Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 starts and you’ll immediately know what time it is. The menu is a kind of smörgåsbord of colorful buttons and displays. Before you can start playing, you have to click on four pop-up windows containing all the items you have unlocked. Things you unlock once you start the game. Simply download three updates, reboot twice, sign in to your Activision account, and then you can…

Yeah, um, what can you actually do?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be named Call of Duty in your game library. If you have the previous parts, you can simply play them when you start Call of Duty. You can of course also play Modern Warfare 3 if you buy Modern Warfare 3 and start Call of Duty, but you’ll then be playing Modern Warfare 2. Because Modern Warfare 3 is actually just DLC for Modern Warfare 2. It’s just called Modern Warfare 3 , or well, just Call of Duty.

The fact that Call of Duty is a platformer nowadays shouldn’t be a problem. One problem is that this platform must be updated with new parts every year. You can see from everything that this DLC had to become a sequel with 3 at the last minute. according to research From Bloomberg, lead developer Sledgehammer’s staff worked nearly to death to create the campaign in sixteen months.

Not amusing

The end result is so poor that I can’t find the words to explain how much I hate it. This is mainly due to the new Open combat missions. These missions take place in small arenas in which you have to carry out a series of tasks as one of the well-known characters. In practice, these arenas are just villages and towns found on both Warzone maps. In those arenas you’ll also find the weapons, chests, and armor you know from Warzone.

Warzone, but offline, without friends and without the motivation to win. It sounds very boring, and it is, but it gets even more boring. Because the worst part is the goals you have to complete. “Blow up three helicopters!” OK. “Now plant two GPS transmitters!” Mother. “Get into this building and steal the statement!” sigh. I ran from mission to mission hoping to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

The cinematic buzz is missing, there is hardly any storytelling, there are no longer any team members involved, and there is hardly any script or organisation. The only constant is your shopping list of painful tasks. Almost half of the game consists of such missions. The rest consists of missions reminiscent of those in the previous parts, for example a secret mission or the No Russian version of Modern Warfare 2 (2009).

Sometimes you see the strength of the Call of Duty formula seep through, but not often. Even mundane tasks are short and boring. There are two types that come close to the tasks you are used to. The rest is very short and very boring. Normally the story is a bit of a motivating factor to keep playing, but in Modern Warfare 3 that’s another annoyance.

You keep getting sent, but you don’t quite understand why. There is no emotional thread, which makes the plot twists trivial. The characters’ mouths move, but no one actually says anything. He feels rushed. It seems like the story shouldn’t be too deep. Perhaps because the game needed to be completed quickly, perhaps because Sledgehammer had little creative freedom. After all, Modern Warfare is actually from Infinity Ward.

After three hours of running around alone in two Warzone maps, the coup de grâce came. The ending comes out of nowhere. I went to get a Coca-Cola because I thought the next mission was starting, but when I came back I saw the credits appear on the screen. The ending doesn’t make sense and this game is only three hours long. Then know for sure: Activision is no longer ashamed of this and does not even care to hide it. The message is clear: they will buy it anyway.

Nice – good

The single player doesn’t actually do anything good except pure aiming. Movement is smooth, weapons look great, and the familiarly wide hitboxes do their job. This sounds like good news for the multiplayer mode and fortunately it is. The fast-paced action is tactical, the classic six versus six modes work very well and with sixteen maps there’s nothing to complain about the quantity.

Multiplayer changes little things. The classic mini-map with red dots returns. This is good. Players also enjoy more life. This makes it take longer to shoot them. As a result, one-on-one duels become a bit more tactical. You especially notice this in large-scale settings, where tactics are even more important. Warfare from Call of Duty: WW2 also returns. This mode only has one map, but it’s fun to play once.

The other maps clearly play on nostalgia. They are all maps from Modern Warfare 2 (2009). Weapons and attachments from Modern Warfare 2 (2022) also return. You can now also paste the sights you’ve unlocked onto new weapons. On the one hand, this is great, and on the other hand, it seems very safe – also in terms of the range of modes available. It makes sense to rely on nostalgia, but Modern Warfare 3 goes further.

In practice, this multiplayer mode is just Modern Warfare 2 (2022), but with a lot of good but old maps (and the promise that new ones will follow later). Many of the changes are good, but most players won’t notice them. The result is an entertaining and nostalgic Call of Duty game, but the multiplayer doesn’t quite up the ante with a lot of recycling. No, to innovate you have to be in Zombies mode this year.

The design of these zombies is similar to that of DMZ mode or some kind of accessible version of Escape from Tarkov. You join teams of three (with friends or strangers) on what looks like a zombie-like Warzone map. If you die, you’ll lose your loot, so you’ll have to leave the level at the right time. You decide how spicy you want it to be. Some quests and areas are more difficult than others, but this is of course where you can unlock the best loot. Very exciting.

The map is diverse and contains the surprises you know from zombies. The smart addition is that you are dropped onto the map with three other teams. Sometimes those teams get together and the action is truly amazing. At times, it feels like you’re in a fantastic zombie movie. It’s clear that the Zombies mode has had development time. Unlike multiplayer, Zombies is fun and refreshing at the same time.

The final result

As always with Call of Duty reviews, you ultimately have to evaluate the game for yourself. If you’re playing Call of Duty for a single player, there’s nothing to gain here. Zombies is a lot different this year, but it feels like the innovation this game needs. If you’re a fan of retro multiplayer, Modern Warfare 3 is what you’ll get. Please know that it is very traditional indeed. For example, there are currently no new maps in it.

Modern Warfare 3 is a sequel, not a sequel. Not a fun game. From a developer who doesn’t want to develop. The multiplayer is fun while the Zombies game is really entertaining. There is good gameplay in this game, but you won’t find the spirit and vision here. Modern Warfare 3 was pushed out the back door by Activision with an umbrella called Call of Duty. Because it’s the new Call of Duty. Fans will buy it anyway.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series