Alex Reviews...

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

It's here, or really, it's been here for about four days now seeing as Amazon didn't manage to get it to me until yesterday (though I can't complain, they got Skyrim to me a day early!) but the final Modern Warfare game has hit shelves for the whole of three seconds before somebody snatches them down to cradle them home to their PS3 or Xbox360. Now, I live in university accommodation at the moment so the server connecting to the immensely popular multiplayer has been blocked, which means I can't really sample the main appeal of this game. But, Call of Duty has by now means forgotten about the offline content for its games, and fans of the series will be yearning to find out where the campaign takes the story in order to end this heart-racing saga. 

Now, I hate spoiling the plot of games and films because everything is always so much better when it surprises you, but it will surprise no fans of the series that you'll be seeing the hard duo Soap and Captain Price jetting across the world in their mission to kick the dastardly Makarov's arse. But, from teaser trailers and press releases, you'll already know that not all the action is following Soap and Price, but also covers the breakout of 'World War 3' across America and Europe. As is popular in games and films these days, prepare to see mass destruction of famous landmarks and buildings crashing down around you between intense gunfire and explosions. The campaign isn't particularly long, but it is exciting throughout with the intense battles and use of the extremely effective armoury at your disposal. The action sequences sometimes border silly (in fact, this happens a lot) but they keep you feeling like the most bad-ass soldier to grace this virtual world, be it by breaching a room full of enemy soldiers and taking them each out single handedly, or sliding at break-neck speed down the side of a collapsing building with only seconds to steer your fall out of deaths way. The controls easy to use and you'll be taking out the opposition with ease after the first few minutes of play. The enemy AI good, sometimes you'll be scoffing at how easily they managed to shoot you from across the battlefield, but then you'll peg three soldiers in quick succession and remember that the game has to keep up with what is effectively a super-soldier. The graphics seem great on the PS3, nothing ground breaking and it is hard to really appreciate it when you're chasing an objective, but you'll easily find yourself immersed in play. Some of the upgrades to the weapons that you use are the very definition of 'cool' - being able to switch between a long range and short range scope with a simple flick of the hand is pure genius, and everything from the look of the gun to the view down the sights reminds you of the sheer power of these tools to cause mayhem. 

My only despair with the campaign mode is that it didn't seem very long, but in earnest it was cursed with the 'just one more level' effect, so its lack of longevity is partially my fault. The thing is, Modern Warfare 3 keeps you excited all the way through, because the likelihood is you'll never experience such action in real life. So it is only natural that you finish wanting more, and then, of course, you are left with what will most likely be a highly addictive and competitive online multiplayer, and the return of Spec-Ops to test your skills with friends in well thought out challenge modes.

So what will happen with Call of Duty next? Is this really the end of Modern Warfare? Can they even surpass the excitement of this game, or will they wait until the arrival of the next generation of consoles to bring a new frenzy of bullets and fire? Only time will tell.