Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

And so we come to Activision’s seasonal offering, looking to break sales records once more as it contributes to work absenteeism and prevents loved ones from seeing their other halves as they chain themselves to a control pad again.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been unleashed on the games playing community to rapturous plaudits and headline news reports as it has already been announced as the fastest selling title in gaming history [and indeed, makes this erstwhile publications 20th anniversary cover]. But, as the hype begins to die down, how does this perennial juggernaut fare as a game?

The campaign takes up where we left it at the finale of Modern Warfare 2 – Soap is rushed to hospital by Price and Nicolai while the Russian invasion of the US, orchestrated by a rogue Russian nationalist, continues unabated. The game, once more sees you flit between various characters and locations as the story unfolds with the US on the back foot while the Russians occupy their Eastern seaboard while the surviving members of the disgraced Task Force 41 attempt to clear their names and expose Makarov as the culprit behind this latest global conflict.

Although it follows the same template set by the preceding titles, by this point you will find that you have genuinely come to care about the characters and there are some shocking denouements and twists which see Modern Warfare 3 placed as the defining finale in this trilogy. Just as with the single-player campaign in Battlefield 3, there is still the nagging sense of being pulled through a roller-coaster of spectacle and set-piece action beats – however, familiarity with the characters and story, as well as a desire to finish the fight, means that Modern Warfare’s campaign carries more weight than Battlefield’s seemingly extraneous option.

That said, there are many players who won’t even indulge in this side of the game... Like Battlefield, Modern Warfare has a rabid online community who, while they were briefly satiated by Black Ops ‘60s set multiplayer, were actually hungering for yet more modern-day conflict – and they’ve been given what they asked for in spades...

Ostensibly, very little has changed since Modern Warfare 2 – there are a few different options with regards kill-streak awards that are geared towards a more co-operative sense of play – you can now opt for support awards that provide assistance for team-mates rather than letting just the best players benefit. However, generally speaking, Modern Warfare 3 hasn’t deviated much from the template that made the franchise such a success. I read an online comment which stated that, on one hand, Activision have become victims of their own success – any serious change would run the risk of angering staunch fans and, perhaps, it is best to view the seasonal Call of Duty releases in the same way as a sporting franchises such as Fifa or PES - each iteration is there to satisfy the demands of fans, not to innovate or push the envelope in any way.

When viewed in this light, Modern Warfare 3 makes perfect sense – it’s an update rather than an advance but, given both its success and the fact that it’s such a fantastic game, I don’t think it can possibly be faulted for failing to bring anything new to the table. Scores and reviews will not matter a jot but, just for the record, here’s another 9/10 to add to its tally... Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 easily lives up to the expectations of its fans and, as such, can still be considered an essential purchase...

9/10