a blast and a significant step up from what was offered in the previous two MW games at launch. There are some issues that still need ironed out, like wonky Hardpoint spawns on some maps, but overall, the MW3 multiplayer experience is vastly superior out-of-the-box than most recent Call of Duty games.

Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer delivers the fast-paced, exciting Call of Duty multiplayer that fans have come to expect, but with improvements across the board. Movement is faster, more fluid, and generally feels a lot better than last year’s game. The Time to Kill has been greatly increased, which results in more intense firefights. The developers have made all kinds of fan-requested changes, and the end result is one of the best Call of Duty multiplayer experiences in years.

The Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer experience is enhanced by some genuinely fantastic sound design. Guns sound great, and it’s easy to hear enemy footsteps, but players may be more impressed by the smaller moments. For example, while stalking around the Rundown map, players can hear flies buzzing around their ears in certain sections. Little touches like this go a long way in giving the maps personality.

Modern Warfare 3 has 16 core multiplayer maps at launch, pulled straight from the 2009 Modern Warfare 2 game, but with significant visual enhancements. These maps are classics for a reason, and they are a big part of why Modern Warfare 3‘s multiplayer is so entertaining.

While the Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer is the best at launch that the series has offered in years, it isn’t perfect. As usual, it’s missing important modes like Gun Game and Gunfight, which is disappointing, but Call of Duty fans are likely used to that by now. Those modes will likely come to Modern Warfare 3 later, but in the meantime, the game’s standout new game mode Cutthroat should keep fans plenty busy.

Cutthroat is a new take on Gunfight-style battles, but it’s 3v3v3 instead of 2v2. There are no respawns, though players are able to revive downed teammates if they get to them in time. It doesn’t scratch quite the same itch as Gunfight, largely thanks to the fact that it uses custom loadouts instead of pre-selected guns, but it is a decent substitute and is a natural evolution of the concept.

Fans of Call of Duty multiplayer will find a lot to like about Modern Warfare 3. It checks all the boxes and delivers a thrilling experience that will keep fans engaged for hours on end. For many, that will make Modern Warfare 3 worth the price of admission alone, especially if they don’t care about Call of Duty campaigns. Others will find it hard to justify the $70 price tag when they consider that all the Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer maps are from a 2009 game. The maps are great, but they’re not original, and so it can be hard to shake off the feeling that MW3 is a $70 DLC instead of a full-fledged game.

Of course, there’s one more piece of the puzzle to consider. Call of Duty games tend to launch with campaigns, multiplayer, and co-op, with the latter usually consisting of the fan-favorite Zombies mode. Zombies makes its Modern Warfare sub-series debut in Modern Warfare 3, but instead of being round-based, it’s a new open world Zombies experience that incorporates elements of Modern Warfare 2‘s DMZ and Warzone.

Modern Warfare 3‘s Zombies mode takes place on the massive Urzikstan map, the next battle royale map for Warzone. Warzone elements are blended with classic Zombies features, with players able to loot chests, drive vehicles, and armor-up while also hitting the mystery box, buying weapons off the wall, and drinking Perk-a-Cola. As players explore the map, they will have to deal with hordes of zombies and roaming bands of mercenaries, with the ultimate goal of getting as much quality loot as possible and extracting to secure upgrades that improve one’s odds in future runs.

At times the enemy density can be too low, which makes for boring stretches, but other times players will find themselves on the edge of their seats as they fight their way through massive hordes of the undead. Trying to exfil while zombies are swarming the helicopter is an exhilarating experience, and players can count on plenty more watercooler moments like this if they give the open world Zombies mode a chance.

For the most part, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies sets players loose in the open world to do whatever they want, but those who choose can have a more focused experience. Contracts are dotted around the map that give out objectives for bonus loot and XP, plus there are Zombies missions that players can complete that double as guides to teach players how to play the mode as well as lead them to some of its more interesting content. There’s always plenty to do in MW3 Zombies, and at worst, it’s a great place for players to level up their weapons for multiplayer.

Zombies purists might remain unconvinced, but there is a lot of fun to be had here for the open-minded. Plus, it’s cool to get a sneak peek at the new Warzone map, though that circles back around to the issue of Modern Warfare 3 being made up of recycled content. The Urzikstan map at least isn’t in Warzone yet, so it feels fresher than the Warzone content shoved into the campaign, but some may still be disappointed that MW3 Zombies isn’t offering a completely unique experience.

That’s really the story for Modern Warfare 3 across the board. The campaign is made up of Warzone content, the multiplayer is comprised of maps that are 14 years old, and the Zombies mode uses a map that will be recycled for the battle royale. $70 is a high asking price for what’s here, but those that do decide to take the plunge will find the best Call of Duty multiplayer experience in years and an intriguing open world Zombies mode that, while not quite as fun as the classic round-based Zombies maps, can still dish out memorable moments with friends.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant reviewed the game on Xbox Series X.