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Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360)

Its taste for the spectacular is on another level.

Pretty soon, shooters are going to reach a terminal velocity. Think about it - we've now got a full generation of gamers raised on Wolfenstein 3D through to Doom, via Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Rise of the Triad (YES, RISE OF THE TRIAD!) and more right up to today's super charged, epic instalments of unit shifting greatness.

Think about it. At what age did you perfect the circle strafe? When was the last time you actually 'struggled' through a single player campaign? When was the last time you were surprised by an enemy assault? If you're under 30 years old, you've been brought up in a world of first person shooters. Some of us remember that fateful day you could actually look up. There's very few dice, gameplay wise, left to throw.



The beauty of Modern Warfare is it's storytelling. With a cast of characters you actually find yourself caring about, when it's right it's near perfect. Even though its arc has become more than a little far fetched (Russians invading the west - is it 1960 guys?), MW3's taste for the spectacular is on another level. While the game engine may not be the flashiest mover on the bock these days, it's quick (60 fps!), it's bombastic and - more than anything else - it's absolutely huge.

Picking up right off the back of MW2, the player finds themselves in a World War Three scenario, with a worldwide story that remarkably manages to stay reasonably close to coherent. A game where nothing can happen without being turned up to eleven, one could quite easily compare MW3 to a Hollywood blockbuster - packed with explosive grandstand moments.



Multiplayer has more new tricks up it's sleeve - and it's a good job too. With Battlefield 3 fresh out of the traps, progression is the order of the day. XP is relatively easy to come by, with every item, weapon or perk able to be bettered with a bit of action. The killstreaks bonuses have been calmed down slightly, with more attention to control - the option to select 'Strike Packages' an important new feature. New modes including Kill Confirmed - adding a touch of strategy to Team Deathmatch - are a welcome addition, though collecting dog tags seems somewhat familiar.

Of course, everyone will compare MW3 with Battlefield 3. In single player there's no comparison - BF3's almost rails like campaign letting it down in comparison to a stellar multiplayer mode. While next time out it would be better to see the established old warhorse throw some new ideas into the offline mix, Call of Duty can still claim to be the best all round player in it's class - even if that class is becoming more predictable by the day.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available now for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Rating: 8/10