Modern Warfare 3 looks and feels just like the earlier games. That means big draw distances, tasteful filtering and lots and lots of action on screen at once. There are some areas lacking shaders and using low polygon models in the backgrounds, but these are kept from the player's focus thanks to the use of artful lighting and smoke effects and the way the designers always manage to direct your attention elsewhere. There are few games that make such effective use of smoke and mirrors to create this level of all-encompassing chaos; before you notice any rough edges, you're onto the next scene. Couple this non-stop action with a complete absence of any slowdown and it can make for an exciting experience.
Thankfully this time out the gate the creators have taken a nod from Treyarch's Black Ops and the story has taken a far more personal angle, focusing predominantly on the actions of Captain Price and the remnants of his disavowed task force. Some new characters are introduced and they actually provide a really interesting connection to various events from earlier in the series, with the odd minor character cropping up from time to time. The game walks through its standard formula and level structures with a mixture of on foot segments, aircraft gunnery control, vehicle turret sections and obligatory follow Price and used silenced weapons when he tells you to setups. Despite this now formulaic formula, the storyline really meshes well with the level sequence, more so than in previous Modern Warfare titles, and MW3 still manages to provide a really diverse set of level locations. One sequence in particular involving a Russian security guard on board an airliner stands out as a particularly well handled example of combining plot delivery with action, seamlessly throwing a curve ball at the player without taking them out of the moment.
When it comes to the core mechanics of translating the player's actions into visceral mayhem and destruction on screen none of the Call of Duty games have ever failed to provide a satisfying and solid feeling connection between the player and the game world. Sound effects are strong and vibrant and the control response is fast and forgiving. The weapons have a real weight to them and the same can be said for many of the game's support vehicles, although this effect is somewhat diminished when calling in air strikes and you realise the game will allow you to miss as many times as you want with no repurcussions.
The real problem with MW 3's campaign though, and it is a serious problem, is the complete lack of any pacing. The core mechanics are great but there's no structure in place and the singular design ethos seems to be that at no time should there be a moment without either an explosion on screen or some Hollywood extra screaming at you to ?Go! Go! Go!? That's not to say the developers haven't got very good at providing the big set pieces by now, the epic scale of a lot of these moments is undeniable, it's just that without a counterpoint, without the less frantic sections, there's no context for what you see on screen. And because there's no build up or tension, the game fails to use what could have been genuine standout moments to their full effect. The player becomes inured to the constant stream of action and frankly, it gets dull; it's just no longer exciting when it's back to back for the entire seven hour duration.
There are points where the game hints at something more, such as one scene where the player approaches a submarine and must navigate between undersea mines. It starts out well, tasking the player with slow, meticulous movements to avoid an instant death, but then before you know it it's over and it's time to hit the X button and watch another player-free animation sequence. This section is a perfect example of not only how the developers constantly launch into the over the top sequences far too prematurely but also their overemphasis on providing slick looking animations instead of player driven interaction. The campaign is littered with instances where exciting things are happening on screen but the player has no control, be it hang gliding, creeping along the edges of skyscrapers or planting explosives. Every time anything remotely interesting happens that doesn't involve the player pulling a trigger, you're told to stand back and let the animators handle it, because after all we wouldn't want you spoiling the cinematography now would we?
When it comes to the competitive multiplayer side, whether it's the netcode itself or just bad matchmaking, MW3 has some serious network performance issues. It might claim it's throwing you into a game with a sub fifty millisecond ping but in reality you'll be looking at three times that. There are few things more irritating than watching your death on your opponent's killcam only to see that they had you in their sights for a good second before they'd even rounded the corner in your instance of the match. Given how rapidly you can die it can be very frustrating to know just how much of your performance comes down to simply being lucky with the latency, and this problem is far worse than in pretty much any of their competitors' products.
