Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Encyclopedia
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (abbreviated as Call of Duty: MW3) is a first-person shooter
video game, developed by Infinity Ward
and Sledgehammer Games
, with Raven Software
having assisted in development. It is the third installment in the Modern Warfare series, a direct sequel to 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
, and the eighth Call of Duty
installment.
The game was released on November 8, 2011 in Europe
and North America
on Microsoft Windows
, Xbox 360
, PlayStation 3
, and Wii
, with a separate version
for Nintendo DS
developed by n-Space
. In Australia, the Wii version was released on November 23, 2011. In Japan
, Square Enix
handled the installment with a separate subtitled and dubbed version, as they did for Call of Duty: Black Ops
. They first released a Japanese-subtitled version on November 17, 2011. Then, on December 22, 2011, they will release a Japanese-voice dubbed version. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million copies in the US and UK alone and grossed $400 million, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time.
video game. Activision
confirmed at Gamescom
2011, that Modern Warfare 3 on the PC
has dedicated servers support.
. This game mode features one or two players fighting endless waves of enemies, with each wave becoming increasingly difficult. Despite being much compared to the World at War
Nazi Zombies mode, enemies do not spawn at fixed locations like the zombies do; instead, they appear at tactical positions based on the current location of the player. The mode is available on all multiplayer maps in the game. Players earn cash for items such as weapons, upgrades, ammo, air/ground support and equipment. Special Ops also returns from Modern Warfare 2. These challenge missions feature up to 48 stars, unlike its previous installment, which featured 69. Some weapons in Spec Ops are exclusive to that game mode, and are not available for play in Multiplayer mode.
Along with revamping the entire Killstreak reward system, Modern Warfare 3 also has a completely modified Ranking and Unlocks system, which does not use a currency system for unlocks. The player's primary weapon levels up alongside the player, and unlocks a number of "Proficiency" perks such as Attachments, (allows two attachments and is a successor to the "Bling" and "Warlord" perks), Kick (reduced recoil while aiming down the player's sight) and Focus (reduced flinching while under fire). Only one Proficiency can be put on a primary weapon. Another new addition is the ability to equip "Hybrid Scopes" on a weapon, such as a Red Dot Sight and a magnifier similar to an ACOG
on the same weapon, and the player can switch between the scopes. Modern Warfare 3 introduces a new "Prestige Shop" which will unlock only after the player has selected the option to prestige for the first time. The "Prestige Shop" allows Prestige players to use tokens they gain from using the Prestige option to buy exclusive features such as double XP and a extra custom weapon class.
Several controversial perks in Modern Warfare 2, accused of being overpowered, have been removed in Modern Warfare 3. Diving from standing to prone, known as "dolphin diving", has been removed due to balancing issues. Modern Warfare 3 will utilize Treyarch's hot fix system to fix bugs and glitches. Modern Warfare 3 features a local and online split-screen option.
Several new game modes have also been added:
Private matches also now include pre-made game modes including: "Infection" (where the infected kills enemies to recruit them to their team), "Drop Zone" (where the player must hold a drop zone for points and care packages), "Team Juggernaut" (each team plays alongside an AI Juggernaut character), "Gun Game" (be the first to get one kill with every gun in the game) and "One in the Chamber" (in which players are only allowed one pistol with one bullet and three lives where they can only get more bullets by killing other players). Along with this, players are allowed to create their own game modes with customized settings such as number of players and time limit.
). It was first showcased at E3 2011 and was released on November 8th, 2011 to coincide with the release of Modern Warfare 3. The free version includes features such as lifetime statistics and social-networking integration. The subscription version is priced at $49.99 per year and includes monthly downloadable content
, daily competitions with virtual and real life prizes, the ability to level up your clan, pro analysis and strategies, and more.
(voiced by Kevin McKidd
), former SAS
Cpt. John Price (Billy Murray
) and Russian informant "Nikolai", who are on the run after killing the rogue U.S. Army Lt. General Shepherd, the antagonist of the previous game. However, for most of the game, the player will control Yuri, an ex-Spetsnaz
soldier who joins Price on his hunt for Russian Ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov (Roman Varshavsky), and is revealed to be linked to the main story in more ways than one. As mentioned above, Makarov also reprises his role as the game's primary antagonist, and has a new contact named Volk, a Russian bombmaker in Paris, France. Several new playable characters have been added, including: Delta Force
operative Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook; SAS
operative Sgt. Marcus Burns; and Andrei Harkov, a Russian federal security agent tasked with protecting the Russian President. Just like Al-Fulani in Call of Duty 4, Soap is only "playable" during the game's opening sequence; while Price becomes the player character in the game's final mission.
New non-player characters (NPCs) include: Delta Force operatives "Sandman" (William Fichtner
), "Truck" (Idris Elba
), and "Grinch" (Timothy Olyphant
), who serve as Frost's squadmates. Captain MacMillan returns from Call of Duty 4 to provide the 141 with critical intelligence. Actor Craig Fairbrass
, who originally voiced the characters Gaz and Ghost, returns to voice SAS
operative Sergeant Wallcroft, who originally had a minor role in the first Modern Warfare.
. They reach a safehouse run by Nikolai’s Loyalist allies in Himachal Pradesh, India. While Soap receives medical attention, Vladamir Makarov's forces storm the safehouse in an attempt to kill the three. Yuri, Nikolai's best soldier with a grudge against Makarov, aids Price in giving Soap an adrenaline shot to keep his heart going, and with securing a safe route to an extraction point out of the country. Together, the four are all that remains of the now-disavowed Task Force 141. Price's team then goes into hiding for two months, while Makarov does the same.
On the same day, World War III continues. The actions of a Delta Force
team call-signed "Metal 0-1", which includes Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook, "Grinch", "Truck", and their C.O. "Sandman" (with whom Soap, Price, and Ghost previously worked together with on Operation Kingfish three years ago to kill/capture Makarov), facilitates the Russian army's withdrawal from the invasion of Lower Manhattan, New York. They start by destroying a jamming tower on top of the New York Stock Exchange
, then with hijacking a Russian Oscar II submarine
in the East River
, in order to use its ordinance against its own fleet.
On October 4th, 2016, Russian President Boris Vorshevsky announces plans to make peace with the United States at a summit in Hamburg, Germany. However, the plan is derailed when Makarov's men hijack Vorshevsky's plane and force it into a crash landing at the airport. F.S.O. Agent Andrei Harkov attempts to secure Vorshevsky's safety, but is killed when Makarov appears inside what the F.S.O. mistake as the evac chopper. Makarov kidnaps the President, and plans to capture and torture his daughter, Alena, to force the President to give Makarov the launch codes for the Russian nuclear arsenal.
