-The following is not a representation of the views of Capsule Computers or it’s staff. This is also not about Modern Warfare 3 specifically although i have played it. This is a generalisation on the impact that the series has had on the market-
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is far from a stain on gaming, but quite the opposite, being the pinnacle in a competitive industry and saturated genre. The franchise is surely the benchmark for the genre, spawning massive online gaming communities. Hell, I’ve even seen on dedicated gaming sites special forum sections for Modern Warfare 2 alone, testament to its overwhelming popularity.
The fact that it has been the catalyst for so many knock-offs that have paled in comparison and sales figures, only shows how influential it has been since its initial launch. I’m not getting into the nitty gritty, as peoples experiences and perspective on different games is purely subjective. What keeps you glued to the screen could not be my cup of tea and vica versa. What we can all mostly agree upon is the fact that Call of Duty is a highly polished franchise that has stood the test of time so far. This new addition to the family is just as bold and in your face as any previous instalment.
I don’t think we can blame its success on the condition of many of its online rooms and the kinds of people who are in a lot of online communities, hell bent on creating havoc. There will always be that player who sits on a spawn spot or hides away with a sniper rifle, killing every noob that joins in. Most administrators, including those responsible for the Call of Duty rooms do a good job keeping them as fair as possible, with many Black Ops hackers playing with mods banned from the servers.
In all fairness, there are not too many directions you can go with this genre, not in the same manner you can with slower moving strategic adventure titles like Uncharted. While i do agree that the story lines could be slightly more engaging, I’m not looking for a love story when I buy Call of Duty, I’m looking to live out a fantasy of controlling weapons and vehicles in a virtual space with no consequences for my surroundings. In this I have found what I am looking for in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and relish in the fact. Call of Duty storylines have always been kept fresh with the addition of controlling multiple characters rather than the same soldier all the way through. I’ve got a crap memory so I’m not going to try and remember the story of each mission.
Lastly I do agree with a few things my colleague said in his article, mainly in relation to the auto-lock and the changing difficulty levels of the recent wave of games. The auto-lock system in Modern Warfare 3 makes the game too easy and unrealistic. Soldiers are not that accurate and it takes a lot of the strategic enjoyment from the experience. Saying that you can disable the feature but especially when playing online you don’t stand a chance of lasting long. My two personal candidates for GOTY are RAGE and Uncharted 3 and neither have auto-lock. It’s this very fact that makes the shooting parts of these games so enjoyable.
The game also plays no different from any of the others and probably would have been more successful as an add-on pack sold at half the price. Imagine those poor fools who paid hundreds for those legitimately purchased K-mart copies. It is a solid title from a solid franchise but don’t expect anything too innovative or memorable. Also it’s not overly long in duration, another example of developers focusing on the multiplayer portion instead of the campaign. I don’t care what anyone says, a game is nothing without a good single player mode and todays aren’t delivering the goods.
These views are that of the author and as such do not reflect those of the other staff or capsulecomputers.com.au as an entity.
That’s enough from me, you be the judge for yourself and let us know what you think, does Modern Warfare 3 stand up to the hype or does it fall short of the mark in your opinion?
Link to the original article which i was responding to here, please leave us your comments.
