Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 marks another notch in the long-running, best-selling FPS shooter series. Does it continue to innovate on its formula? Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Review Overview
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Compelling Story Great Graphics and Sound Strong Gameplay | Only 14 Missions Bound to Spark Controversy Over Russia’s Portrayal Armory Unlocks Items By Completing Daily Challenges |
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Overall - 86/100
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3's campaign mode features outstanding storytelling through its stunning visuals, captivating cutscenes, and strong gameplay. The game puts you in the boots of skilled special forces soldiers executing missions straight out of an action movie. Multiplayer and Zombies are as good as ever. Overall a great FPS experience on next gen consoles or powerful PCs, but may be lackluster on PS4 or Xbox One.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Story - 8/10
The game lets you partake in thrilling and dangerous missions as talented soldiers from Task Force 141. Set right after the events of Modern Warfare 2, you’re tasked with taking down the ruthless Russian warlord Vladimir Makarov, whose arrival to the series was teased at the end of MW2, where Laswell informs you of him being the new dangerous leader of the Russian Ultranationalists responsible for Shepherd’s ruined plans. Makarov is set on creating chaos and igniting a war between the USA, Russia, and Urzikstan.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Gameplay - 8/10
The Call of Duty franchise has featured some of the best FPS gameplay for decades. This iteration is no different. It closely resembles the 2019 reboot of Call of Duty Modern Warfare, which garnered widespread praise for its great gameplay. Shooting in this game feels fantastic, and so does the movement.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Visuals - 10/10
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 looks absolutely stunning. The character models, environment, guns, and special effects all look polished and very vivid. The cutscenes were done masterfully and, when paired with its great story, really draws you in. While I can’t speak for people on old-gen consoles, my experience on a PS5 was visually enthralling.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Audio - 9/10
Something often overlooked that adds to the unique gameplay feel of Call of Duty games is its sound. In a modern military shooting game, you’d want the sound of gunfire and explosions to sound full and loud. MW3 gives you just that, plus S-tier voice acting to go along with its captivating cutscenes. On a decent pair of headphones, the audio in this game is guaranteed to fully immerse you in its digital battlefields.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Value for Money - 8/10
Priced at the typical $70 for a AAA game, it's priced fairly for the quality you get in return. In addition to the outstanding but oh-so-short single-player experience in the campaign, you’ll also have access to both its multiplayer and zombies features, which are very good. Call of Duty has always boasted some of the best multiplayer FPS experiences we’ve ever had in the gaming scene, and this entry is no different.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Review: Explosive Excellence
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 has it all - stunning graphics, outstanding storytelling, and fun gameplay. Set right after the events of Modern Warfare 2, you’re tasked with taking down the Russian extremist Vladimir Makarov, whose arrival to the series reboot was hinted at in the post-credits cutscene of the previous game. You’ll be able to play as different operators from Task Force 141 and deployed to different locations for dangerous missions. You’ll also be equipped with advanced military technology to execute them effectively.
The game’s story is extremely captivating and gets more intense the more you play. It features visually striking spectacles, full HD cutscenes, excellent storytelling, and superb voice acting. The story was easy to understand, but at the same time, it’s pretty complex and has its fair share of plot twists and surprises. Other than the running around in the Open Combat Missions, which we’ll talk about in a bit, the story is paced well, and will leave you wanting more should you decide to take a break. Its overall greatness reminded me of how I felt while playing the campaign of COD Black Ops - glued to my seat and biting my nails in anticipation of what would happen next. However, it's really short; it only takes 5-7 hours to complete.
As you engage in these missions, you'll use advanced military technology like spotter drones. This is a staple in Call of Duty campaigns and is well integrated into this game.
Some missions are Open Combat missions, which feature larger maps and more player freedom on how you want to execute the mission. Oftentimes, strategies are either between stealthily picking off opponents one by one or going in loud and hot with guns blazing. While this feature sounds cool on paper, it feels like a lazy execution of a DMZ-style (demilitarized zone) game mode with campaign elements mixed in. I prefer the traditional story missions over these Open Combat missions since the freedom it affords players ironically ruins the pace of the story. The maps are too big, and the objectives are too far away from each other, which results in time wasted just running around. There are 6 of these missions, and there are only 14 in total. That’s almost half your campaign time wasted running around in these Open Combat missions.
