Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Video Game Review: Modern Warfare 3

So, as a Call of Duty fan, I did my duty and bought MW3 as soon as it came out. At first, I felt like I was playing MW2 all over again. Then the game went into some amazing areas that I thought were incredible, if unrealistic. Specifically, I was enthralled by the level where you play as a security guard on a jumbo jet, and the jet starts to crash during an extended firefight. As the jet is plummeting towards the ground, those inside expeience zero gravity, and you are floating around in the jet while stil engaged in a firefight. Then the jet levels out, and you regain gravity just in time to see the back half of the plane ripped off as you hit the ground.

All in all, the single player experience is very similar to MW2, with the action being more unrealistic, yet at the same time more intense.

Multiplayer is a retooled edition of the past COD games, although the kill streak system has changed for the better. Instead of choosing your regular kill streak rewards, which require a certain number of kills without dying to activate, you may now choose from three types of kill streaks. One is basically the same; get kills without dying, and be rewarded with poweful things to get even more kills. The second are "support" rewards. These rewards don't require you to get kills without dying, jut a certain number of kills total. These rewards are more geared towards helping out the team; UAVs, body armor, etc.

Then there is the "Specialist" kill streak rewards. This is arguably the most powerful kill streak reward tree, as it allows you to get more perks. You choose your main three perks like normal, then you choose three more perks to get at 2, 4, and 6 kills. If you manage to get 8 kills without dying, you are awarded all the perks you have unlocked so far, making you a powerhouse killing machine. I have seen video footage of people getting 8 kills, then going on to destroy their opponents. Of course, if you can get 8 kills without dying, you are pretty much destroying your opponents already.

Of special note is that the kill streaks recycle during your lifespan. That is, in the past, once you got your highest kill streak reward, you had to die in order to get them again. In MW3, if you get your highest kill streak reward, it starts over. You can actually get a helicopter, etc, multiple times in one life if you are good enough.

Another note is the MOAB, or "Mother Of All Bombs". In MW2, one of the kill streak rewards you could choose was the match ending nuke, awarded at 25 kills in one life. In MW3, you don't get to choose this as an option, but if you manage to get 25 kills in one life, then you get the MOAB. This kills everyone on the opposing team, but does not end the match. This is only awarded once per life, however. Getting 50 kills does give you another one.

All in all, MW3 is what we've come to expect from the MW series, with a few nice additions that set it apart from the rest.

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