Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III - Nostalgia at Full Price

November 13, 2023

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III - Nostalgia at Full Price

Remember when Call of Duty releases felt like events? Modern Warfare III (2023) arrived with all the fanfare of a mid-season update. That's because, well, it kind of is one. This direct sequel to MW2 2022 feels more like a $70 expansion pack than a full game, but hey, at least the multiplayer maps are good.

What You're Actually Getting

Here's the real breakdown:

Campaign: About 4-5 hours of "Open Combat Missions" (read: larger arenas with the same shoot-everything gameplay)
All 16 MW2 2009 Maps: Terminal, Highrise, Rust, Estate... the whole nostalgic gang's here
Carry Forward Content: Your MW2 weapons, operators, and bundles work here (because it's basically the same game)
Zombies Mode: Call of Duty does extraction shooter, but with zombies instead of players

Multiplayer: The Real Reason You're Here

After MW2 2022's slower pace divided the community, MW3 swings back to classic CoD:

Red Dots Are Back: Fire your gun, show up on the minimap. Like the good old days.
Movement Speed: Cranked up from MW2. Slide canceling returns, bunny hopping is viable again.
Cutthroat Mode: 3v3v3 battles that actually work pretty well for warming up or quick sessions.
Time to Kill: Fast enough to feel good, not so fast that camping dominates.

Zombies: DMZ But Undead

The biggest departure is the new Zombies mode, which is basically DMZ with shambling corpses:

Open World Urzikstan: Same map as Warzone, but filled with zombies
Extraction Gameplay: Complete contracts, loot, extract. Sound familiar?
Dark Aether Story: They're trying to connect it to the Black Ops zombie lore, with mixed results
Squad-Based: Designed for teams, solo players will struggle

The Verdict from the Trenches

Reception has been... complicated:

The Good:

Classic maps play brilliantly with modern movement
Multiplayer feels like actual Call of Duty again
Weapon variety is massive (thanks to MW2 carry-forward)

The Bad:

Campaign is embarrassingly short and recycled
$70 for what feels like DLC
Zombies mode disappoints traditional round-based fans

The Ugly:

Steam reviews hit "Mostly Negative" at launch. Ouch.

Should You Drop $70?

If you're a multiplayer main: Yeah, probably. The maps alone make it worthwhile, and the faster gameplay is what many wanted from MW2.

If you're here for campaign: Absolutely not. Watch the cutscenes on YouTube and save your money.

If you own MW2: Think of it as a $70 map pack with zombies. Your call if that's worth it.

If you skipped MW2: This is actually the better game, ironically. The complete package with both games' content is solid.

Look, MW3 2023 is a corporate product through and through. It exists because Activision needs their annual CoD release. But credit where it's due: the multiplayer team salvaged this into something actually fun to play. Just don't expect more than that.