This randomness isn't the only issue with the multiplayer; as you play you gain experience points and level up, with higher levels unlocking new weapons, perks and upgrades, and this unlock tree, is not balanced at all. People at higher ranks have serious advantages over those of lower ranks, such as the ability to maintain focus while under fire, particularly potent killstreak rewards and pretty much all of the weapon upgrades. Things are somewhat improved compared to some of the truly broken classes higher ranked players could build in Modern Warfare 2, but it's nevertheless an unfortunate step back from the far more level playing field provided by the credit purchasing system used in last year's Black Ops. There's also the question of why, after three games in the series the developers still feel the need to lock some of the more fun playlists until players have put in a few hours playtime, regardless of their prior experience with the franchise.
Beyond the lag factor and the issue of the unbalanced weapon unlocks there are also problems with the map design. The majority of the maps are very small affairs, to such an extent that in some Search and Destroy matches both teams can be at the bomb sites within ten seconds, and the level of interconnectivity is, for once, too high. Ensuring that players have multiple options to evade a pursuer or attack an objective is crucial in level design but take it too far and you make games too unfocused. What you are left with is not a tactical game with players fighting for control of key zones but a free for all mess where you end up getting shot in the back as often as the front simply because there are too many directions to cover. In a realistic shooter like Call of Duty, where a single burst of fire can spell your doom this factor becomes even more dominant. Add the issue of the small map size to the confused design and you end up with a scenario where spawn points can reverse so quickly that players can often be left unsure what direction they are even meant to be pushing towards.
These flaws culminate to create an experience that takes away a lot of the satisfaction from killing the opposition and winning games because at the end of the day you don't really feel like you deserved it. If someone's looking for a game where they can easily rack up a few kills and see lots of nice numbers fly up the screen as a reward that's fine, but it's at the expense of providing a deep and meaningful offering to the competitive player.
There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the Special Ops mode, a series of highly engaging challenges for one or two players that has also been joined by a Survival variant where you must hold off against waves of enemies. These short missions are by far the most fun to be had in the package and cater to all skill levels. To do well at the highest difficulty setting even experienced players will have to run through each one a few times, practising where and when to make tight, precise shots. The missions have been carefully constructed to provide a decent variety of encounters and ensure a mediated difficulty curve that demonstrates a level of care with regards gameplay balance far ahead of other parts of the game and these alone can make for a very satisfying couple of hours, with or without a companion.
The Survival mode is similar in scope to many other games, you earn credits for taking out the opposition which can then be spent on ammunition, weapon upgrades and support items such as perks or aerial bombardments. The rate of earning is balanced well with the cost of upgrades; you simply can't afford to completely re-kit between every round, so you always have to play the odds. The designers have done a good job of ensuring a wide variety of different enemy types appear across the waves with everything from basic infantry all the way up to aerial gunships and hulking juggernaughts making an appearance, although the sight of the explosive strapped dogs will likely upset some players far more than any No Russian playthroughs. The purchasable items have also been tailored to compensate for having an uncommunicative partner with a number of upgrades available that can greatly enhance the survivability of a player forced to operate alone, such as a one use ability to pick yourself up after being downed without a partner's assistance. This is one mode where the smaller layouts actually become an asset, suiting the style of play and close quarters combat well.
If there's one negative it's the ugly re-appearance of another experience-based levelling system. All of the items in the supply kits have minimum player levels to unlock, regardless of how many credits you possess. So a low ranking player will not be able to call in a Delta squad to aid them or buy certain perks for no good reason. The result is that if you are a low rank, people won't want to play with you because you hold the team back and if just one of you dies, it's game over. So unless you have a friend to play with it's going to be solo only for a while until the game deems you worthy to play with others handicap free.
At the end of the day Modern Warfare 3 hasn't really moved on from the last entry in this Call of Duty sub-franchise, the developers may have removed a few of the more eggregious perks from the multiplayer this time around but it's still the same laggy, brain-dead spam-fest they delivered last time, with some shockingly unbalanced unlocking systems flying straight in the face of last year's superlative setup in Black Ops. The campaign itself is perfectly serviceable in short bursts with technically proficient gunplay on offer, even if it is now starting to feel a bit repetitive, and it provides some decent closure to the storyline from the last two games. The real draw here is the really rather good Special Ops mode and while the Survival levels extend the length of this, there's no escaping the fact it's an unfortunately short lived experience. As a follow up to Modern Warfare 2 the game is as expected. As a follow up to last year's excellent Black Ops, it's a letdown.