Soap eventually recovers enough to fight, and with help from Yuri, and from Price's former mentor and C.O., MacMillan, they follow Makarov's trail to an arms deal in Sierra Leone
, but are unable to intercept the cargo. This cargo of unknown nature is distributed to Paris
, Berlin
, and London
. Meanwhile, a British S.A.S.
unit, including Sgt. Marcus Burns and Sgt. Wallcroft, is sent in to deal with the cargo but discover one of the transports to be a decoy. Meanwhile, a piece of the real cargo, revealed to be a biochemical weapon from Fregata Industries, is detonated on a London street nearby, killing a young American family as it releases its toxic payload near Big Ben.
The chemical attacks pave the way for the Russian Army to invade Europe, and Team Metal is deployed to Hamburg to rescue the U.S. Vice President from a hostage situation. Acting on intelligence supplied by Price, who had extraced it from a warlord in Somalia
named Waraabe, they are later deployed to Paris
in order to capture Russian bomb-maker Volk.
After securing Volk, they fight their way through the city to an extraction point with the help of an AC-130 gunship; however, the Eiffel Tower
collapses into the river after a bombing run eliminates all Russian forces at the escape point. After extracting information from Volk, Team Metal learns of Makarov's current location: the Hotel Lustig (loosely based on the Four Seasons Hotel
) in Prague
, where Makarov is about to call a meeting with his top advisors. Sandman informs Price of this information, and Price's team infiltrates the locked-down city.
Once in Prague, Task Force 141 meets up with Loyalist Kamarov, now the leader of the local resistance, to try to assassinate Makarov. Yuri and Soap take sniping positions from a church tower across from the hotel, while Price sneaks into the building itself. However, the plan goes awry when Kamarov himself is taken hostage and rigged with explosives. Price escapes the hotel just as Kamarov is blown up. Makarov reveals that he knows Yuri personally, by acknowledging him as his "friend". Makarov had already predicted Yuri and Soap's overwatch spot and had it rigged with explosives, which he then detonates. Yuri and Soap avoid the explosion by jumping down to ground level, but Soap is mortally wounded due to the height he fell from the tower and a large chuck of debris falling on him, the force of the ordeal causing his knife wound to reopen. Yuri helps Soap and escapes with Price to a resistance safehouse. In his last moments, Soap tells Price about Makarov's knowledge of Yuri before dying. After leaving his M1911 pistol with Soap's body and taking Soap's journal and dog tag, an enraged Price punches Yuri down a staircase and holds him at gunpoint, demanding him to explain his connection with Makarov.
Yuri explains that he was a former Ultranationalist, another protegé of Imran Zakhaev, and Makarov's former friend and ally. He was present with Makarov at Price’s assassination mission in 1996, evacuating Zakhaev from the arms deal. Yuri was also with Makarov when the latter detonated the nuclear bomb in the Middle East, killing 30,000 of Shepherd's Marines. After witnessing the nuclear explosion, and Makarov's reaction, Yuri attempted to stop the massacre at the Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow 5 years later by alerting the FSB there. However, Yuri was found out, and was restrained and shot in the stomach by Makarov himself before the attack started. Yuri's guilt of being unable to prevent the mass murder convinces Price that they are fighting for the same thing, and Price decides to keep his alliance with Yuri.
After infiltrating Makarov's castle near Prague and learning of Vorshevsky’s captivity, Price and Yuri alert Team Metal of an Ultranationalist plan to abduct Alena from a safehouse in Berlin. Team Metal is unable to prevent the kidnapping, but they are able to trace Makarov's Ultranationalists to a Siberia
n diamond mine. Team Metal (without the inclusion of Frost) and Task Force 141 launch a joint-rescue operation to save the Vorshevskys before Makarov gains the nuclear launch codes. Their actions ensure the safety of President Vorshevsky and Alena, and end the conflict between the United States and Russia. During extraction, Sandman, Grinch, and Truck stay behind to buy the evac chopper some time, and are presumed KIA when the mine collapses on them.
On January 21st, 2017, 3 months after the end of World War III, Price and Yuri track Makarov to the Hotel Oasis (loosely based on the Burj Al Arab in Dubai
) in the Arabian Peninsula
. They assault the hotel, with Price and Yuri wearing E.O.D.
armor, which is later destroyed. On the hotel roof, Makarov attempts to escape on a helicopter, but Price jumps on, killing the two pilots and crashing the helicopter back onto the roof. A dazed Makarov prepares to execute an equally injured Price, but is distracted by Yuri, killing him instead. Enraged with the loss of another ally, Price takes advantage of the moment to tackle Makarov, wrapping a steel cable around his throat into a noose before breaking through the glass roof, resulting in Makarov's death by hanging
. Price lands on the atrium floor just below and survives. As the police arrive on the scene, Price sits up in front of Makarov’s hanging corpse and quietly smokes a cigar.
confirmed that the eighth installment of the franchise – a FPS
– was currently in development by Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software and due for release "during the back half of 2011". This was revealed to be Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with the latter developers co-developing multiplayer. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was known to be in development after a legal dispute between Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella and Activision
resulted in the pair being fired from the company. Several dozen Infinity Ward employees followed West and Zampella as a result of the ongoing dispute, causing Activision
to enlist the services of Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to assist development of the title. The game was said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of their previous game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
. Also reported was that Sledgehammer is aiming for a "bug free" first outing in the Call of Duty franchise, which also sets a goal for Metacritic
review scores above 95 percent. Modern Warfare 3 utilizes the MW3 Engine
, unofficially the IW 5.0 Engine. Improvements include better streaming and audio. Sledgehammer Games announced the game to be the first entry in the Modern Warfare series to have built-in support for color-blind gamers.
The Official UK PlayStation Magazine
lent credence to speculation that Modern Warfare 3 would be a prequel starring fan favourite character Ghost. The mag's informants strengthen a rumor which first reared its head online early in January 2011. On the Rumor Machine page in its issue (055), OPM points to "insider whispers" which suggest: "Infinity Ward's next Modern Warfare title will be a prequel, with Ghost in the lead role." According to PSM3, the first snippet of Modern Warfare 3 gameplay would be revealed in mid-April. According to the publication's May 2011 issue, insider rumors say "the next in Activision's megaton FPS series will be announced in mid-April".
On May 13, 2011, video game website Kotaku
revealed the existence of Modern Warfare 3 following a massive leak. According to Kotaku, this leak came from multiple sources who may or may not work at Activision and Infinity Ward. The leak contained thorough information about the game, confirming that it would be a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
, as well details regarding weapons, levels and modes found in the game. In response to the leaks, Robert Bowling tweeted "A lot of hype & a lot of leaked info on MW3, some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the experience, I'd wait for the real reveal." Just hours after the leaked assets appeared on Kotaku, four teaser trailers were released on the official Call of Duty YouTube
page, separately titled "America", "England", "France" and "Germany", indicating the various locales of the game.
