Modern Warfare 3 PC Review

[Alyxx Thorne]

 

I've never been much of a CoD fan. Aside from occassionally being forced to playing MW1 on my brother's PS3 with him and just scraping the surface of MW1's singleplayer campaign, I have absolutely no experience with the franchise at all. I have not played MW2 in any shape or form and so I have really gotten into MW3 with a rather fresh perspective. Therefore, I don't really have anything to compare it to since I haven't played Battlefield either, so this review will be of the game pretty much on its own merits rather than compared to anything else...

 

I've always been fascinated by World War III games though. Growing up with PC games, I think the first experience I had with the concept was with Command & Conquer and a whole slew of RTS titles. I think when World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001, it sort of created a new era, an atmosphere of terrorism and war between the West and the Middle East the likes we had never seen before. The Modern Warfare series is absolutely drenched in this atmosphere, which is probably why it resonates with so many people and sells so many games. It's something everyone in today's world can relate to and see as a possibility.

 

Modern Warfare 3 is sort of a multidev project. While Infinity Ward had worked on it in the beginning, after the feud between them and Activision, it was up to Sledgehammer Games to finish the game and Raven Software helped develop the multiplayer. Because of that, MW3 has a sort of modular feeling to it as it's really divided into 3 main parts. The campaign, which continues the story from where MW2 left off, the Special Ops campaign which is comprised of special co-op missions and the Multiplayer where you can play online in a whole suite of different game modes.

 

The campaign is a short but intense thrillride with plenty of great set pieces and standout moments, the ending probably being the biggest climax for me. While MW3 is an extremely linear experience and the engine is starting to show its age, especially when compared to the extremely rich visuals of Battlefield 3, it still looks quite impressive, especially when considering all of the things happening around you, with entire buildings collapsing around you and the game as a result feels immensely immersive and really places you in a thick atmosphere of war. The campaign has some really good moments, like the fabled scene where an American family on a trip in London are blown to smithereens by a chemical bomb. I think it's the first time I've actually felt close to the sudden rawness of terrorism and the game does a very good job at emulating a real war experience, though a very cinematic one, making it feel at times like you are sort of playing an action movie.

 

Don't expect them to reinvent the wheel here, this is the same old CoD you played last year, just with a new campaign. You're still pretty much limited to carrying 2 weapons, your health regenerates and the game flashes you with a ton of obvious messages such as "you are hurt, go for cover" which gets REALLY annoying after a little while. I mean, isn't it obvious enough from the fact I have blood all over my vision and my heart is pumping? I really need the text to further state the severity of getting to cover? Sometimes I feel like the game is treating me like a retard, especially when placing a "follow" marker on one of the team members, even if I pretty much have no choice but to follow them due to the linearity of the game. It's like they expect me to be a total idiot and run the other direction. Other than such annoyances though, the game is pretty enjoyable if you don't mind the cinematic style of the gameplay. It's very good at what it does and I was honestly having a lot of fun with the campaign and I'd love to play through it twice. However I doubt it's a campaign I will be playing a lot since you pretty much see everything the first and second times around.

 

The multiplayer feels a bit more balanced than in MW1 and features a slew of game modes that are sure to please all tastes. The customization options, as you gain points to unlock them, really gives you the chance to taylor the game to your taste, whether you like playing as support or assault, and getting points is pretty much easier than ever, making it very fair to noobs. I haven't had the chance to test out the Elite system since, well, it's not available on PC. To put it short, they have kept the core experience, and all the additions are for the better. This is really the most complete and satisfying Call of Duty Multiplayer experience yet.

 

So is MW3 worth the 60 bucks? Considering you're getting probably one of the most polished shooters this year with the most complete multiplayer experience I've seen in recent years, I would say so. Keep in mind I haven't played Battlefield 3 so I can't really compare the two. But from what I can tell, aside from treating you like a retard at times with all the blatantly obvious messages, MW3 is a great shooter experience and the multiplayer will last you a long time, maybe even longer than it takes Activision to pump out another title next year.

 

I give it 9 out of 10 dancing chickens.

 

[Obsidian]

Another great review, Alyxx. I did notice you sometimes repeated phrases/words in a close vicinity ('around you', for example), but you're still fairly varied in word choice and sentence structure to make the review flow nicely.

 

Have you tried out COD: Elite yet? Do you think it's worth that subscription fee?

[Alyxx Thorne]

As I wrote in my review, I haven't due to the fact it was left out of the PC version.

[Obsidian]

Oh duh, sorry about that. I thought I read elsewhere that it was going to be included. Ah well, nevermind

[Alyxx Thorne]

Yeah, they are working on getting it PC compatible but it seems highly unlikely.

