Right then - MW3's campaign mode.
I remember saying after MW2 (and indeed Black Ops) that the single player mode was almost an add-on these days, and nothing whatsoever has changed. In fact, I'd argue that it's actually got worse in that respect. It's almost like a trailer for what the graphics engine can do, showcasing some weapons, telling us how great Americans are and Eastern Europeans are a bit shifty.
Almost every single mission sees you following an indestructible NPC. Work your way through a building, before enemies appear above you on rooves, through windows, around corners, hid behind desks etc etc etc. Sound familiar? Well it bloody well should do. There isn't a single level that stands out as anything new or original. The best level of any CoD campaign so far is easily All Ghillied Up (sniping in Chernobyl), and it's quite amusing to see how often Infinity Ward try and copy it. But All Ghillied Up was a level from 2007, and no matter how hard they try, they don't ever get close to the drama and freshness of that level.
There are quite a few vehicle sections, but again - there's absolutely nothing new about any of them. I even thought Black Ops did certain sections better - a boat across the Hudson River < riding down the Mekong with the Rolling Stones blaring out. An AC-130 above the streets of Gay Paree - very nice, but we've had this before in MW2. I didn't even have to check how to toggle between the weapons as it's exactly the same.
A key character dies. There - I've spoiled it for you, haven't I? Well, no I haven't - because a key character dies in all CoD games nowadays. In fact, as you're playing through it, you keep thinking 'hurry up and kill off a key character - we haven't seen that happen in a while.' And when it does, it hardly tugged on the heartstrings. You don't particularly care about any of the characters in fact, and I'd argue that's been the case since CoD4 - MW2 was just too bloody confusing to care about who was doing what.
The plot - if you can call it that - isn't as complicated as MW2s, so it's improved in that respect, but it's so extremely thin and 2-dimensional that I can sum in up in a single sentence: it's World War 3, cities all over the world are warzones, and Makarov - the instigator of all this mess - is a bit of a wanker. That's about it.
All in all, it's just so very predictable and dare I say dated. And RIDICULOUSLY short. It took me just over 5 hours - I have been known to clock in longer multiplayer sessions in a single evening.
Anyway - there are good bits to the campaign, yes? Undoubtedly - aesthetically it's excellent. The scale of some of the battles is very impressive indeed, and the best point of all is the way they have absolutely nailed the character of major cities across the globe. Paris is brilliant (even with poisonous gas in the air), London even more so (though a bit reminiscent of 7/7, though you could argue that the New York sections have more than a bit in common with 9/11. I suppose it's war after all). The action does take you to all sort of weird and wonderful environments - the backdrops certainly aren't samey, even if the action in and around them is.
It's worth mentioning the 'controversial' scene that a few people (and no doubt some tabloids) will pick up on. I'm going to tell you what it is, as it hardly ruins the 'plot'. Taken via a camcorder, you see an American family on holiday in London with Big Ben in the background being all happy. How lovely. Then a van pulls up. Bang. You can guess what happens! But although this will be called 'shocking' in different sections of the media, it is far too schmaltzy to be anything more than mildly amusing IMHO. (As an aside - why do they have to be American?!). It's a pointless scene - and blatantly put in there to try and cause controversy. Personally, I thought it was lazy and unnecessary.
So there we go - a wholly unoriginal, predictable, testosterone-laden yarn that you can easily get through in a single sitting. Disappointing? Maybe, but I didn't expect anything else. And no-one should bother buying a CoD game if they don't intend to jump into the multiplayer. There is absolutely no point whatsoever buying this game if this little side-quest away from the online element is the only one you'll experience.
I would really hope that the next CoD game just gets rid of the campaign mode altogether, as it's becoming a irritating distraction from the real business - the multiplayer. Which is absolutely ace. But that's for later once I've played all maps several times over.
) and then see if it's worth the money. With Skyrim coming up and a broken PS3 I can't waste my money.