On October 12, 2011, Glen Schofield, Studio Head of Sledgehammer Games, confirmed via Twitter that Brian Tyler
had composed the musical score for the game which had then been recorded by a symphony orchestra.
released the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on YouTube ahead of its official premiere during the NBA Western Conference Finals
. On May 31, 2011, Activision
announced Call of Duty: Elite
, a brand new social service for the Call of Duty community to track and compare statistics, create videos and access premium content. The service is fully integrated into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and launched on November 8th, 2011 to coincide with the game's release. On June 6, 2011, 11:00AM (PDT), the first live gameplay demo of Modern Warfare 3 was presented by Robert Bowling and Glen Schofield at E3 2011. On June 14, 2011, 12:35PM (EST), the first live gameplay demo of the new Survival Mode was played by Jimmy Fallon
and Simon Pegg
on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
. On August 9, 2011, the trailer for the new Survival Mode was released on YouTube. On September 2, 2011, the multiplayer world premiere trailer was released on Youtube. On September 3, 2011, another multiplayer trailer was released on Youtube showing off the heads-up display along with various weapons, perks, and killstreaks. On October 6, 2011, a second full-length cinematic trailer was released. On October 22, 2011, the launch trailer was released.
On July 19, 2011, UK distributor Lygo's unveiled a range of Turtle Beach Ear Force
Modern Warfare 3 gaming headsets that launched in November 2011. The headsets are distinguished by custom audio presets designed by the audio teams at developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games "in order to provide the ultimate immersion into the cinematic world of Modern Warfare 3". On August 24, 2011, Activision revealed the official Modern Warfare 3 sunglasses. These Call of Duty-branded shades come from technology eyewear manufacturer GUNNAR - in a licensed partnership with Activision - and join its "Advanced Gaming Eyewear" line. It comes with a limited edition Modern Warfare 3 carrying case and cleaning cloth. The product is sold exclusively in North America at Best Buy retail locations and at select European retailers. Microsoft released two limited edition Modern Warfare 3-themed accessories on October 11, 2011, a wireless controller and a wireless headset. On September 29, 2011, Munitio announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3 9mm "billet" earphone featuring the Modern Warfare 3 logo, among other things. The earphones were available for pre-order and were released on October 23, 2011. On October 18, 2011, Logitech
announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3 mouse and keyboard which features many things, including the Modern Warfare 3 logo.
On September 2, 2011, Jeep
announced a partnership with Activision for the 2nd year in a row, to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3 Jeep based on the Wrangler Rubicon
model. The Jeep comes with various features including the interior and exterior being designed with a Modern Warfare 3 theme. Jeep dealers will started selling this model in November 2011.
On August 24, 2011, the PepsiCo
-owned brand Mountain Dew
officially announced on their Facebook page that they would be promoting the game with their "Game Fuel" soda variants, which would be cherry-citrus-flavored (the original Game Fuel that promoted Halo 3
in 2007 and brought back in 2009 to promote World of Warcraft
) and Tropical-flavored (a brand-new flavor that was tested by 500 Dew Labs members). The drinks feature codes to give the player double experience points in-game for a limited time depending on the size of the drink. Another PepsiCo-owned brand, Doritos
, are promoting the game with their "Cool Ranch" and "Nacho Cheese" flavors and also follow the same rules as the Mountain Dew promotion. Both promotions started on October 10, 2011 and will end on December 31, 2011. In Australia, 500ml cans of V Energy Drink
have been branded with the Modern Warfare 3 logo, along with a branded code which can be used for downloads and previews.
To promote the game, Activision
held a two day event called Call of Duty: Experience 2011
(Call of Duty: XP for short) which took place in Los Angeles, CA from September 2nd, 2011 to 3rd. It featured many things including the reveal of the new multiplayer which attendees were able to play for the first time. In addition, all attendees received the Hardened Edition for free as a gift for attending. At a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 VIP party in Amsterdam, dutch porn star and avid fan of the series, Kim Holland, was originally invited to attend the event until she was suddenly uninvited when Activision discovered her profession. In her blog, she shared her opinion and feelings towards Activision's sudden decision "People murdering people is neat, [...] but love-makers are dirty?" she wrote. Activision did not respond to any comments about the subject.
Activision had planned to set-up an official website to promote the game, however the domain name "ModernWarfare3.com" had already been taken and was used for an anti-Call of Duty website and redirecting users to Electronic Arts
's upcoming game Battlefield 3
. Activision filed a lawsuit against the site with the National Arbitration Forum costing US
$2,600. On September 8th, 2011, Activision had won the lawsuit and had acquired the rights to the domain name. In November 2011, actors Jonah Hill
, Sam Worthington
(who voiced the main character Alex Mason in Black Ops), and NBA athlete Dwight Howard
starred in commercials advertising the game.
$5000.
As early as late October, reports were already surfacing about copies being sold early to people with gameplay videos uploaded online. On November 3rd, 2011, it was reported that copies of the game were already being sold early in the United States. K-Mart
had already started selling copies of the game before its scheduled release date with copies already appearing on eBay
and Craigslist
. This was due to an error made by one the shipping companies that told K-mart to sell copies of the game immediately after receiving the shipments. However, Activision contacted K-mart about this and had the issue resolved.
French site TF1
News reported that a truck suffered a collision with a car on November 6, 2011 in Créteil
, south Paris
, before two masked individuals emerged from the car. The criminals reportedly used tear gas to neutralise the truck drivers before hopping in and making off with the video game shipment said to be worth 400,000 Euros. A separate report said the truck contained a delivery of 6000 copies of Modern Warfare 3.
Shortly after the game's release, a man from Aurora, Colorado
who did not receive a copy of the game at his local Best Buy, despite pre-ordering it, claimed to be so angry that he "could blow this place up". He was also reported as having threatened to shoot employees once they left the store. Lomon Sar, aged 31, was issued a citation and court summons by police responding to the disturbance.
and Xbox 360
platforms: Standard and Hardened. The standard version consists of the game and an instructional manual, and is the only version available for the Microsoft Windows platform. Contents within the Hardened Edition include the game disc with "unique art", one year membership to Call of Duty: Elite, "special founder status" on Call of Duty: Elite which includes an exclusive in-game emblem, playercard, weapon camouflage, clan XP boost, and more exclusive benefits, premium collectible Steelbook case, exclusive PSN animated timeline theme for PS3 only, exclusive Spec Ops Juggernaut Xbox Live
avatar outfit for Xbox 360 only, and a limited edition, collectible field journal, which chronicles "the entire saga with 100+ pages of authentic military sketches, diagrams, and written entries."
Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward confirmed that there will be no Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 3. In the past, the Prestige editions of previous Call of Duty games have included physical items such as a remote-controlled car for Black Ops, and a pair of night vision goggles and a life-sized plastic head to put them on for Modern Warfare 2.
