This year’s iteration of the Call of Duty franchise is probably going to cause a fair amount of controversy, not because of the recent blowback from campaign reviews – I think IGN went a little too far on that – but in that aspects of the value proposition of the package may get called into question. This release has been rumoured to have originally been aimed at being a DLC campaign expansion for the previous game (Modern Warfare II) and some of the creative choices do lend themselves to that assumption but unless you’ve been a diehard player of the franchise for the last five years, you are probably not going to notice a thing except that the game packs a lot together.

The campaign portion of Call of Duty Modern Warfare III, which unlocked for select players a week ahead of the rest of the game, may not be one of the best in the franchise. The story carries on from the stinger at the end of the last game with a new target for Task Force 141’s brand of aggression. The opening mission opens in a both familiar and unexpected fashion thanks to a popular Warzone location and then backs it up with a clever twist but past that the game often falls into the familiar tropes of the franchise. It feels a bit like a side story, feeding off plot points from the raid mission narrative but it lacks the bombastic spectacle of the other campaigns. It’s also quite short and even at the highest difficulty could be knocked over in a few hours. In play you can clearly see its roots in being possible DLC through the use of recycled Verdansk content (“classic” Warzone), though it’s all been given a considerable makeover. The developers at Sledgehammer Games have also experimented with a number of “open” maps for missions that deviate from the normal linear campaign missions by dropping the player in an area and allowing them to find a solution to completing the objective. While some do feel a little generic, the mission “Highrise” feels like a highlight of the campaign overall offering close quarters combat but with multiple pathways to reaching the summit. I wish I could play that one in co-op because it feels like the best fit between the linear and open mission types. Like the side missions of Infinite Warfare, there are ideas here I really hope the developers get a chance to spend more time on in future games.

Multiplayer is much like the campaign… both old and new. The classic multiplayer is like a greatest hits package full of some of the best maps from the franchise all bundled together. For someone who likes tight maps like “Shipment” and “Shoot House”, having “Rust” back in the mix is a welcome addition. For new players it’ll feel like a smorgasbord of options, for long time fans there’s a lot of nostalgia in seeing favourites with a fresh coat of paint but you may be left wanting more and hoping the seasonal content releases will deliver on that. In terms of play it reminds me a lot of how Cold War felt compared to Modern Warfare (2019). Movement and gunplay feel just different enough that it might take a little time to get used to it but it’s not a massive difference. I can’t quite put my finger on what has changed but it’s there. Aim assist does seem like it is dialed up a fraction though which does make a lot more weapons act in a more consistent manner… something I could also see being cut back to make it more challenging. I do wish matchmaking did a better job of pitting players against those of similar skillsets as it often feels like a seesaw teetering between people who are too good (or cheating) and others who are new to the game.

The new Zombies mode takes the core ideas of DMZ with chasing objectives and completing missions which, but this time around puts teams into a fully PvE mode and racing to get things done before the timers ends. There’s a lot of the Outbreak mode from Cold War present still, especially with the enemy types and narrative, but the much larger map in use here means it will take a lot longer to learn the best path forward as you progress through story missions. It’s hard to know yet if it will be a good replacement for Outbreak which improved a lot over time with additional maps and objectives but I could certainly see if Zombies started appearing on other DMZ maps in the future there will be a lot for players to do. Choosing to make it PvE really changes things up and encourages both solo play and cooperation between teams. There’s no harm in assisting downed players or teaming up to clear an exfil zone and it eliminates one of the current issues DMZ faces where players who have hit roadblocks in the mission content turn the game into a PvP zone to the detriment of other players.

Overall, it’s not a bad package. Does it feel like a proper sequel to Modern Warfare II? In that respect I think it falls a little short as the campaign ends on a note implying more to come which does make me wish they just added a couple more levels to close the story out. The chunky multiplayer does make up for a lot, but it didn’t necessarily have to be under the Modern Warfare III banner. The majority of players expecting a new Call of Duty though will be fine with this… those wanting another revolution on the franchise may be expecting a little more.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare III is out now for PC, PlayStation and Xbox. Played on an Xbox Series X. Images courtesy of Activision.