Thanks to Call of Duty's mastery of its distinct FPS formula, they've been blessed with top-tier gameplay in almost every game they've released (other than when they went too far into the future). While the campaign and other game modes have been hit-or-miss, the multiplayer game modes of Call of Duty games are always fun. The signature blend of strong gameplay, top-tier visuals, and crisp audio translates perfectly into online multiplayer fun. This entry is no different.
Obviously, it has that classic Call of Duty feel. Time to Kill (TTK) takes a bit longer than usual, much like in CoD: Cold War and Black Ops 4, which, in my opinion, improves the multiplayer experience. After all, there's better skill expression that way since you'd have to land more bullets to secure kills. Gone are the days of helplessly dying a split second after an opponent puts his crosshairs on you, unless it's a sniper, of course. Movement is similar to COD MW 2019, and I felt very agile as I ran, slid, and bunny-hopped across the battlefield.
Weapons, attachments, and perks seem to be in a balanced state. Unlike in previous iterations, no one option clearly stands above the rest. Back then, everyone would run the same guns with the same attachments, and the same perks. This may be because the game is new, and people don't really have a good grasp on the meta yet, but so far so good.
One of the things that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 definitely did well is the returning War Mode from CoD:WWII. This isn't to be mistaken for Ground War, which just feels like playing multiplayer on a very large map with a lot of players in it. War Mode is much more than that. On top of the large-scale mayhem, they added objectives like capture the point and push the payload, which is similar to Escort in Overwatch. The addition of these objectives improves the War Mode so much in contrast to the mediocre gameplay of Ground War.
Zombies is bigger than ever in this iteration of COD. While I wasn't a fan of the Open Combat Missions being a lot like DMZ, the brand-new open-world DMZ style of the Zombies Mode is definitely something I can get behind. It now features a gigantic map, much like Warzone, and is loaded with points of interest. It's literally DMZ but with Zombies and armed mercenaries trying to kill you. And unlike previous Zombies modes, you can gain both weapon and level EXP, use your loadouts, and traverse the map like you would in Warzone. You could also run into other squads in real time and help each other deal with the common threat at hand. With all these brand-new elements, each game will always be a different experience. Zombies may just be a fun new way to grind out your weapons with your squad. However, the previous system, with the intensifying waves of undead swarming to kill you, definitely felt more intense. It would be really cool if Call of Duty somehow found a way to bring back the waves and integrate it into the game mode, intensifying the match as it goes on.
Overall, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 offers everything you’d want in a modern military FPS game.
Pros of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
| Things Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Got Right |
|---|
|
Compelling Story Great Graphics and Sound Strong Gameplay |
Compelling Story
The campaign focuses on Vladimir Makarov, a returning villain from the original MW series, and the main cast’s efforts to prevent him from causing total chaos and a multi-nation war. His cunning nature, allure, and ruthlessness make him an excellent villain and make taking him down feel all the more rewarding. His strategic and cold-blooded moves make him a worthy adversary for Task Force 141.
The story doesn’t hold back on exploring mature and controversial topics like violence, racism, war, and other terrible acts. This adds to the game’s authenticity, as soldiers in war do, in fact, see some of the worst things in humanity.
Each mission significantly moves the plot forward, and none of them are a waste of your time. On the right difficulty, you won’t really breeze through missions, but you won’t get hard-stuck either, even as a COD newbie.
It’s difficult to talk more about the story without spoiling anything, but should you purchase the game, expect a fully immersive experience with incredible storytelling, blockbuster movie-like cutscenes, and great single-player gameplay.
Great Graphics and Sound
Call of Duty has always thrived on providing its players with the best-looking and the best-sounding FPS games. In my opinion, Modern Warfare 3 follows the same trend and is the best-looking and best-sounding FPS game today. During gameplay, you’ll notice how nice the game looks and how real the guns sound, and during cutscenes, you’ll be able to observe right away how the voice acting is on point, and the cinematics look stunning.
In my experience on a PS5, the game ran smoothly, and I barely had any frame drops. Additionally, the Zombies, along with the zombie dogs and bosses, look good, are well-designed, and sound pretty creepy.