On August 19, 2011, UK retailer GAME
announced an Intel Pack of Modern Warfare 3. It comes with a British special forces avatar for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, as well as a Brady strategy guide. On September 3, 2011, Activision and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited Modern Warfare 3 version of the Xbox 360 with a 320GB hard disk. The unit is designed by the Call of Duty team and includes two custom wireless controllers, a copy of Modern Warfare 3 and features custom sounds when the console is turned on/off or when the disc tray is ejected. A one month subscription to Xbox Live Gold is also included, as well as exclusive avatar items.
Activision reported sales figures for Modern Warfare 3 in the US and UK being more than 6.5 million copies sold on launch day and grossed $400 million in the US and UK alone in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time. It is the third year in a row that the Call Of Duty series has broken the same record. 2010's Black Ops grossed $360 million on day one; in 2009, Modern Warfare 2 brought in $310 million. Activision Blizzard
president and CEO Robert Kotick
stated that "the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we [Activision] achieved this record with sales from only two territories."
The title grossed more than $775 million globally in its first five days of availability, exceeding the $650 million record set by 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops and the $550 million one achieved by 2009's Modern Warfare 2. To be exact, it has beaten theatrical box office, book, and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars.
Modern Warfare 3 topped the UK video game sales chart in its first week. By November 21, the game remained the bestselling title in the United Kingdom, despite sales dropping by 87%. Modern Warfare 3 held the top spot for a third week running, which Black Ops failed to manage when it was replaced at the top by Gran Turismo 5. The PS3 version of Modern Warfare 3 also topped the Japanese chart in its first week on sale. The PS3 version shifted 180,372 copies, while the Xbox 360 version sold around 30,000.
.
The Daily Telegraph
gave the game's Xbox 360 version 5 stars out of 5, stating, "The series has always been renowned for elements like the excellent sound design, the gloss, polish and compulsion of its gameplay, but with Modern Warfare 3, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have created a game that not only lives up to the brand hype but exceeds it. A game where the mass appeal is justified, and the expectations are met."
IGN
gave the game's Xbox 360 version a 9.0 out of 10.0, pointing out that the game offers "great multiplayer, [a] fun campaign, tons of content, but [also] a forgettable story."
GameSpot
qualifies the game, stating that "the series' signature thrills have lost some of their luster. Modern Warfare 3 iterates rather than innovates, so the fun you have is familiar" but concludes its review by affirming that, "Fortunately, [the game is] also utterly engrossing and immensely satisfying, giving fans another reason to rejoice in this busy shooter season.".
The Wii version of the game has not gotten as positive reviews. IGN
rated the game a 4.5 out of 10, blaming the lacking graphics and poor friend code system for bringing it down.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game, developed by Infinity Ward
Infinity Ward
Infinity Ward is an American video game developer. Infinity Ward is responsible for the development of the video game Call of Duty and four other installments in the Call of Duty franchise....
and Sledgehammer Games
Sledgehammer Games
Sledgehammer Games is an American video game developer, formed in 2009 by industry veterans Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, both of whom formerly worked at Visceral Games, and are responsible for the award-winning Dead Space franchise.-History:...
, with Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
having assisted in development. It is the third installment in the Modern Warfare series, a direct sequel to 2009's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
, and the eighth Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
installment.
The game was released on November 8, 2011 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, with a separate version
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance is a first-person shooter video game, in the Call of Duty franchise, developed by n-Space for the Nintendo DS...
for Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
developed by n-Space
N-Space
n-Space is an American video game developer founded in 1994 by Erick S. Dyke, Dan O'Leary, and Sean Purcell. n-Space is focusing mostly on Nintendo consoles since 2001...
. In Australia, the Wii version was released on November 23, 2011. In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
handled the installment with a separate subtitled and dubbed version, as they did for Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
. They first released a Japanese-subtitled version on November 17, 2011. Then, on December 22, 2011, they will release a Japanese-voice dubbed version. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold 6.5 million copies in the US and UK alone and grossed $400 million, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time.
Gameplay
Like its predecessors, Modern Warfare 3 is a first-person shooterFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game. Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
confirmed at Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
2011, that Modern Warfare 3 on the PC
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
has dedicated servers support.
Campaign
The player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the progression of the story, which, like it's preceedors, is divided into three sets of missions called "Acts". Each mission in an act features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. Damage to the player is shown by the percentage of blood splatter shown on the screen. The player's health regenerates over time. Mission objectives vary in their requirements, ranging from having the player arrive at a particular checkpoint, to eliminating enemies in a specified location, to standing their ground against enemy squadrons, manning mini-guns and other weapons, and planting explosive charges on an enemy installation. Some of these objectives can be failed, and may or may not hinder progression of the story. The player is also accompanied by fellow soldiers who cannot be issued orders.Cooperative
Modern Warfare 3 features a new mode, called Survival ModeSurvival mode
Survival mode is a video game mode in which the player must survive by keeping their character alive or preventing the enemy from reaching a certain location for as long as possible, while the game sends waves of enemies to the player that become stronger with each subsequent wave. Another variant...
. This game mode features one or two players fighting endless waves of enemies, with each wave becoming increasingly difficult. Despite being much compared to the World at War
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. It is generally considered to be the fifth mainstream game of the Call of Duty series and returns the setting to World War II. The game was...
Nazi Zombies mode, enemies do not spawn at fixed locations like the zombies do; instead, they appear at tactical positions based on the current location of the player. The mode is available on all multiplayer maps in the game. Players earn cash for items such as weapons, upgrades, ammo, air/ground support and equipment. Special Ops also returns from Modern Warfare 2. These challenge missions feature up to 48 stars, unlike its previous installment, which featured 69. Some weapons in Spec Ops are exclusive to that game mode, and are not available for play in Multiplayer mode.
Multiplayer
The entire Killstreak reward system has been revamped. Killstreaks are now known as Pointstreaks, and kills are no longer the only way to increase the player's pointstreak. Completing objectives such as planting the bomb in Search and Destroy or capturing a flag in Capture The Flag awards points towards the player's Pointstreak. Pointstreak rewards are organized into three different "strike packages" called Assault, Support, and Specialist. The Assault strike package works the same as the Killstreak reward system in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops, offering rewards like the Predator drone and attack helicopters. The Support strike package offers support-style rewards, such as UAVs and SAM Turrets. Rewards from the Support category do not reset when the player dies, but accumulate over the course of a match. The Specialist strike package rewards players with perks of their choosing after every second consecutive kill. After eight kills, they receive every perk in the game, but reset back to none upon death. Players are allowed to choose which Pointstreak rewards they want to use when they gain it during the match, rather than choosing them between rounds.Along with revamping the entire Killstreak reward system, Modern Warfare 3 also has a completely modified Ranking and Unlocks system, which does not use a currency system for unlocks. The player's primary weapon levels up alongside the player, and unlocks a number of "Proficiency" perks such as Attachments, (allows two attachments and is a successor to the "Bling" and "Warlord" perks), Kick (reduced recoil while aiming down the player's sight) and Focus (reduced flinching while under fire). Only one Proficiency can be put on a primary weapon. Another new addition is the ability to equip "Hybrid Scopes" on a weapon, such as a Red Dot Sight and a magnifier similar to an ACOG
ACOG
ACOG may refer to:*Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight*Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games*American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists...
on the same weapon, and the player can switch between the scopes. Modern Warfare 3 introduces a new "Prestige Shop" which will unlock only after the player has selected the option to prestige for the first time. The "Prestige Shop" allows Prestige players to use tokens they gain from using the Prestige option to buy exclusive features such as double XP and a extra custom weapon class.
