Now, where were we?

Oh yeah, so in 2011 a Russian Ultranationalist by the name of Imran Zakhaev decided to puppeteer a series of international events to sidetrack the US and NATO while he set plans in motion -- in secret -- to bring the former Soviet Union back to the main stage. His goal, it turns out, was successful despite his demise at the hands of one Soap MacTavish in an incident involving the SAS, but that’s because Zakhaev's movement had a little help.

Orchestrating this conflict alongside Zakhaev were a number of high-profile targets, and some not so well-known (including some Americans). But ultimately, it’s one of Zakhaev’s lieutenants, Vladimir Makarov, who takes up the handle of global muckraker, and with his former commander’s death being looked upon as martyrdom in Russia where Makarov has seized control, the stage is set for him to realise Zakhaev’s dream.



And thus begins five years of global terrorism at the underhanded bequest of Makarov, concluding the memorable “No Russian” incident. And thanks to well-placed evidence left at the scene in the form of an undercover American who was infiltrating the Ultranationalists, who in turn were posing as the international terrorists attacking Russia, Makarov is able to calls to arms against the United States who he claims were supporting the terrorist organisation.

His first act of war then is to invade the US with his own forces thanks in equal part to another well-placed piece of Trojan Horse warfare, a tampered-with ACS (Attack Characterisation System) that thwarts any form of early warning of the attack.

Meanwhile, an elite squad of soldiers known as Task Force 141 break into a heavily guarded and fortified prison where Makarov is harboring his most dangerous foe along with many political prisoners. It turns out to be Captain Price, an SAS veteran who shot Zakhaev’s arm off in a sniping incident some 15 years before in Pripyat, and the man most responsible for teaching “Soap” everything he knows.

Price, with his new-found freedom joins forces with Task Force 141 but realises the US, on the back foot, won’t stand a chance in the Russian invasion and so goes rogue on a mission, launching a Russian nuclear warhead against Washington DC, detonating it in the upper atmosphere. The explosion wipes out the International Space Station, but also causes an EMP blast that affects both sides, thus giving the US a chance to regroup and go on the counter-offensive.

Meanwhile, a splinter group of Task Force 141 operatives gathers vital evidence implicating Makarov and the Ultranationalists in the “No Russian” terrorist attack, but upon extraction they’re betrayed by a US Lieutenant General. Price and Soap learn of this and strike a deal with Makarov to reveal his location. The two then infiltrate his stronghold and the incident ends with Soap stabbed in the chest and Captain Price fighting for his life. Soap somehow manages to pull the knife from his chest and throw it at the turncoat before both he and Price are extracted by the Russian underground.

And so begins chapter three.



Basically, all you need to know to really understand what’s going on is that Makarv is bad, the Russians have invaded the US and are attempting to do the same to the rest of the world’s major powers and that you, as a handful of known and unknown soldiers, have to do whatever it takes to recoil the international threat that is the Ultranationalists and get some freaking revenge for the death of Ghost in Modern Warfare 2 (well, maybe that’s just my goal).

I’m probably only going to offer two main comparisons in this review to Battlefield 3, and that is that in the single-player campaign space; narrative, scripting, voice-acting and set-pieces, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is king. There’s no question about it. It was always one of the series’ strongest points, for those who took the time, and in Modern Warfare 3, it’s Infinity Ward’s swansong as well as proof of life after (apparent) death.

A lot of people didn’t think they had the chops with all the internal turmoil that happened at the departure of founders Vince Zampella and Jason West, but Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is proof that they did, and with a bit of help from fledgling studio Sledgehammer Games, it’s more than reasonable to say this is easily the best in the series.

Almost everything we’ve been put through over the past few years is laid to rest when the credits roll, and let's be honest, it’s been one heck of a rollercoaster ride. I also haven’t had such a satisfying and gripping ending to a videogame happen in such a long time (Arkham City aside). It thoroughly ends the journey well, and with flair. Where one studio has gone after gritty realism, the Modern Warfare 3 team went after satisfaction and indulgence. The final sequence of the game really is something to behold.

Moreover, said campaign is now much lengthier than in previous outings. I played through the game on Hardened and, without sprinting to each Checkpoint to die and trigger the next section (ie, playing the game the way it was intended *cough* Gob, *cough*), I managed to clock in around 11 and a half hours. It’s also looking mighty pretty, with a new pass on lighting that really makes the game pop (given Sledgehammer Games’ pedigree, I’d venture a lot of this was their doing). It’s also by far the most epic of the three and sells the previous games’ stories because its epicness. If you were confused at the end of Modern Warfare 2, you won’t be at the end of Modern Warfare 3.



