[1] It would be easy to dismiss Modern Warfare 3 as just another iterative update to the massively successful shooter series.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
For: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows PC, Wii, Nintendo DS
From: Activision/Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games
Style: 1- or 2-player shooter (18-player online)
Rating: M
Four and a half stars (out of five)
After attending a preview event, I left with concerns that the Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games collaboration shelved the multiplayer innovation 
Treyarch introduced with Black Ops in favour of more minor, underwhelming updates. After playing through the finished product, some of my early concerns proved valid, but many of the incremental tweaks are smart additions to the multiplayer experience.
Modern Warfare 3 does little to change the well-known franchise formula, but it offers enough enhancements to recommend it to any fan.
On the surface, this Call of Duty experience is similar to the other Modern Warfare games. Its visuals look familiar, most of the weapons are recycled, the tight gunplay feels similar, maps are still fairly cramped affairs, assembling a party operates the same, and many of the killstreak rewards return.
Modern Warfare 3's most noteworthy tweaks may be smaller changes, but they add up to contribute in a big way.
Custom classes are as crucial to online play as always, and players can choose between three new strike packages for their loadouts. Assault is for offensive-minded players, as its rewards are mostly death-dealing instruments, such as remote control assault drones, devastating air strikes, and the proximity-based IMS.
(Intelligent Munition System). If you're outfitted with this package, your killstreak progresses as always - it builds as you rack up kills, but resets to zero once you're taken down.
The Support package killstreaks are defensive in nature, like SAM turrets, recon drones, and counter-UAVs. They don't have the flash of the deadly assault rewards, but they're helpful. The killstreak count doesn't reset upon death.
You wouldn't normally reach one of the crazy 18-kill assault rewards without dying, but now it's feasible to earn the most valuable support items in a single game. This was even more appealing to me when I unlocked a few offensive rewards, like the remote sentry turret, the B-2 bomber, and the recon juggernaut suit. Once I realised the value of this package, it became my default for most of my future rounds.
The final package, Specialist, is for tacticians who strategise formulas for specific game types.
To reap the rewards of this killstreak package, you have to analyse how you play and where you'd benefit from the unlocked perks most. For the hardcore crowd, this is an ideal pick.
Other new multiplayer features contribute to overall mode improvement as well.
Completing objectives like flag captures adds to your killstreak count, and players can cycle through killstreak rewards with the d-pad and select them in the order they wish.
Prestige mode counts for something now, as players earn coins to spend on new custom classes, double XP time, or special callsigns. Levelling individual weapons unlocks proficiency abilities like reduced kick or faster fire rate.
Customisable private matches allow for absurd and entertaining variations of Juggernaut, Infected and Gun Game. You won't respawn in the middle of a massive air strike nearly as often, either.
Players won't notice many of these changes if they're just popping in for a quick round, but those who spend a lot of time in multiplayer will appreciate them.
Call of Duty's bread and butter has always been its deep multiplayer, but the campaigns deliver their fair share of memorable moments as well.
Modern Warfare 3 doesn't stray from the oft-emulated Call of Duty 4 formula. For the first two or three hours, the game hurries from country to country with a jarring narrative that doesn't succeed in getting much information across. All you know is this Makarov fellow is a bit unsavoury, and he wants to kill a lot of people. The early scenarios are more concerned with topping the big set piece moments from previous entries in the series than with putting forth a coherent narrative.
My concerns with the early portions of the campaign have as much to do with gameplay as narrative.
It's a constant "run here, trigger the enemies, now click between the trigger buttons until everyone is dead" experience. It gets its act together around the halfway mark.
You learn some more about your primary character and his motivations, and the latter half of the campaign isn't filled with the convoluted double-crosses of Modern Warfare 2.
Setpiece moments become more intriguing and by the time the credits roll, the globetrotting ordeal meets a satisfying conclusion.
Modern Warfare 3 meets expectations. The core elements of multiplayer and the campaign remain fundamentally unchanged, but the game serves as a great example of how many subtle tweaks can add up to an improved overall product.
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