[Obsidian]

Well, that may or may not be for the best. I'm not sure how I feel about the subscription price, which is almost as expensive as the game, and will eventually cost more than the actual game. Luckily it's optional; the people I work with tried to convince me it was a fee for just the multiplayer. I was also glad to hear that prestiging (or whatever it's called in this outing) isn't as worthless as it was in the first MW.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Well, the game feels rewarding without being unfair. When you die it's because you're unresponsive or not aware enough so it feels fair, not because your weapons are useless.

[Obsidian]

That's always a plus, especially for multiplayer. I remember in the first MW that a lot of builds for assault, support, sniping, et cetera used the same weapons and perks, so it got boring real fast.

[Alyxx Thorne]

That's what feels rewarding about MW3. As you level up you unlock more guns to use with custom classes, which you can use in just about every mode there is.

[Koach]

i'm still uncertain if i should buy it or not... however i 1st need to get a new graphics card and faster CPU... 9500gtx and 2.0 gHz are not enough.

[Toast]

I think you should get it. I wouldn't know about the PC version, considering I bought it on my 360 (my computer would never run it). Regardless, the story is awesome and the gameplay is much improved. In my opinion, it feels like a combination of CoD 4 and MW2, with some new elements thrown in. The only thing I don't quite like about it is a couple of the multiplayer maps have lots of places where you can get killed from pretty much every angle, if anyone's around. However, that is a small complaint. Honestly, I haven't played a Call of Duty game that I've enjoyed this much since the first Modern Warfare.

[Alyxx Thorne]

The PC version runs fine on my 3.2 GHz quadcore computer and I have a Radeon HD 5770 card with 1 GB VRAM and 4 GB system memory. That is with all the settings maxed out even.

[Adam Stryker]

I fucking hate all COD games now

 

Ugh quick scope is one of the worse things anyone can do on Call Of Duty MW3. I mean you already have a gun that can kill a person in one shot and you are running around not even aiming, the scope is still greyed out and you can see nothing down the sight. Infinity Ward needs to fix this crap.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Then don't play the games, if you don't like them.

[Blightmare]

I'll play it for the sake of completing the story line since I hate leaving those unfinished. Though my faith in CoD has been wounded lately so I'm not gonna overhype myself for this.

 

At least this review gives me a more positive mindset when going into it.

[Axeldeath]

I'll play it for the sake of completing the story line

 

story line

 

I lol'd

[Blightmare]

I'll play it for the sake of completing the story line

 

story line

 

I lol'd

I expected as much from you.

 

Let me guess, "I don't like the story, so there is no story."

Edited November 25, 2011 by Guest (see edit history)

[Angel Blood]

*less than timidly put his hand up*

Alyxx, You're joking about the "balanced" weapons, right?

Me with my MP5, I see someone and shoot. Five instant hits, guy with the SCAR-L hammering on someone else; he turns around and shoots me in the face twice. Done.

I'm PC as well, and I can already see myself wanting Battlefield 3, or Skyrim. At least those two will have borderline good gameplay, with legitimate gunplay. I can shoot someone and have them die, because I shot them first, as opposed to him having a bigger f'ing stick (gun). On that, the community of MW3 sucks. People that immediately go to "your mum" after you say something. Nice.

Adam is exactly right though. A lot of tactics are simply fucking retarded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuzaxlddWbk Refer to the noob tactics in this. In the end, it only fucking works because Modern Warfare cripples players that are actually good. Proof of this is V

I have a decent levelled P99 pistol, how? From not aiming and shooting in someones general direction.

Whenever ADSing however, things take a turn for the worse. With accurate hipfire, shotguns that have epic range, and zip recoil, the game isn't really balanced, or fair at all.

[Alyxx Thorne]

Well, from my experience I have leveled up quickly and found myself having just as much of a chance as a level 1 First Recon player as a higher level player. I feel at least they have improved in relation to previous games. I have never felt that the weapons in MW3 are unbalanced, so I can't say I relate to what you're saying.

I'll play it for the sake of completing the story line

I lol'd

In my honest opinion, and from my own experience with the game, MW3 actually has a pretty decent story and a really satisfying ending to boot. In fact, it's one of the games I've felt the most immersed in because I wanted to see how the story unfolded.

 

I am a trifle baffled by how polarizing this game seems to be to people, it seems a lot of people are quick to jump the hate wagon. Personally I can't find any reason to join it. I think it's a pretty solid shooter. It's definitely not the game of the year, but it's not nearly as bad as a lot of haters are making it out to be.

[Axeldeath]

I'll play it for the sake of completing the story line

 

story line

 

I lol'd

I expected as much from you.

 

Let me guess, "I don't like the story, so there is no story."

 

Nope, I really enjoyed Modern Warfare 1 but to think that someone would spend $60 for the game's story actually made me laugh.