Several controversial perks in Modern Warfare 2, accused of being overpowered, have been removed in Modern Warfare 3. Diving from standing to prone, known as "dolphin diving", has been removed due to balancing issues. Modern Warfare 3 will utilize Treyarch's hot fix system to fix bugs and glitches. Modern Warfare 3 features a local and online split-screen option.
Several new game modes have also been added:
- "Kill Confirmed" requires players to collect floating dog tags from the corpse of a downed enemy before the kill can be registered. However, the opposing team can pick up the dog tag as well to deny the other team of a kill.
- "Team Defender" requires both teams to try to capture a flag dropped by the first person who gets killed when the match starts, and hold it to gain double points per kill while the team without the flag only gets the default amount per kill.
Private matches also now include pre-made game modes including: "Infection" (where the infected kills enemies to recruit them to their team), "Drop Zone" (where the player must hold a drop zone for points and care packages), "Team Juggernaut" (each team plays alongside an AI Juggernaut character), "Gun Game" (be the first to get one kill with every gun in the game) and "One in the Chamber" (in which players are only allowed one pistol with one bullet and three lives where they can only get more bullets by killing other players). Along with this, players are allowed to create their own game modes with customized settings such as number of players and time limit.
Call of Duty: Elite
Call of Duty: Elite is a new free/subscription-based service developed by Beachhead Studios for the multiplayer portion of Modern Warfare 3 (as well as the previous installment in the series, Black OpsCall of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii consoles, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Announced on April 30, 2010,...
). It was first showcased at E3 2011 and was released on November 8th, 2011 to coincide with the release of Modern Warfare 3. The free version includes features such as lifetime statistics and social-networking integration. The subscription version is priced at $49.99 per year and includes monthly downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
, daily competitions with virtual and real life prizes, the ability to level up your clan, pro analysis and strategies, and more.
Characters
The game sees the return of former Task Force 141 Cpt. John "Soap" MacTavishJohn MacTavish
John "Soap" MacTavish, is a Scottish fictional character and one of the two main protagonists in the Modern Warfare series of the Call of Duty game franchise...
(voiced by Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd
Kevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
), former SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
Cpt. John Price (Billy Murray
Billy Murray (actor)
Billy Murray is an English actor, best known for playing Don Beech in The Bill from 1995 to 2004, Johnny Allen in the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2005 to 2006, Captain John Price in the video games Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare...
) and Russian informant "Nikolai", who are on the run after killing the rogue U.S. Army Lt. General Shepherd, the antagonist of the previous game. However, for most of the game, the player will control Yuri, an ex-Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
soldier who joins Price on his hunt for Russian Ultranationalist Vladimir Makarov (Roman Varshavsky), and is revealed to be linked to the main story in more ways than one. As mentioned above, Makarov also reprises his role as the game's primary antagonist, and has a new contact named Volk, a Russian bombmaker in Paris, France. Several new playable characters have been added, including: Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
operative Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook; SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
operative Sgt. Marcus Burns; and Andrei Harkov, a Russian federal security agent tasked with protecting the Russian President. Just like Al-Fulani in Call of Duty 4, Soap is only "playable" during the game's opening sequence; while Price becomes the player character in the game's final mission.
New non-player characters (NPCs) include: Delta Force operatives "Sandman" (William Fichtner
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on Invasion, as Alexander Mahone on Prison Break, as William Sharp in Armageddon, and as Ken Rosenberg in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.- Early life...
), "Truck" (Idris Elba
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor. He has starred in both British and American productions. Elba grew up in Canning Town, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including ...
), and "Grinch" (Timothy Olyphant
Timothy Olyphant
Timothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...
), who serve as Frost's squadmates. Captain MacMillan returns from Call of Duty 4 to provide the 141 with critical intelligence. Actor Craig Fairbrass
Craig Fairbrass
Craig Fairbrass is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive Cockney accent.-Life and career:Fairbrass was born in Stepney, London. He made his acting debut in an episode of the television series Shelley in 1980. This was followed by appearances in series such as Emmerdale, Three Up Two...
, who originally voiced the characters Gaz and Ghost, returns to voice SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
operative Sergeant Wallcroft, who originally had a minor role in the first Modern Warfare.
Plot
On August 17, 2016, hours after killing General Shepherd, Captain John Price and Nikolai evacuate a dying John "Soap" MacTavish from Site Hotel Bravo, AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. They reach a safehouse run by Nikolai’s Loyalist allies in Himachal Pradesh, India. While Soap receives medical attention, Vladamir Makarov's forces storm the safehouse in an attempt to kill the three. Yuri, Nikolai's best soldier with a grudge against Makarov, aids Price in giving Soap an adrenaline shot to keep his heart going, and with securing a safe route to an extraction point out of the country. Together, the four are all that remains of the now-disavowed Task Force 141. Price's team then goes into hiding for two months, while Makarov does the same.
On the same day, World War III continues. The actions of a Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
team call-signed "Metal 0-1", which includes Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook, "Grinch", "Truck", and their C.O. "Sandman" (with whom Soap, Price, and Ghost previously worked together with on Operation Kingfish three years ago to kill/capture Makarov), facilitates the Russian army's withdrawal from the invasion of Lower Manhattan, New York. They start by destroying a jamming tower on top of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
, then with hijacking a Russian Oscar II submarine
Oscar class submarine
The Project 949 and Project 949A Soviet Navy/Russian Navy cruise missile submarines ....
in the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
, in order to use its ordinance against its own fleet.
On October 4th, 2016, Russian President Boris Vorshevsky announces plans to make peace with the United States at a summit in Hamburg, Germany. However, the plan is derailed when Makarov's men hijack Vorshevsky's plane and force it into a crash landing at the airport. F.S.O. Agent Andrei Harkov attempts to secure Vorshevsky's safety, but is killed when Makarov appears inside what the F.S.O. mistake as the evac chopper. Makarov kidnaps the President, and plans to capture and torture his daughter, Alena, to force the President to give Makarov the launch codes for the Russian nuclear arsenal.
Soap eventually recovers enough to fight, and with help from Yuri, and from Price's former mentor and C.O., MacMillan, they follow Makarov's trail to an arms deal in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, but are unable to intercept the cargo. This cargo of unknown nature is distributed to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Meanwhile, a British S.A.S.