Strong Gameplay
Call of Duty has that distinct gameplay feel. The franchise has perfected its fast-paced run-and-gun FPS gameplay style. While it did struggle with its identity when it went too far into the future and featured jetpacks and other futuristic gizmos, all COD games have outstanding gameplay. COD MW3 features its signature style of fast-paced movement paired with realistic gun behavior and a low (but not too low) time-to-kill. It’s the tried-and-tested Call of Duty gameplay but with a new story and the most advanced technological features. Advanced movement mechanics, like dolphin dives and slide cancels are also present in this game. While it definitely isn’t realistic, it increases the skill-ceiling for players and allows for more outplay potential in duels. Additionally, the Zombies Mode took a huge step forward with its new DMZ style and other new features.
Cons of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
| Things That Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Can Improve |
|---|
|
Only 14 Missions Bound to Spark Controversy Over Russia’s Portrayal Armory Unlocks Items By Completing Daily Challenges |
Only 14 Missions
While 14 missions seem like a pretty sizable amount, it’s not. Without skipping any cutscenes, I finished half the missions in only 2 and a half hours. While I understand that lengthening the story may cause a dip in quality (more fillers), I couldn’t help but feel sad that I was halfway through with this amazing story. In addition, some missions are pretty short, while 6 out of the 14 are Open Combat missions, whose open world maps take up so much time traversing through. If only this campaign came with more of the traditional, linear missions and less Open Combat missions, this would've been one of the best campaigns in Call of Duty, on par with the likes of the original Black Ops and World at War.
Bound to Spark Controversy Over Russia’s Portrayal
In the Modern Warfare universe, the fictional version of Russia has been responsible for some questionable acts of war. Naturally, this infuriated the Russian people in real life since they were portrayed as "the bad guys." This game’s focus is Vladimir Makarov, a Russian Ultranationalist leader who commits sickening war crimes left and right.
Moreover, the game features a remade version of the most controversial COD mission of all time. Entitled "No Russian," this mission faced severe backlash after getting the player involved in a mass shooting as an undercover agent trying to win the warlord’s favor. While this game’s version of the mission is a little bit different, some parties may still find offense in this and escalate the ongoing tensions between real nations butting heads.
Armory Unlocks Items By Completing Daily Challenges
Some weapons, killstreaks, perks, and equipment require you to unlock them in the armory to access them. These require you to finish a number of daily challenges. While it's not really hard to accomplish these daily challenges, you'll only have a few each day. This means you can only unlock one or two things each day, even if you spend the whole day playing. This seems like a cheap tactic to manipulate players into playing every single day.
Is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Worth It?
Totally!
The game not only features an incredible showcase of storytelling mastery, but it also gives you access to some of the best multiplayer FPS experiences in the genre. Its visual and auditory excellence elevates the already great and established Call of Duty gameplay to the next level. Its story is relevant to today’s issues of war and does not shy away from controversial and mature topics. While the campaign can be done in 5-7 hours, there's much more to experience in its strong multiplayer and zombies modes.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Overview & Premise
After the events of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Vladimir Makarov is broken out of prison and leads the Russian Ultranationalist Forces in instigating an all-out war. The fate of the world lies in Task Force 141’s hands as they try to take him down before it’s too late.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 FAQ
What are the missions available in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3?
There are a total of 14 missions in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3’s campaign mode. The list is as follows: Operation 627, Precious Cargo, Reactor, Payload, Deep Cover, Passenger, Crash, Site, Flashpoint, Oligarch, Highrise, Frozen Tundra, Gora Dam, Danger Close, and Trojan Horse.
How long is the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Campaign?
It takes around 5-7 hours to finish.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Trailer
Gameplay Reveal Trailer
Official Multiplayer Trailer
Official Zombies Reveal Trailer
Game8 Reviews
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Product Information
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| Title | CALL OF DUTY MODERN WARFARE 3 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | November 10, 2023 |
| Developer | Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Beenox, Raven Software, High Moon Studios, Demonware |
| Publisher | Activision |
| Supported Platforms | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC |
| Genre | FPS, Military, Shooting, Multiplayer |
| Number of Players | Single Player, Local and Online Multiplayer |
| ESRB Rating | Mature 17+ |
| Official Website | Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Website |
