“Modern Warfare III” is the newest Call of Duty game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. Released on Nov. 10, 2023, it’s an embarrassment to the franchise.
Call of Duty is one of the largest video game series in the first person shooter genre, selling over 400 million copies across all of its games. Its rise to fame began with the original Modern Warfare series, which began in 2007. Since then, Activision has published nearly 20 games in the main series, as well as an equal number of spin-offs titles on mobile, console, and other mediums. “Modern Warfare III” is the 3rd game in a 2019 reboot of the original series.
Following two previous well-received games in the series, the game was set to be a success as well. However, “Modern Warfare III” quickly disappointed. The campaign felt hastily put together, with none of the missions feeling especially memorable. Half of the missions were what Sledgehammer Games called “open combat missions,” which simply gives you objectives to achieve and leaves you to decide what method and order to complete them. It’s a stark contrast to the linear gameplay style that Call of Duty is known for, and it’s clear that they still have a lot to learn before they master the open-world format. Currently, the open combat missions feel extremely similar to their 2020 battle royale game “Warzone,” even borrowing mechanics like drop boxes and scavenging. Moreover, the objectives in each open combat mission were nearly identical, and it felt like I was playing the same mission over and over. “Modern Warfare III” ultimately failed to successfully innovate on the usual Call of Duty formula.
Its more conventional missions were also very lackluster compared to its predecessors. The stealth infiltration missions were incredibly boring, with the gameplay essentially being limited to staying away from enemy NPCs. Although it gave me the chance to admire the scenery, it wasn’t very exciting to play through the mission.The stealth missions also left a lot of unfulfilled potential, with enemies that seemed to forget where I was after a few seconds and didn’t coordinate with each other whatsoever. It lacked the feeling of tension that’s typically present in Call of Duty’s stealth missions, which ruined the game’s immersion.
It didn’t help that many of the maps used in the missions were taken from their older games, like “Warzone.” It was somewhat interesting to see older maps remastered in a new game. However, once the nostalgia wore off, it became clear how little effort was put into developing the game. The recycling of old content made “Modern Warfare III” feel less like a standalone title and more like a rehash of its previous games.
Even though the plot took place on a global scale, “Modern Warfare III” had the shortest campaign out of any Call of Duty game with a completion time of just four hours, making the story rushed and incoherent. The missions were connected by a handful of very underdeveloped cutscenes, which completely broke the immersion of the story and made me emotionally detached from the characters.
When talking about endings, I would normally add in a spoiler warning. But for this game, it isn’t needed; the ending accomplishes absolutely nothing (except for setting up for a sequel game). It once again highlights the meaninglessness of the campaign as a whole: all of the missions in the game amounted to barely anything changing in the overarching story.
Ultimately, “Modern Warfare III” was the worst Call of Duty game I have ever played. Even though it’s the nicest looking game in the franchise, it definitely isn’t worth the $70 price tag.