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
unit, including Sgt. Marcus Burns and Sgt. Wallcroft, is sent in to deal with the cargo but discover one of the transports to be a decoy. Meanwhile, a piece of the real cargo, revealed to be a biochemical weapon from Fregata Industries, is detonated on a London street nearby, killing a young American family as it releases its toxic payload near Big Ben.
The chemical attacks pave the way for the Russian Army to invade Europe, and Team Metal is deployed to Hamburg to rescue the U.S. Vice President from a hostage situation. Acting on intelligence supplied by Price, who had extraced it from a warlord in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
named Waraabe, they are later deployed to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in order to capture Russian bomb-maker Volk.
After securing Volk, they fight their way through the city to an extraction point with the help of an AC-130 gunship; however, the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
collapses into the river after a bombing run eliminates all Russian forces at the escape point. After extracting information from Volk, Team Metal learns of Makarov's current location: the Hotel Lustig (loosely based on the Four Seasons Hotel
Four Seasons Hotel (Prague)
Prague hotel from the Four Seasons Hotels network. Located near Charles Bridge with overview of Prague Castle. It was established in 1994 and quickly became the number one hotel for Hollywood celebrities and important guests, earning its spot as one of the Top 10 Hot European Hotels on . Its...
) in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where Makarov is about to call a meeting with his top advisors. Sandman informs Price of this information, and Price's team infiltrates the locked-down city.
Once in Prague, Task Force 141 meets up with Loyalist Kamarov, now the leader of the local resistance, to try to assassinate Makarov. Yuri and Soap take sniping positions from a church tower across from the hotel, while Price sneaks into the building itself. However, the plan goes awry when Kamarov himself is taken hostage and rigged with explosives. Price escapes the hotel just as Kamarov is blown up. Makarov reveals that he knows Yuri personally, by acknowledging him as his "friend". Makarov had already predicted Yuri and Soap's overwatch spot and had it rigged with explosives, which he then detonates. Yuri and Soap avoid the explosion by jumping down to ground level, but Soap is mortally wounded due to the height he fell from the tower and a large chuck of debris falling on him, the force of the ordeal causing his knife wound to reopen. Yuri helps Soap and escapes with Price to a resistance safehouse. In his last moments, Soap tells Price about Makarov's knowledge of Yuri before dying. After leaving his M1911 pistol with Soap's body and taking Soap's journal and dog tag, an enraged Price punches Yuri down a staircase and holds him at gunpoint, demanding him to explain his connection with Makarov.
Yuri explains that he was a former Ultranationalist, another protegé of Imran Zakhaev, and Makarov's former friend and ally. He was present with Makarov at Price’s assassination mission in 1996, evacuating Zakhaev from the arms deal. Yuri was also with Makarov when the latter detonated the nuclear bomb in the Middle East, killing 30,000 of Shepherd's Marines. After witnessing the nuclear explosion, and Makarov's reaction, Yuri attempted to stop the massacre at the Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow 5 years later by alerting the FSB there. However, Yuri was found out, and was restrained and shot in the stomach by Makarov himself before the attack started. Yuri's guilt of being unable to prevent the mass murder convinces Price that they are fighting for the same thing, and Price decides to keep his alliance with Yuri.
After infiltrating Makarov's castle near Prague and learning of Vorshevsky’s captivity, Price and Yuri alert Team Metal of an Ultranationalist plan to abduct Alena from a safehouse in Berlin. Team Metal is unable to prevent the kidnapping, but they are able to trace Makarov's Ultranationalists to a Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n diamond mine. Team Metal (without the inclusion of Frost) and Task Force 141 launch a joint-rescue operation to save the Vorshevskys before Makarov gains the nuclear launch codes. Their actions ensure the safety of President Vorshevsky and Alena, and end the conflict between the United States and Russia. During extraction, Sandman, Grinch, and Truck stay behind to buy the evac chopper some time, and are presumed KIA when the mine collapses on them.
On January 21st, 2017, 3 months after the end of World War III, Price and Yuri track Makarov to the Hotel Oasis (loosely based on the Burj Al Arab in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
) in the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. They assault the hotel, with Price and Yuri wearing E.O.D.
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
armor, which is later destroyed. On the hotel roof, Makarov attempts to escape on a helicopter, but Price jumps on, killing the two pilots and crashing the helicopter back onto the roof. A dazed Makarov prepares to execute an equally injured Price, but is distracted by Yuri, killing him instead. Enraged with the loss of another ally, Price takes advantage of the moment to tackle Makarov, wrapping a steel cable around his throat into a noose before breaking through the glass roof, resulting in Makarov's death by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. Price lands on the atrium floor just below and survives. As the police arrive on the scene, Price sits up in front of Makarov’s hanging corpse and quietly smokes a cigar.
Development
A 2010 Q3 earnings call from ActivisionActivision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
confirmed that the eighth installment of the franchise – a FPS
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
– was currently in development by Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software and due for release "during the back half of 2011". This was revealed to be Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with the latter developers co-developing multiplayer. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was known to be in development after a legal dispute between Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella and Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
resulted in the pair being fired from the company. Several dozen Infinity Ward employees followed West and Zampella as a result of the ongoing dispute, causing Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
to enlist the services of Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software to assist development of the title. The game was said to have been in development since only two weeks after the release of their previous game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
. Also reported was that Sledgehammer is aiming for a "bug free" first outing in the Call of Duty franchise, which also sets a goal for Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
review scores above 95 percent. Modern Warfare 3 utilizes the MW3 Engine
IW engine
The IW engine is a game engine developed by Infinity Ward for the Call of Duty series and has recently become the main engine for the James Bond video games. The engine itself is proprietary with inclusion of GtkRadiant by id Software...
, unofficially the IW 5.0 Engine. Improvements include better streaming and audio. Sledgehammer Games announced the game to be the first entry in the Modern Warfare series to have built-in support for color-blind gamers.
The Official UK PlayStation Magazine
PlayStation Official Magazine (UK)
The Official UK PlayStation Magazine is a now-defunct magazine, launched in November 1995 to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation console. It ran for 108 issues, with the last hitting news stands in March 2004. The first issue sold 37,000 copies...
lent credence to speculation that Modern Warfare 3 would be a prequel starring fan favourite character Ghost. The mag's informants strengthen a rumor which first reared its head online early in January 2011. On the Rumor Machine page in its issue (055), OPM points to "insider whispers" which suggest: "Infinity Ward's next Modern Warfare title will be a prequel, with Ghost in the lead role." According to PSM3, the first snippet of Modern Warfare 3 gameplay would be revealed in mid-April. According to the publication's May 2011 issue, insider rumors say "the next in Activision's megaton FPS series will be announced in mid-April".
