Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Reviews
Check out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 31 reviews on CriticDB, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has a score of:
With one of the best campaigns in the series, the most refined multiplayer experience in the genre and extra modes that will absolutely hook you to the game, Modern Warfare 3 is the best Call of Duty game in recent years, and definitely the best in the Modern Warfare trilogy.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 doesn't do anything new, but it also doesn't do anything wrong.
MW3 picks up right after the end of MW2. In fact it picks up right after the scene where you threw that knife through the enemies eye. If you’ve never played a Modern Warfare game, the story may be difficult to follow, but like any good action experience, the story is beside the point. The MW3 storyline, however, serves as perfect backdrop for all the set pieces the game tosses your way, which bombard you from start to finish. Choice is practically non-existent and downtime is minimal. The game funnels you to your next encounter efficiently via on-screen waypoints (usually in the form of the word ‘follow’ above someone’s head) and the pace of the game is frantic the whole time. Most of the time you feel like a very small part of a larger situation and it makes the scope of the game feel really wide. Some of the story in the middle of the campaign feels tacked on, but the end result of the game will be satisfying to anyone, whether they follow the series or not. You can blow through the single player campaign in 5 or 6 hours, but the multiplayer and special ops modes could keep ‘completionists’ busy for months.
Despite its flaws, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 takes the fantastic series we’ve come to love over the years and iterates on it with great success. The multiplayer is hands-down the best it has ever been, with more features, more modes and a ton of new levels and ways to interact via Call of Duty Elite. The singleplayer campaign and Spec Ops mode add value to the overall package, creating something that may not be perfect, but is too damn addicting to pass up.
While the multiplayer is fun like everything else the experience isn’t perfect, in addition to maps that limit freedom in some aspects there is a major issue with spawns. The game has a tendency to spawn you in the vicinity of enemies with no team protection in front of you, this leads to spawn abuse and a lot of unfair deaths just moments after you regenerate. I have no doubt this problem will be addressed in the future though as this year they really seem to be listening to the community at large. The Type 95 assault rifle was considered overpowered so they nerfed it, the maps weren’t big enough and didn’t have enough access points so they released a huge open sniping map and another with doorways and alleys with very few choke points. It really is refreshing to see developers change aspects of their game and admit small mistakes on such a regular basis on a quest for continued improvements and here’s hoping the trend continues.
World War III is going to be awesome!*Editor's Note: Due to a lack of available screenshots for the Wii version of Modern Warfare 3, this [...]
Even with an embarrassingly bad single-player Campaign, the Multiplayer and Zombies experiences are enough to cement this game as one of the franchise's greats.
Although a lackluster campaign and reused content holds it back, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has a few great tricks up its sleeve. The multiplayer engages in a way its predecessor missed the mark, and open-world Zombies is exactly as entertaining as it sounds. There's more to be desired as a whole, but as rushed as it was, MWIII has solid elements that can be enjoyed.
Modern Warfare 3 on Wii won't ever astound with its graphics or win over anyone already intent on playing it on another console. It is by no means the definitive version. Despite its various limitations, however, it is a solid approximation of the kind of content that continues to deliver year after year, even if the ride is getting a little predictable.
This year's Call of Duty is a mixed bag. Series veterans looking for a great multiplayer experience will find a lot to love thanks to the game's faithful recreation of some of the franchise’s best maps and excellent gunplay. However, Modern Warfare III's campaign is one of the worst in the series’ history.
All in all, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is, at its best, a safe and minimal upgrade over last year’s episode and, at its worst, a visibly rushed, somewhat poorly designed, and unbalanced collection of game modes. Sure, it builds upon the excellent technical and mechanical background from last year’s game, but much more worryingly: it offers a short Frankenstein monster of a hybrid campaign with much of it being essentially repurposed Warzone content; a Zombies mode that also feels like an unbalanced and unpolished rehash of things we’ve seen in said battle royale mode and last year’s DMZ; lastly, with multiplayer limiting itself to fairly superficial (if generally positive) changes, alongside merely introducing remakes of old maps. On the flip side, it at least manages to carry over the many quality-of-life features of Modern Warfare 2 (2022), bringing generally positive tweaks to the multiplayer and the “new old” maps, that are remakes from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 – all this make this the safest, yet most fun Call of Duty multiplayer experience in years, which is the true saving grace of this entire package. If that is solely what you’re looking for, this game will be your jam, but to those searching for a compelling campaign or zombie mode, I can’t recommend purchasing this game at all. For a full-price game, the quality and quantity of new content are simply not on par with what people learned to expect from this franchise, making this episode only for the hardcore fans who can hardly avoid hopping onto the latest game. At this point, I can only hope that, under Microsoft management, Activision will reorganize its Call of Duty cycle a bit and avoid releasing such painfully rushed and disappointing entries in the future – especially considering the last time they shipped a polished, feature-complete Call of Duty day one without enormous cuts in some areas dates back to 2017, six whole games ago.
