Call of Duty: Black Ops was marketed as ‘three games in one’ by the team at Treyarch as expressed by our interview with Studio Head Mark Lamia in 2010. This time around it’s safe to say that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare3 is ‘four games in one’ – an excellent single-player campaign experience, challenging co-op missions in Spec Ops, fantastic multiplayer options online and new to the equation is Call of Duty Elite – a community driven experience meant to bring gamers of all skill levels together.
The lifeblood of the Call of Duty franchise will always be the online multiplayer element. Treyarch took multiplayer and zombie gameplay to new levels which can now be capitalized upon by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer. Probably one of the most unique and stand-out additions to multiplayer is the ‘kill confirmed’ system in which players have to collect dog tags of their fallen victims – making it even more challenging to boost your kill streak. Since MW3 is brand new – it will take some time before we see how things like balancing perks or point streaks will pan out over time but from what we’ve seen and played thus far everything seems to be going according to plan.
I spent most of my time playing the single-player campaign of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 this past week since it was the first time to get into the actual story of the game. Much of what you would expect from the Call of Duty franchise is present in Modern Warfare 3 – including stunning graphics, high level of audio production and intense Hollywood style pacing. Call of Duty generally answers the question ‘what if you were inside of a blockbuster film’ — few games can claim this. If you directly compared MW2 to MW3 it would look similar however we’ve seen an increased level of animation and motion capture that helps push the realism of the game to a new level. You get the sense that the next level of great video game making and graphics is just around the corner when a new console becomes available – for now we’ll have to make due on the current ones.
We played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the Xbox 360 but it is also available now for the PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out our gameplay videos to see and hear more of COD MW3 in action with my live running commentary over the action.
Related Videos:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – ‘Black Tuesday” and “Hunter Killer” Missions
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – “Back on the Grid” Mission
Call of Duty XP Interviews with the Developers
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Trailer