Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III Reviews
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.
Cobbled together from parts of previous games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is one of the worst entries into the series. From the vapid campaign with those woeful DMZ-like open combat missions to the Multiplayer that relies on nostalgia for anything interesting and the toothless, uninspired Zombies mode that is just an awkward version of DMZ, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III absolutely nowhere near justifies its $70 price tag.
A Call of Duty game of this low quality released a decade ago would have been a scandal. Now, it's emblematic of an approach to a franchise that's in desperate need of a reality check.
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.
Now that the entirety of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has been released, it's hard not to be disappointed in the anticipated title. For a franchise that once innovated and drove other shooters to be better, MW3 feels devoid of fresh ideas. Even the Warzone-like zombie mode feels like several good ideas smashed into a mode that doesn't click. Unfortunately, much of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 feels like a game stuck in the early 2000s, and players looking for something actually modern will need to look elsewhere.
In past years, I would have happily grinded seasonal Battle Passes. Last year, my patience was tested as many of these issues in MWIII started showing up in MWII – but I held out hope that the devs would fix the issues and deliver a return-to-form Call of Duty. I was mistaken. Sure, credit where credit is due, MWIII’s gameplay is solid with industry best gunplay and the Zombies mode is one of the franchises best ever. But it’s the half dozen or so poor design choices that continue to drag these games down. Call of Duty has risen to a level where they’re just too big to listen to fan feedback, and MWIII is a testament to this. Call of Duty fans deserve better.
A weak campaign with an unsatisfactory cliffhanger resolution, a Zombies map that's little more than rebranded DMZ, and a selection of multiplayer maps taken straight from Modern Warfare II (2009), Modern Warfare III barely stands up on its own merits, especially if you've thrown countless hours into last year's entry and have plenty to carry forward.
By borrowing here and there from the past Sledgehammer has played it too safe, but has forgotten to provide fans with truly new and valid reasons to dig into their wallets again this year. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III seems like a DLC that is saved thanks to more solid gameplay than ever, but much more is needed to enter the hearts of fans.
Review in Italian | Read full review
"We need a new Call of Duty game every single year," the Activision executives bellowed, and out popped Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 after the development times caught up with them. A truly anaemic release, there's never been a surer sign to press pause on the series. 14-year-old content is the best thing about this year's entry and if that's not enough of an indictment of where Call of Duty is at in 2023, we don't know what is. A franchise in serious need of a complete reboot, Modern Warfare 3 has to be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
If you play Call of Duty for the campaigns, you might be disappointed, but if you're like pretty much everyone else and play everything else the smash-hit franchise has to offer, it might be a fun distraction. However, if you're totally new, it's probably not worth your time just for this. In fact, the question is more likely: does Call of Duty even need a campaign mode anymore?
Can Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 be considered a full-price expansion? In part, yes, and this element inevitably affects the vote, as does the questionable single-player campaign. At the same time, however, it's impossible to pretend nothing has happened: the multiplayer component is the most fun to play in recent years and includes a pack of fan-favorite maps.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 decided to make the move to a full game and the result was not what was expected. While the change in gameplay and character movement is noticeably better than in previous installments, the open map missions do not convince the community and above all, the multiplayer mode could be more careful, eliminating above all its main problem, since there comes a point when you do not enjoy playing it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Despite the fun multiplayer, CoD Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest disappointment in series history so far.
Review in German | Read full review
With this Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Activision has unfortunately proved right all those who have criticized the franchise since the dawn of time with arguments that are sometimes a bit excessive.
Review in French | Read full review
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is one of the worst games of this year and proof that Activision really needs to give it a long break. A real shame that a series with so mucho history, is being treated like this.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Incomplete, unsatisfying, and utterly nonsensical. This shallow excuse of a sequel might just be the worst 'Call of Duty' entry to come out in a decade.
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.
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.
Better-than-expected Zombies, decent Multiplayer with flaws and one of the worst campaigns in the series mar this year's Call of Duty, making it difficult to recommend, even to the hardcore.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)'s campaign is comically bad, its Zombies mode is zonked and its multiplayer just kind of sucks.