If the 2019 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot and last year’s sequel were triumphant comebacks, then first impressions of Modern Warfare III’s campaign are a bit more hit-and-miss. The band is still back together, with heroes Price, Soap, Ghost and Gaz all seeing action, with strong support from fan favourites Farah and Keller. What’s more, Modern Warfare III resurrects CoD’s most legendary villain, Makarov. But where Modern Warfare II went big in the style of a Mission Impossible movie, with each dramatic chase and set-piece topping the one before, its sequel seems to be working on a tighter budget, backing up the industry rumours that it started off as an expansion pack.
The big surprise is how the campaign plays out. Roughly half the missions follow the usual Call of Duty template, where you’re hustled along from one objective to the next, blasting every gun-toting goon that wanders into line of sight. There’s plenty of chatter from the rest of the gang, with the action broken up by epic moments and nail-biting battles designed to make you feel like you’re in the middle of a high-tech action thriller.