On May 13, 2011, video game website Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
revealed the existence of Modern Warfare 3 following a massive leak. According to Kotaku, this leak came from multiple sources who may or may not work at Activision and Infinity Ward. The leak contained thorough information about the game, confirming that it would be a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
, as well details regarding weapons, levels and modes found in the game. In response to the leaks, Robert Bowling tweeted "A lot of hype & a lot of leaked info on MW3, some still accurate, some not. To avoid spoiling the experience, I'd wait for the real reveal." Just hours after the leaked assets appeared on Kotaku, four teaser trailers were released on the official Call of Duty YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
page, separately titled "America", "England", "France" and "Germany", indicating the various locales of the game.
On October 12, 2011, Glen Schofield, Studio Head of Sledgehammer Games, confirmed via Twitter that Brian Tyler
Brian Tyler (composer)
Brian Tyler is an American composer, producer, conductor, and film producer most known for his scores of Eagle Eye, The Expendables, Battle: Los Angeles, The Final Destination, Rambo, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Final Destination 5. Tyler is a symphonic conductor and conducts his own scores....
had composed the musical score for the game which had then been recorded by a symphony orchestra.
Marketing
On May 23, 2011, ActivisionActivision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
released the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on YouTube ahead of its official premiere during the NBA Western Conference Finals
2011 NBA Playoffs
The 2011 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2010–11 season. Eight teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, all seeded 1 to 8 in a tournament bracket, with all rounds in a best-of-seven format. The 2011 NBA Playoffs began on...
. On May 31, 2011, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
announced Call of Duty: Elite
Call of Duty: Elite
Call of Duty: Elite is a free/subscription-based service created by Beachhead Studios for the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Much like Bungie.net and Battle.net, the service features lifetime statistics across multiple games as well as a multitude...
, a brand new social service for the Call of Duty community to track and compare statistics, create videos and access premium content. The service is fully integrated into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and launched on November 8th, 2011 to coincide with the game's release. On June 6, 2011, 11:00AM (PDT), the first live gameplay demo of Modern Warfare 3 was presented by Robert Bowling and Glen Schofield at E3 2011. On June 14, 2011, 12:35PM (EST), the first live gameplay demo of the new Survival Mode was played by Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
and Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
. On August 9, 2011, the trailer for the new Survival Mode was released on YouTube. On September 2, 2011, the multiplayer world premiere trailer was released on Youtube. On September 3, 2011, another multiplayer trailer was released on Youtube showing off the heads-up display along with various weapons, perks, and killstreaks. On October 6, 2011, a second full-length cinematic trailer was released. On October 22, 2011, the launch trailer was released.
On July 19, 2011, UK distributor Lygo's unveiled a range of Turtle Beach Ear Force
Turtle Beach Systems
Turtle Beach Systems is a sound card and headphone manufacturer and direct competitor with Creative Labs-branded Sound Blaster. In 1995, the company merged with Voyetra, a company that made custom software for sound cards, to form Voyetra Turtle Beach Inc which is headquartered in Elmsford, New...
Modern Warfare 3 gaming headsets that launched in November 2011. The headsets are distinguished by custom audio presets designed by the audio teams at developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games "in order to provide the ultimate immersion into the cinematic world of Modern Warfare 3". On August 24, 2011, Activision revealed the official Modern Warfare 3 sunglasses. These Call of Duty-branded shades come from technology eyewear manufacturer GUNNAR - in a licensed partnership with Activision - and join its "Advanced Gaming Eyewear" line. It comes with a limited edition Modern Warfare 3 carrying case and cleaning cloth. The product is sold exclusively in North America at Best Buy retail locations and at select European retailers. Microsoft released two limited edition Modern Warfare 3-themed accessories on October 11, 2011, a wireless controller and a wireless headset. On September 29, 2011, Munitio announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3 9mm "billet" earphone featuring the Modern Warfare 3 logo, among other things. The earphones were available for pre-order and were released on October 23, 2011. On October 18, 2011, Logitech
Logitech
Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...
announced a partnership with Activision in order to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3 mouse and keyboard which features many things, including the Modern Warfare 3 logo.
On September 2, 2011, Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
announced a partnership with Activision for the 2nd year in a row, to make a special edition Modern Warfare 3 Jeep based on the Wrangler Rubicon
Jeep Wrangler
The Jeep Wrangler is a subcompact four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle and an off-road vehicle manufactured by American automaker Chrysler, under its Jeep marque – and now in its fourth generation. It is a successor to the famous World War II 'Jeep' vehicle by way of the Willys civilian...
model. The Jeep comes with various features including the interior and exterior being designed with a Modern Warfare 3 theme. Jeep dealers will started selling this model in November 2011.
On August 24, 2011, the PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
-owned brand Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a citrus-flavored carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in the 1940s by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman and was first marketed in Marion, VA, Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee. A revised formula was...
officially announced on their Facebook page that they would be promoting the game with their "Game Fuel" soda variants, which would be cherry-citrus-flavored (the original Game Fuel that promoted Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
in 2007 and brought back in 2009 to promote World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
) and Tropical-flavored (a brand-new flavor that was tested by 500 Dew Labs members). The drinks feature codes to give the player double experience points in-game for a limited time depending on the size of the drink. Another PepsiCo-owned brand, Doritos
Doritos
Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
, are promoting the game with their "Cool Ranch" and "Nacho Cheese" flavors and also follow the same rules as the Mountain Dew promotion. Both promotions started on October 10, 2011 and will end on December 31, 2011. In Australia, 500ml cans of V Energy Drink
V (drink)
V is an energy drink brand produced by Frucor Beverages Ltd since August 1997. In 2003, in supermarkets and service stations, V had a market share over 60% in New Zealand and 53% in Australia, making it the most popular brand of energy drink in both countries. V is made in New Zealand and...
have been branded with the Modern Warfare 3 logo, along with a branded code which can be used for downloads and previews.
To promote the game, Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
held a two day event called Call of Duty: Experience 2011
Call of Duty: Experience 2011
Call of Duty: Experience 2011 was the first annual convention hosted by Activison to celebrate their video game series Call of Duty...
(Call of Duty: XP for short) which took place in Los Angeles, CA from September 2nd, 2011 to 3rd. It featured many things including the reveal of the new multiplayer which attendees were able to play for the first time. In addition, all attendees received the Hardened Edition for free as a gift for attending. At a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 VIP party in Amsterdam, dutch porn star and avid fan of the series, Kim Holland, was originally invited to attend the event until she was suddenly uninvited when Activision discovered her profession. In her blog, she shared her opinion and feelings towards Activision's sudden decision "People murdering people is neat, [...] but love-makers are dirty?" she wrote. Activision did not respond to any comments about the subject.
Activision had planned to set-up an official website to promote the game, however the domain name "ModernWarfare3.com" had already been taken and was used for an anti-Call of Duty website and redirecting users to Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
's upcoming game Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released in North America on October 25, 2011 and in Europe on October 28, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and EA Mobile confirmed a port for...
. Activision filed a lawsuit against the site with the National Arbitration Forum costing US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$2,600. On September 8th, 2011, Activision had won the lawsuit and had acquired the rights to the domain name. In November 2011, actors Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein , known professionally as Jonah Hill, is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. Hill is best known roles for his roles in Superbad, Knocked Up, and Get Him to the Greek. He made his theatrical debut in I Heart Huckabees, alongside Jason Schwartzman and Dustin...
