Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 hit all platforms on November 10, but the buzz surrounding it isn’t as positive as Activision might have hoped. Following a similar path to MW2, the game is bracing for a significant backlash from players. Before diving into the community’s response, let’s examine the Modern Warfare 3 review scores, which reflect the critics’ less-than-favourable views.
As you know, Activision is rebooting the Modern Warfare trilogy, initially launched in 2007. But the issue for players is the pricing strategy: This updated trilogy, offering what seemed like DLC-sized content, is selling at full prices. This time, even the critics have expressed strong disapproval, as evident from the Modern Warfare 3 review scores.
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All Modern Warfare Games
The gaming industry often sees remakes, remasters, and reboots named identically to their originals, leading to understandable confusion among players. To clarify, there are two different Modern Warfare trilogies under the Call of Duty banner:
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare — 2007
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 — 2009
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — 2011
The original trilogy stands as perhaps the prime of the Call of Duty series, with each game boasting Metacritic averages above 90. Over time, remastered versions of these classics were released, updating them technologically but keeping the core gameplay intact.
The current source of confusion, however, stems from the reboot trilogy that began in 2019. Although sharing the same name as the originals, this new trilogy diverges in story direction while not offering much in terms of fresh content — a point of contention for many players. Here’s the new trilogy:
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — 2019
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II — 2022
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III — 2023
While the first two games of this reboot received mediocre marks from critics, they faced significant criticism from players. The Modern Warfare 3 review scores we’re looking at today underscore the misstep Activision took with this latest entry.
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Modern Warfare 3 Review Scores
So far, all the reviews for Modern Warfare 3 have focused on the campaign mode. Updates about multiplayer and zombie mode might change perspectives in the future. Yet, at the time of writing this article, Modern Warfare 3 review scores sit at 53/100. This low rating is partly because many sites have chosen not to assign a score. Still, their critiques suggest a sentiment even lower than this figure.
Here are the Modern Warfare 3 review scores published to date:
- GLHF on Sports Illustrated — 40
- IGN — 40
- Atomix — 50
- NME — 60
- GamerRadar+ — “It feels rushed and somewhat forced”
- GamePro Germany — “We enjoyed almost nothing in the campaign”
- GamesBeat — “I give this single-player campaign 3.5 stars out of five”
From these scores, it’s clear that very few are pleased with Sledgehammer Games’ execution of MW3. Interestingly, the criticism isn’t directed at the developers — instead, the blame is placed mainly on Activision’s decisions. We concur with the general agreement here. Modern Warfare 3’s story unfolds as one of the most blatant examples of corporate greed in gaming history.
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Is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Worth It?
The question of whether Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 justifies its price tag is a strong no, and this isn’t due to any bias against the game. Putting aside the Modern Warfare 3 review scores previously mentioned, we’re left with two key factors to consider: The game’s price and the content it offers.
Firstly, Modern Warfare 3 retails for $69.99 across all platforms, including PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. This price point has been standard for AAA games over the last two years, typically reflecting high-budget titles that offer physical releases and promise over 20 hours of content.
Does MW3 meet this standard? This leads us to the second point: The game’s content. According to How Long to Beat, the campaign mode of Modern Warfare 3 takes about five hours to complete, and if you rush, it can be less than four hours. To complete everything the game has to offer, it takes around 17 hours.
It’s important to note that this duration only covers the campaign mode — multiplayer or zombie mode isn’t included. So, repeating what was mentioned with the Modern Warfare 3 review scores: If you’re a fan and mainly play the multiplayer mode, the $69.99 price might seem more reasonable. However, this doesn’t necessarily forgive Activision of criticism regarding the game’s overall value.
That concludes our discussion on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review scores for now. We’ll keep you updated on the game’s online mode in the upcoming days. Meanwhile, you can check out The Finals and gear up for the next big FPS experience.
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