Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Hands-On | E3 2011

From the Vault — originally published June 12, 2011. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 was shown only behind closed doors this year at E3. The initial presentation consisted of the section featured in the Microsoft Xbox press conference. Its the section where the marines infiltrate the sub and escape on the rafts. After that we got a chance to watch them play through a section called “Mind The gap” which went through an urban industrial area and then a subway car chase that ends in a train car crash.

The game did look a bit better than previous Call of Duty games though not huge leap. The developers confirmed that Modern Warfare 3 will stay true to previous games and will also run at 60fps. There was nothing that stood out as a major new mechanic added to the single player section they showed.

After the single player presentation we entered a separate room where co-op stations were set up running the new “Special Ops” mode. The map we played was called “Dome” and Special Ops is akin to a horde or survival type of mode where players and friends take on waves and waves of enemies to see how many points they can rack up before they are both killed.

There are many similarities to the zombie mode of old in that you can use points earned throughout the waves to purchase weapons, ammo and weapon upgrades from the armory. The armory are weapon chests that are scattered across the map. To mix things up even more you can deploy turrets that auto target enemies though must be supported or will be taken out. I was surprised that the ability to deploy turrets was included but was a nice surprise. The “Rampage” meter is also a new addition to Special Ops that rewards players for killing enemies within a set time limit. Its similar to and works kind of like a killing spree combo meter. Also included are boss fights at the end of some waves. It was very surprising to see though awesome. One boss fight consisted of taking out two helicopters. Other enemies included are juggernauts that are suited up combatants in big bomb suits like those worn in the Hurt Locker movie. There are also Chemwar enemies that have chemical tanks that create poison clouds and explode when shot. I had much more fun than I expected to have playing the special ops mode.

At the end of the preview I left feeling like Modern Warfare 3 will end up being a very slightly incremental improvement over previous Call of Duty games in both form and function. There are no big wow’s and most of it that looked just like what we have seen before though everything that was shown looked solid and polished. Fans that want more of the same will be pleased. Those that expect a much bigger, better, and more bad ass Call of Duty Modern Warfare game may be disappointed this fall.