Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3(2023) Review

I wasn't really big on CoD MW2 2022 but I did to varying degrees enjoyed MW 2019, Cold War and Vanguard before that, and I wasn't really going to play this game especially how MW2 2022 was supposed to be a two year game and how they decided to rush MW3 2023 out the door. But I can't deny that the reception to MW3 2023 and how it was so poorly received that not even game journalists liked did get me curious in checking it out and especially considering how the gaming community tends to exaggerate the negative aspects of games that didn't meet their expectations, it got me curious if the game is the epicly bad game they hyped it up to be.

And well, the game isn't "bad" on a technical level but the campaign feels like a rushed, confused, poorly put together mess. I still don't think this is the worst CoD I played, United Offensive takes that award, but this isn't even on par with the original MW3 and that game I sort of liked. This game just doesn't know what it wants to be half the time.

The big problem with the campaign is that at it's best, it's the same old typical CoD campaign setpieces and one note shooting galleries it's always been but at it's worst, the new ideas MW3 2023 brings to the table are hollow and half baked. I might as well address the new "open combat missions" and on paper they seem like an okay idea, and I for one welcome the idea of more freedom and open maps in a CoD campaign especially when its not there for a one off mission but the problem is, it feels undercooked, most of the objectives in these missions are, "destroy or hack x amount of something", the rooftop level is where things get the most interesting but that starts off as an open combat mission and then towards the end turns into a typical CoD scripted setpiece shooting gallery that these campaigns tend to be.

The open combat zones on paper could potentially give the freedom CoD mp nowadays brings into single player which is interesting on paper but it not only feels half hazardly put together due to the objectives being the same but outside of collecting armor pieces, (which I do admittedly like for the first time in the series since WW2, the devs innovated on the health system), you don't really need to use half the mechanics, items and materials these missions offer you. There is "stealth" but it is easy to get caught and breaking line of sight and getting back into stealth is hard to do since so many of these missions revolve around sprinting to the objective while getting shot at, kill everyone who are shooting at you and hope you don't die while you are doing it or else you respawn at the start of the mission since these missions checkpoint on occasion.

I will admit there is SOME good here, the game overall at the very least doesn't checkpoint as inconsistently as MW2 2022 does, the game is slightly more polished by comparison all though this game is still pretty buggy and it still amazes me how Vanguard's stealth mechanics are better than both MW sequel reboots, and this MW game doesn't feel like it's aping off of the Uncharted franchise compared MW2 2022 where that game had you get into a shootout with enemies while shipping containers are tipping over and the convoy chase from Uncharted 4. Armored enemies in MW 2023 don't take as much damage to kill compared to MW2 2022 all though CoD games' shooting gameplay boiling down to "ADS and shoot" make these enemies feel more like an annoyance to fight since there is little way of dispatching them. I also like how MW3 2023 doesn't have two whole chapters in the AC 130.

This is basically the biggest issue with MW3 2023's campaign, who is this campaign even for? If you come to CoD for scripted setpieces and over the top action movie fare, you won't like the open combat zones. If you like the open combat zones and enjoy multiplayer with a loose narrative, the scripted missions will feel out of place. One set of missions let you customize your loadout, the other doesn't. One lets you switch to your secondary weapon with ease, the other doesn't. One checkpoints a lot, the other checkpoints occasionally. Due to this, the campaign's structure and direction can feel super confused and appeals to no one.

Overall, this version of MW3 is a fascinating case study of how a super sudden change in plans and developers hurrying and rushing out a product can lead to confused design. This campaign isn't the super epic pile of garbage it is hyped up to be but isn't good either. Vanguard was probably the last CoD campaign I consistently enjoyed and didn't constantly groan at while playing.