Call of Duty’s twentieth anniversary should be a celebratory moment for the franchise and an opportunity for the studios and Activision to put their best foot forward. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is not that best foot. Rather, the game comes off more as a footnote in the history of Call of Duty as we wait for Treyarch’s next Black Ops and the inevitable Call of Duty: Modern Warfare IV. The campaign feels like a stopgap merely intended to close plot lines left open from Modern Warfare II and to reveal Makarov after the last game’s final stinger. Other than that, little happens in the mercifully short campaign that lacks much of the bombastic action associated with Call of Duty. Multiplayer shines strongly thanks to Sledgehammer reverting many of Infinity Ward’s controversial changes, but it also reuses a lot of older content, is buggy and introduces its own grindy mechanics. Modern Warfare Zombies is an interesting blend of Outbreak and DMZ, but it lacks much of the personality, tension and thrill of discovery that has made Zombies shine so brightly in Treyarch’s own games. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has its moments of triumph, but they are few and far between. There’s still fun to be had in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, but this year’s entry feels like a stopgap while we wait for the next major release.
Modern Warfare 3 is quite a tough game to judge. Its campaign is good old Call of Duty fun, even if it's too short, and the game's multiplayer is a great time - built on the solid foundations of two different versions of Modern Warfare 2. However, Zombies is a complete miss this year, and the admittedly-great multiplayer is based on past triumphs more than anything else. If you love playing some CoD multiplayer every year then MW3 is another solid entry in that regard, but if you usually stick to one of the other modes or are looking for a more complete Call of Duty experience, we don't recommend picking this one up just yet. Either wait for a price drop, or bide your time in anticipation of its eventual arrival on Xbox Game Pass!
That's really the story for Modern Warfare 3 across the board. The campaign is made up of Warzone content, the multiplayer is comprised of maps that are 14 years old, and the Zombies mode uses a map that will be recycled for the battle royale. $70 is a high asking price for what's here, but those that do decide to take the plunge will find the best Call of Duty multiplayer experience in years and an intriguing open world Zombies mode that, while not quite as fun as the classic round-based Zombies maps, can still dish out memorable moments with friends.
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We review the latest Call of Duty entry and analyze if it's really just an overpriced DLC. There are many things to say about the three game modes Modern Warfare III offers but at least two of them can be summarized in only one word: Warzone.
A disappointing campaign and a Zombies mode lacking in focus makes this a hackneyed Call of Duty entry that those thirsting for more multiplayer action will still enjoy. For anyone who plays for the campaign or loves to blast hordes of undead, however, Modern Warfare 3 is hard to recommend.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is a low point for the series. A passable multiplayer suite can't prop up the uninspired campaign, and dreadfully dull zombies mode. The series needs to take a break from the annualised release schedule, and inject some much needed creativity into the legendary franchise.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 isn't an outright bad game, but it's also not a particularly good one. Taken on its own, it's a slightly above average first person shooter with a poor campaign, but in context, you can see how hurried and limited in scope this game really is. The multiplayer is effectively a classic map pack, Zombies and Open Combat Missions are game modes built within the existing Warzone map, and the campaign's pacing and story come up short. It all adds up to a lacklustre experience and even a sense that Call of Duty is at risk of losing its identity.
Call of Duty cycles through its lineup of villains on a yearly basis. Sometimes it's Nazis, other times it's Russian nationalists or zombies. But the most dangerous threat is one without a lust for brains or access to weapons of war; it's stagnation. And while many Call of Duty teams often switch up just enough variables to stave off monotony, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III fully submits to the annual churn. The campaign embodies this, as it rushes to a conclusion with little care for the details. COD missions usually follow a predictable yet mostly effective formula of packing together various one-off gameplay mechanics through fluctuating levels of intensity. Modern Warfare III cuts out necessary buildup and most of the variety, leading to basic stages riddled with pacing issues. Many max out at around 15 minutes, which means the usual rollercoaster of ups and downs has been stripped down to only include the descents. The spectacles are also less bombastic, and the abbreviated journey to them only further diminishes their appeal.
An unessential Call of Duty that does nothing to overturn the impression that it was made too quickly.
Call of Duty is a weird series. I’m getting some strange déjà vu. I could have sworn that Modern Warfare 3 came out when I was in high school. All the characters in this game feel like I’ve seen them before, same with the maps that are available in the multiplayer. Alright, all jokes aside, it’s been a year since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II came out, and if you’re still playing that, or Warzone, season after season, there’s finally some DLC for you. Unfortunately, it’s the s...
It was always a question whether Activision could get MW3 to the gold standard in just one short year, unfortunately, the verdict is in and it's a resounding no.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is a disappointing new entry in the franchise that should never have seen the light of day.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III recycles old ideas in a stale package that is a downright slog for most of the experience. It commits the ultimate sin of being boring, and it does not bode well for the future of a franchise that, for the last 20 years, has been the pinnacle of popular FPS games.
A direct sequel to Modern Warfare ll, Captain Price and Task Force 141 must adapt or die in a fight against the ultimate threat in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III.
A half-baked, lazy campaign paired with a lacklustre multiplayer makes this a new low for Call of Duty.
Having exhausted essentially every potential setting, the Call of Duty franchise has been in its reboot phase over the past few years with a new take on the Modern Warfare trilogy. Despite these fresh takes never reaching the same heights as the games they’re reviving, they’ve been fun enough to warrant appreciation by both new and returning fans.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)’s campaign is comically bad, its Zombies mode is zonked and its multiplayer just kind of sucks.