Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, analysis (campaign): even nostalgia can’t save a hastily made game

Modern Warfare II launched last year with a campaign that changed a third from the 2019 installment. Since launch, the 2022 title has always been rumored to be a two-year title with DLC expanding its content and gameplay options. Nevertheless, According to rumors, the DLC, which never happened, received a separate namecalled Modern Warfare III and led by SHG, another rotating Call of Duty studio that was most recently responsible for Call of Duty WWII and Vanguard.

The shadow that Modern Warfare III was DLC has never completely gone away, and the truth is that its integration into COD HQ, just a week after the campaign launched, with the full game available today, strengthens many players. ‘ suspicions.

It might be a little unfair to call Modern Warfare III’s campaign the worst in the franchise’s history. which turned 20 this year, but this is very close to the worst. Not so much because of its short length, but because it’s clear that somewhere along the way it went from being DLC ​​for last year’s game to being a premium package, as Activision calls Call releases every year. debt.

Modern Warfare III itself is a crossroads of lime and sand. On the one hand, it offers multiplayer, which on paper and in beta appears to be the best in years. And time will tell if he will become one of the best in the entire franchise. On the other hand, in this case, it offers an inconsequential campaign with few moments in which it shines, and which, under the guise of giving the player more freedom, includes some open world missions that ruin the popcorn immersion expected from Call of Duty .

Open combat missions spoil the experience

Modern Warfare III Campaign follows some of the storylines we saw in Modern Wafare II., but reimagines new ones taken directly from the original franchise. We leave Mexico, the cartels and some of the most charismatic characters in the saga of recent years to once again pursue the shadow of Makarov, the ultimate enemy along with Zakhaev from the trilogy of the last decade.

There are 15 missions in total, some as short as 3-4 minutes, in which Task Force 141 goes on the hunt for their enemy, starting the game from the point of view of Kony, a group of mercenaries under the command of Makarov. We have almost no new mentions of Koni. There are references in one of MWII’s flashback missions, and some of the narrative is sprinkled with raids and Warzone events, but is far from the classic presentation of other games. Makarov, for his part, seems to have made the decision in a hurry and without a clear plan. Their motivation is non-existent other than watching the world burn.and the short duration of the campaign does nothing to develop his character.

The rush of nostalgia mid-game, when Verdansk is the absolute protagonist of a game that certainly needs more development time, is one of the few things that saves a campaign that, although it is still excellent in terms of graphics quality (except for occasional cutscenes) it’s not on the level of a blockbuster like Call of Duty.

An end that comes too soon

The open world missions, which are one of the greatest novelties of this title, are nothing more than small missions taken from co-op, with a very simple structure that can even be hurry on the lowest difficulty without firing a single bullet. The worst thing about them is not only their simplicity of approach, but also the fact that they break immersion and storytelling.

Modern Warfare III’s campaign shines, but it shines in a few places. These are classic type missions that follow the player in detail, with a huge narrative load and popcorn moments. The plane mission, replaced in this part by Nada de Ruso, the Verdansk stadium mission, or the snow mission, to avoid spoilers, truly represents Call of Duty. and they are among the few who support the campaign.

A campaign that ends abruptly at the most unexpected moment, with almost no warning, confirming that it needs more time in the oven. An ending that, while incorporating one of the game’s best moments with another hit of nostalgia, larrived just when things were starting to look up more Call of Duty and less Spec-Ops. But this is certainly not enough for the expected game, and the first tests confirm that it has one of the best multiplayer in the franchise.