, Sam Worthington
Sam Worthington
Samuel Henry J. "Sam" Worthington is an English born, Australian actor. After almost a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Worthington gained Hollywood's attention by playing Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation and the lead role, Jake Sully, in James Cameron's science...
(who voiced the main character Alex Mason in Black Ops), and NBA athlete Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy...
starred in commercials advertising the game.
Release
Two weeks before the release of the game, it was reported that half of the PC version had been uploaded online after being stolen from a warehouse in Fresno, California. Investigators working on behalf of Activision have been searching torrent websites for traces of the game as well as visiting people who had downloaded a copy across the United States and requesting that they remove it or they will face a fine of USUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$5000.
As early as late October, reports were already surfacing about copies being sold early to people with gameplay videos uploaded online. On November 3rd, 2011, it was reported that copies of the game were already being sold early in the United States. K-Mart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
had already started selling copies of the game before its scheduled release date with copies already appearing on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
and Craigslist
Craigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
. This was due to an error made by one the shipping companies that told K-mart to sell copies of the game immediately after receiving the shipments. However, Activision contacted K-mart about this and had the issue resolved.
French site TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
News reported that a truck suffered a collision with a car on November 6, 2011 in Créteil
Créteil
-Health:As of 1 January 2006, 27 pharmacies, about 60 dentists, about 60 general practitioners, 10 pediatricians, and a half-dozen ophthalmologists and dermatologists constitute the general medical staff of the city.Health facilities include:...
, south Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, before two masked individuals emerged from the car. The criminals reportedly used tear gas to neutralise the truck drivers before hopping in and making off with the video game shipment said to be worth 400,000 Euros. A separate report said the truck contained a delivery of 6000 copies of Modern Warfare 3.
Shortly after the game's release, a man from Aurora, Colorado
Aurora, Colorado
City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
who did not receive a copy of the game at his local Best Buy, despite pre-ordering it, claimed to be so angry that he "could blow this place up". He was also reported as having threatened to shoot employees once they left the store. Lomon Sar, aged 31, was issued a citation and court summons by police responding to the disturbance.
Retail versions
Modern Warfare 3 was released in two different retail versions across the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
platforms: Standard and Hardened. The standard version consists of the game and an instructional manual, and is the only version available for the Microsoft Windows platform. Contents within the Hardened Edition include the game disc with "unique art", one year membership to Call of Duty: Elite, "special founder status" on Call of Duty: Elite which includes an exclusive in-game emblem, playercard, weapon camouflage, clan XP boost, and more exclusive benefits, premium collectible Steelbook case, exclusive PSN animated timeline theme for PS3 only, exclusive Spec Ops Juggernaut Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
avatar outfit for Xbox 360 only, and a limited edition, collectible field journal, which chronicles "the entire saga with 100+ pages of authentic military sketches, diagrams, and written entries."
Robert Bowling of Infinity Ward confirmed that there will be no Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 3. In the past, the Prestige editions of previous Call of Duty games have included physical items such as a remote-controlled car for Black Ops, and a pair of night vision goggles and a life-sized plastic head to put them on for Modern Warfare 2.
On August 19, 2011, UK retailer GAME
GAME (retailer)
The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....
announced an Intel Pack of Modern Warfare 3. It comes with a British special forces avatar for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, as well as a Brady strategy guide. On September 3, 2011, Activision and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited Modern Warfare 3 version of the Xbox 360 with a 320GB hard disk. The unit is designed by the Call of Duty team and includes two custom wireless controllers, a copy of Modern Warfare 3 and features custom sounds when the console is turned on/off or when the disc tray is ejected. A one month subscription to Xbox Live Gold is also included, as well as exclusive avatar items.
Sales and revenue
Activision has said that it believes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 day-one shipments were the largest for any game ever. "The record number of pre-orders from Modern Warfare 3 drove the largest day-one shipments in our history, and in the industry's history," said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg during an earnings call on November 8, 2011. Hirshberg said more than 1.5 million people queued at 13,000 shops at midnight on Monday to buy Modern Warfare 3, "making it the largest retail release in Activision's history and in the industry's history".Activision reported sales figures for Modern Warfare 3 in the US and UK being more than 6.5 million copies sold on launch day and grossed $400 million in the US and UK alone in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time. It is the third year in a row that the Call Of Duty series has broken the same record. 2010's Black Ops grossed $360 million on day one; in 2009, Modern Warfare 2 brought in $310 million. Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., formerly Activision, Inc. is the American holding company for Activision and Blizzard Entertainment. The company is majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA and was created through the merger of Activision and Vivendi Games, announced on December 2, 2007, in a...
president and CEO Robert Kotick
Robert Kotick
Robert A. Kotick , also known as Bobby Kotick, is the CEO, president, and a director of Activision Blizzard.- Early career :...
stated that "the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we [Activision] achieved this record with sales from only two territories."
The title grossed more than $775 million globally in its first five days of availability, exceeding the $650 million record set by 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops and the $550 million one achieved by 2009's Modern Warfare 2. To be exact, it has beaten theatrical box office, book, and video game sales records for five-day worldwide sell-through in dollars.
Modern Warfare 3 topped the UK video game sales chart in its first week. By November 21, the game remained the bestselling title in the United Kingdom, despite sales dropping by 87%. Modern Warfare 3 held the top spot for a third week running, which Black Ops failed to manage when it was replaced at the top by Gran Turismo 5. The PS3 version of Modern Warfare 3 also topped the Japanese chart in its first week on sale. The PS3 version shifted 180,372 copies, while the Xbox 360 version sold around 30,000.
Reception
Modern Warfare 3 has received generally positive reviews from critics, currently holding aggregated scores of 89% for the Xbox 360 version, 88% for the PS3 version, 82% for the PC version, and 66% for the Wii version on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
gave the game's Xbox 360 version 5 stars out of 5, stating, "The series has always been renowned for elements like the excellent sound design, the gloss, polish and compulsion of its gameplay, but with Modern Warfare 3, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have created a game that not only lives up to the brand hype but exceeds it. A game where the mass appeal is justified, and the expectations are met."
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game's Xbox 360 version a 9.0 out of 10.0, pointing out that the game offers "great multiplayer, [a] fun campaign, tons of content, but [also] a forgettable story."
GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
qualifies the game, stating that "the series' signature thrills have lost some of their luster. Modern Warfare 3 iterates rather than innovates, so the fun you have is familiar" but concludes its review by affirming that, "Fortunately, [the game is] also utterly engrossing and immensely satisfying, giving fans another reason to rejoice in this busy shooter season.".
The Wii version of the game has not gotten as positive reviews. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated the game a 4.5 out of 10, blaming the lacking graphics and poor friend code system for bringing it down.