Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Platform: Wii

I remember when the first Call of Duty game came out, it was in 1953 I think. There was uproar of course, given that WW2 had just finished. People just weren't ready for a game where you go around shooting people.

The graphics were very basic back then, very "blocky". The online play was slow, and some people felt uncomfortable if they had to play as the Nazis. Having to use an old fashioned d-pad with only one button didn't help the gameplay as well.

All that's changed now. The previous [Wii] game in the series, 'Black Ops', made up for a rather straightforward single player campaign with a good story and superb online play including a good range of weapons and pretty good maps that don't play too much into the hands of "campers", the scourge of online FPSs. The graphics weren't great but they were clear; you couldn't blame the graphics for getting killed.

What's first noticeable about 'MW3' is that the graphics are much better than on 'Black Ops'. The single player campaign is still pretty easy though, and unlike on the Wii's other major FPS 'Goldeneye', you can't really choose what tactics to employ when playing the game, it's pretty much all laid out for you, almost like a rail-shooter.

How about the online? There lies the problem with this game. There's now more maps (16 compared to 14 on 'Black Ops' and 8 on 'Goldeneye'), but most of them are too big. The maps themselves are much more complex than on 'Black Ops' (lots more buildings), but this just leads to lots of people camping and not really getting involved in the game properly, especially in the objective game modes, meaning it can be incredibly frustrating to play. The graphics are very good for the Wii, but there's way too many dark places where people hide. Also, the balancing of the teams when playing online is terrible; most games are wildly unbalanced because one team seems to get all the best players, even in the games that don't allow parties. There's a fair range of guns but many of them are useless, and the weapons upgrade/attachments system isn't as simple or effective as on 'Black Ops' or 'Goldeneye'.

Ultimately, this game is decent but much less enjoyable than 'Black Ops'. The single player campaign isn't terrible but not anywhere near as interesting either story-wise or in terms of gameplay, and the same goes for the online multiplayer.

Rating: 3/5