Game Review: CoD: MW3

Ok, seeing no one took the challenge, I’m moving on to something a little lighter. This will be a game review of the new Call of Duty game, Modern Warfare 3.

The game setting is world war 3. It starts out with an exciting battle in New York City. As far as the single player campaign is concerned, it’s a pretty good game. The one flaw I can really see in it is how short it is. I, being an average gamer, beat it in just under 5 hours. Not worth the $65 price tag, but still a fun game there.

Now, for the multiplayer portion of the game; I can honestly say I have never been more disappointed with a much hyped game then I am with MW3’s multiplayer system. Here are the pros and cons of it:

Maps:
The maps are possibly the worst set of maps I have ever seen in a CoD game. The creator’s of the game actually touted the maps as a unique and improved feature. Well, they were full of crap. The few maps they actually have are complete crap. Poorly designed with loads of blind corners and infested with camper friendly spots. Rushers are being owned by campers, strategic players are getting shot in the back, side, from up high, and everywhere else. The only strategy that works in these maps is camping, and that is a violation of FPS game etiquette. So, if you like to camp, this is your game. Unfortunately, with everyone camping, nothing gets done.

Hit Detection:
Again, this is another sore spot for me. On the PS3, the hit detection is terrible. In some cases its spot on, and in others it is like you are shooting at thin air when aiming down the site at someone standing a foot in front of you just letting you shoot at them. I do not know if it is a missed glitch in the game or just PS3’s crappy PlaystationNetwork, but I’m willing to bet it is a little of both.

Classes & Leveling:
This is a toss up. Some good features, some bad. MW3 has introduced “Strike Packages.” This is actually a pretty awesome new feature. On any class you create you have the options of what strike packages fits your play style or role in your team. The strike packages are designed well, and actually make for an interesting mix. Included in leveling is “weapon proficiencies.” This feature, while it has its good aspects, overall is pretty much stupid. The reason why it’s stupid is because it guarantees new player frustration. In 6 months, most players will be at max level except new players, who will have a tough time leveling up because while they are using lower level proficiencies or none at all, the people who bought the game at a midnight release will be tearing them up with unlock proficiencies. It has a good thought behind it, making players earn the cool stuff, but it will definitely kill sales later on when people switch to BF3.

Classes & Leveling pt. 2:
The major issue I have with the whole system is in two parts. First, it is overly complex, as you can tell from part 1. Not only are you leveling yourself, but for each new weapon unlock that you like, you have to level the weapon to make it worth using. Second, the max level cap is way too high. The high max level does two things. First, it makes it take a while to max out; this is actually a good thing that keeps you playing. Second, it slows down the new weapon, perk, etc. unlocking to a crawl. This is a bad thing. When you unlock something at a new level, you want a new gun or attachment, not a stupid title or emblem. People want to level up at a good pace, they want to reach that max level and have the entire arsenal at their disposal so they can actually compete. The leveling system makes this a pain in the ass.

Lag:
I have asked around to ensure this wasn’t just an issue with me, and its not. On the PS3 there are lag issues. You can be playing the entire first half of a match with smooth game play, then all of a sudden a ton of lag issues just pop up, seemingly at random. On Black Ops, this was not an issue so I have the feeling this is a game specific problem that should have been addressed in testing. Of course, I’m sure they tested on LAN games, so they would not have discovered this. I guess its time for them to start testing in closed online systems.

Perks:
In all the pre-release hype they mentioned “New Perks!!!” Well, yeah, if you consider the same perks with new names “new perks.” They have made some old perks “death streaks.” But these were perks that not many really liked, like what they call “final stand” is just CoD4’s “last stand” and Black Ops’ “Second Chance” perks. If it is going to be in the game, which I think it should have just been done away with, it is put in the right spot, a death streak perk.

Death Streaks:
These are just stupid. Hey bad players, they reward your failures too with “Death Streaks!” If you die a lot, you are given little boosts to help you not die or help you kill the player that just kicked your ass. Death streaks are and will always be a terrible idea. You do not reward failure in life; you should definitely NOT reward it in a CoD game.

11 Ideas to Improve Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3:
1. Get rid of death streaks. Again, this was a terrible idea and the designer who came up with it should be fired or made to make non-FPS games.
2. Redesign the maps to be less, camper friendly and more strategic player friendly. Black Ops did this very well. Yes, people camped in black ops, but strategic players and rushers always tore the campers up if they had at least an average level of skill.
3. Redesign the weapon proficiencies to be unlocked by weapon type. Right now they need to be unlocked with each specific weapon. Most players that I know stick to a weapon type or two, and should not have to start over again when they unlock the next weapon in the weapon type they prefer.
4. Simplify the class designs a bit. Yes, the personalization of the complex system can be nice, but it is a bit too complex. FPS games do not need to be complex to be fun. In fact, the over complex design in MW3 makes leveling a chore, and that is bad. Leveling should be fun, playing should be fun.
5. Lower the max level cap to what CoD players are used to. Max level does not need to be so high.
6. Get rid of titles and emblems. They are pointless, purely cosmetic, and simply do not belong in an FPS.
7. Get rid of ALL camper friendly areas in the maps. I absolutely HATE campers; if I am in a match with them, I make it my mission to make that match as aggravating as possible in hopes that they will rage quit. They are annoying, and make the game boring. If you are a camper, here’s a bit of wisdom for you that might make you think twice before continuing to camp: YOU ARE 100% PREDICTABLE AND IF YOU GET IN A MATCH WITH A PLAYER AS EQUALLY SKILLED AS ME (WHICH ISN’T HARD) YOU WILL DIE A LOT MORE THEN YOU KILL!! So, stop being so damn predictable, which doesn’t mean find a new camp spot after I kill you because I know all your stupid spots in every map, I will find you, I will kill you, and then I will rinse and repeat. I will skip rushers just to get to you. I will make you hate me. (wow, that felt good, lol).
8. To discourage camping, how about some destructible environment?!?! It is very stupid that I can call in a bomber and it not destroy buildings.
9. Fix the damn hit detection and lag issues already!
10. Make the weapon unlocks make sense. Here’s what I mean. If I am using a weapon for a while, and I unlock the next one in the weapon type, the next one should be BETTER then the one I’m using! I shouldn’t unlock a weapon that is weaker in damage, accuracy, rate of fire, etc. Why the hell would I switch to the next sub machine gun just because it has a better range but everything else is weaker?
11. Get rid of Sniper Rifles and LMG’s. Yes, I actually like these weapons, and occasionally used them in previous games. Unfortunately though, they just give people more incentive to camp. Oh, and if you think its not camping just because you are sniping, uh, you’re wrong. Camping is camping, regardless of the weapon you use. If these could be left in the game and people don’t camp, I would say keep them, but too many people find a spot, and sit there the entire match camping a door or field of vision. The campers ruin the sniper rifle and lmg.

Note: Yes, I know this reads like a rage letter to campers. But that does not invalidate my points.

“You camp, you die!” – Twitch_QQ