I debated on how to best review Call of Duty Modern Warfare III. As a longtime member of what’s widely known as one of the most reactionary gaming communities out there, I know CoD players have strong opinions. My words won’t change your decision to purchase or alter how you feel about the game, so I figure the best thing to do is write what I’d want to know were I undecided or in need of budget justification.

Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit: the campaign. While I’m sure some buy this game solely for the campaign, I think numbers would show that a majority of the community buys for the multiplayer modes, hence, the Modern Warfare III campaign doesn’t even come close to some of the greats before it. I’m not surprised that it feels like an afterthought because it almost shows that devs focus their energy on what generates traffic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing if you have the time and money to waste on it. In true CoD fashion, the MW3 campaign has some of the most stunning graphics around and they still play like they’re straight out of a Jason Statham movie. Cutscenes with familiar characters managed to hold my attention, and Verdansk points of interest made me nostalgic about pandemic hot drops. Still, the overall story felt short, predictable, and unorganized. Every other mission was open combat, and it started to feel like they served only to lengthen total playtime. I found myself resenting them after the third one, but a bad campaign isn’t a dealbreaker for me. I know that some will inevitably feel cheated out of a genuine Call of Duty experience, but as a CoD regular who hasn’t cared about campaigns since Modern Warfare II, a trite and lazy campaign isn’t enough to ruin MW3 in its entirety. Now, if you ARE someone who plays only for the story, you will absolutely find this game to be a waste of time and money, even with the cliffhangers and plot twists. If you still decide to buy, maybe just set your difficulty to Veteran and make it more worth your money.

Now for the meat and potatoes- multiplayer modes. Something Call of Duty is notorious for is changing or removing what the community loves only to bring it back later. I don’t know whose idea it was to take out multiplayer slide canceling, reload cancel, mini-map red dots, or even just detailed weapon stats in the armory, but they all make their return in MW3. Great maps like Rust, Highrise, Terminal, and others are back, and a few new games keep things interesting. In short, multiplayer is still fast-paced, but now with that classic gameplay we love. I wish I had more to say here, but there just isn’t anything significant enough for me to hate on. There’s a first for everything, I suppose!

It wouldn’t be Call of Duty if they didn’t try to fix what wasn’t broken. DMZ is no longer in the playlist, but the new Zombies mode is actually closer to DMZ than the Zombies we are used to. In Modern Warfare Zombies, you play alongside your squad in an open map setting. Much like DMZ, the goal is to complete contracts, survive NPCs, and exfiltrate in one piece. Of course, there’s one key difference that, in my opinion, removes most of the thrill- enemy squads can’t kill you. Part of what made DMZ fun was that others in your match could keep you from exfilling. This forced thoughtfulness about initiating fights, contracts, and general movement around the map. In MWZ, you can help other squads in the lobby, but they pose no threat so the mode loses some of its tension. Even though MWZ isn’t considered a multiplayer game, it’s so similar to DMZ that I was disappointed to learn enemy threats are gone. Even so, completing tasks and exfilling is still a fun challenge, and it’s a great way to gain XP. So even though MWZ is less thrilling than DMZ and the traditional Zombies format, it’s perfect for grinding out weapons. Honestly, it’s really a great place to test them and see if they’re even worth trying to unlock.

Speaking of weapons, Modern Warfare III has introduced a new way of modifying some of them. Aftermarket parts are not available for every weapon, and they come with larger tradeoffs than standard weapon modifications. For example, decreased TTK raises recoil overwhelmingly more than standard weapon attachments. Aftermarket parts aren’t perfect and definitely aren’t for everyone, but they make for some unique loadouts that fit very specific play styles. Devs clearly gave a lot of thought to weapons in general, which brings me to my next point: many weapons and attachments now require the completion of Daily Challenges to be unlocked. I know some people will enjoy this, but I personally find it frustrating that I can’t just grind them the old-fashioned way. The good news is that this doesn’t apply to all weapons or attachments. I’m not particular enough about weapons that I can’t make do with something else, but if I found that for weapons I really liked, it wasn’t too hard to prioritize Daily Challenges for a bit.

The 2020 introduction of Warzone changed focus for so many of us, so it’s no surprise that devs are focusing their energy on that and multiplayer. Modern Warfare III isn’t legendary like some of its predecessors, but keep in mind that Call of Duty has produced some of the best campaigns around. Most of us remember exactly how we felt when Shepherd betrayed us, but I think a few great campaigns left us with unrealistic expectations. If you only play the campaign, save your money. For me, the return of some great maps makes this one worth it. And let’s be real- as CoD fans, we’re going to play either way…we’ll just complain while we do it!

Score: 7 out of 10

Reviewed on PlayStation 5