Is Modern Warfare 3 worth it?

Activision’s 2023 Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 3, has had many questions thrown its way, along with confusion, derision, and curiosity. Should you play Modern Warfare 3 and pick it up? Let me talk to you.

Hear me out: Yes, I’ve sensed the rumblings and whispers in the dark cursing MW3 for being nothing more than glorified DLC being charged at a premium. From an outsider’s perspective, Modern Warfare 3 has that vibe, but once you tuck into the bountiful buffet, the sum of its parts is greater than the whole.

It’s almost a smoke and mirrors act in many ways. MW3 has various game modes, it’s rammed full of nostalgia, and it has a promising future. But is it enough to warrant paying full price for MW3?

Is Modern Warfare 3 buying?

I can flat-out tell you that I think it’s worth buying MW3, but the value and enjoyment you get out of the experience may depend on your sensibilities and CoD preferences.

Campaign

Modern Warfare 3 is not worth buying if you want a long, immersive, single-player-FPS experience. As someone who’s played every single, and I do mean every, CoD campaign, this ranks among the worst. It’s short, the new Open Combat missions feel like glorified Warzone, and it just lacks memorable moments and missions.

Believe me, I always play the CoD campaign before I set foot online. I was able to polish off the campaign in a single, relatively short sitting. It won’t take you long, but the cinematics and story are decent—mainly because I love these characters. So it’s worth playing, but definitely not a selling point of MW3.

Zombies

Now to the good stuff. What should’ve been a lazy, repackaged DMZ mode has turned into a breath of fresh air that even big-name streamers are enjoying. Ticking off missions is chill, it has cool secrets to find, there are fun bosses like the Stormcaller and Mega Abomination, and it becomes easy to reel off one insertion after another.

The ability to unlock Schematics and Acquisitions to speed up your next game is a brilliant feature too. Modern Warfare 3 season one is also adding new content, with much more to come.

Even if you’re not the biggest Zombies fan, distancing itself from round-based Zombies has breathed new life into Treyarch’s terrific Outbreak concept and expanded upon it. I love the mode, it’s where I’ve spent the most time, and the age of Aether is set to be an engrossing prospect.

Multiplayer

A bone of contention for some, a reminder of happy, youthful days for others. The decision to make all of Modern Warfare 3‘s launch maps all of the OG MW2 maps sparked a mix of indifference and elation. I lean more toward the welcoming side of things, but I can appreciate where the negativity comes from.

If you loved or hated the 2009 Modern Warfare 2 maps, then you’ll feel the same here—which is a testament to their faithful recreation. For instance, I hated Afghan back in the day, and still hate it now. But I love Highrise, Rust, Favela, Karachi, Sub-Base, and so many others.

It’s a smart move from Activision in many ways. Why waste precious resources manufacturing new maps that could be met with volatility, when you can give the people what they already love? Additionally, new maps are coming anyway. MW3 season one added new maps in Meat, Greece, and Training Facility, with more new maps promised with every passing season.

All in all, there is more than enough content here to get your money’s worth, with a lot of it being brand new. if you enjoy CoD, you’ll like this, if you enjoy Zombies, you’ll like this, if you enjoyed MW2 2009, you’ll enjoy this. As I said, your estimation of 2023’s Modern Warfare 3 will vary, but in any case, I’d say it’s safe to go wild for some warfare.