In saying all of that, it’s still Call of Duty at its core, and if you’ve played any of the previous games, you’re going to be in familiar territory. You could look at that statement as either a good or a bad thing, but I’d argue having a bigger, longer and more blockbuster campaign (replete with much better enemy AI than we’ve seen before) is just how the trilogy needed to end. The game is the biggest franchise in the world because they make great blockbuster moments and tie them into a reasonably deep and complex narrative, juxtaposing political machinations and international intrigue with Michael Bay explosions and action. It’s a work of marketing genius, and Modern Warfare 3 is the pinnacle of this fine balance.

Familiar-yet-new territory comes in the form of AC-130 missions, only these are far more robust, and desperate. You’re clearing a path on-the-fly for teams on the ground, but equally switching between the two. And it’s not just decimating ground forces, either. There’s no arguing Infinity Ward make a chopper crash look the best in the biz, and you’ll be swatting enemy helicopters from the sky like so many flies under your fly-swatter.

Or through germ-warfare sequences that require gas-masks and plenty of peripheral observation. There’s even a fog-of-war sequence akin to the end of Black Ops where your only point of enemy reference is tracers, flashlights and vaguely silhouetted movement. It’s one crazy sequence after another, and the action -- and intrigue -- never lets up for a moment, even in the more stealthy moments of the game.

But I’m not going to spoil any of the game’s narrative for you, because chances are anyone who invested in the narrative of the first two games will be champing at the bit for some closure, and believe me, they’ll get some.

Obviously the other side of the Call of Duty coin is multiplayer, and I’m happy to report it’s as solid as ever. I’m not so happy to report that it hasn’t changed a great deal. There are some cool new additions, such as Custom Games where you can set a huge amount of variables and host your own matches. If they become popular enough, Activision will even promote them through the Elite service and host games for you. On the PC side of multiplayer, this is obviously not even close to an original idea, but it’s a nice addition for the console players.



Two new stand-out game modes include Kill Confirmed, where you need to actually collect the dogtags of someone you fragged for it to be added to the score, and if you’re killed on your way to said collection, then the other team can grab them and deny you points. Or Juggernaut, which is basically a game of tag where one player is put into a Juggernaut suit and given a riot shield. You need to kill as many people as you can while being the Juggernaut, because the person who actually winds up killing you then becomes the Juggernaut. It was a ridiculous amount of fun that saw every single person on the map just mowing virtual lead into this slow-moving behemoth of a player until he was killed. This one will definitely become a crowd favourite.

Favourites return such as Domination, Team Deatmatch, Deathmatch, Demolition, Headquarters et al, and with a host of awesomely designed maps (some quite big for Call of Duty), there’s no reason it won’t spend another year as the most played first-person multiplayer title. I had a huge amount of fun playing multiplayer during the review period, and there are massive amounts of unlocks and a new level cap set to 80, which should keep people grinding for a lot longer. The key thing with Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer seems to be a bigger emphasis on customisation and community, which really goes hand-in-hand with the new Elite service.

The other major addition to the game, and likely my favourite outside of the campaign, is Spec Ops Survival. This is essentially Infinity Ward’s version of Zombies, only more visceral. GameArena’s Joab “Gob” Gilroy and I smashed a few hours on this and made it right through to Wave 25, which was no mean feat. Different waves of enemies come at you in various ways with myriad variations, such as dogs strapped with explosives, suicide bombers, or the aforementioned Juggernauts. Kills earn you cash which you can then spend at ammo, weapon and support stations. You can pay for your own Delta Squad, for example, who will stay with you until the last one is killed (and the person who called them in will accrue money and XP), but like most Tower-Defense/Horde Modes, the longer you’re out in the field, the harder they come.

There are also a host of Spec Ops co-op missions that all stem from sequences in the game. Some stealth-oriented, others time-based or even just full-on action-based. But as a stand-alone product, the addition of all of the above plus what we’ve come to expect from the series really puts the game over in my opinion.



Unfortunately to gain lengthy access to it for review purposes we all played the game on Xbox 360, but we’re looking at adding some supplemental PC coverage as well. Mostly looking at the server situation, potential for LANs and just how it holds up in all of the above on the desktop platform, so stay tuned for that.

But, if you haven’t guessed already, I’ve walked away from the game pretty happy with the end product. On a multiplayer plane, it obviously can’t compete with the scope of Battlefield 3, which is, and always has been, a multiplayer title first and foremost. You could argue DICE probably shouldn’t have tried to match Call of Duty on all fronts, because as far as a full package goes, there’s more variety here and a much more engaging and superior single-player campaign than BF3 offers at all. But realistically, at the end of the day it’ll come down to choice.

Don’t go hating on this because it’s Call of Duty. This is Modern Warfare 3 - the final chapter in an epic tale, and part of a series that changed the first-person shooter landscape forever. It’s an absolutely solid title, the best entry in the series and something that should keep you playing for some time to come. More than worth the investment.