Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360) Preview

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 09.07.2011

Hands On: Modern Warfare 3, one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, is set to release on November 8th! But how is Activision's latest looking so far? 411's Jeffrey Harris checks in with his full hands-on preview!

While at Call of Duty XP, Activision previewed the multiplayer and co-op versions of the new upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game, and I was pretty excited. Only the Xbox 360 version of the game was available for demo and sampling purposes. Needless to say the multiplayer looked fantastic, so hardcore gamers and fans of the franchise should be pretty satisfied come November. Now if only I actually had skills at multiplayer:



The multiplayer mode puts heavy emphasis not just on the multiplayer maps and gameplay, but also through the extremely amped up Strike Package and Weapons Proficiency Systems. We got the chance to check out the bells and whistles of the multiplayer as well. Multiplayer will also allow for greater customization of your gameplay. They will also allow you get a more optimized performance by examining the maps more carefully and looking where hits and kills are more likely to take place on the multiplayer maps. You will also be able to connect and comment with your friends on Facebook. There are new new Strike Point packages: Assault, Support, and Strike Specialist. The Strike Packages will be based on the types of kill streaks you achieve and will let gamers unlock new perks. New perks let you remain undetectable from air strikes or attacks or letting you aim faster while running or get longer range when identifying targets.



Multiplayer will still feature game modes such as free for all, team death match, and match domination but also Kill Confirmed and Team Defender as new multiplayer game modes. In Kill Confirmed you have to collect the dog tags of your kills for your team. Team Defender is a capture and protect the flag type of game mode. I think Kill Confirmed is an especially cool new game mode and seems rather obvious for a franchise like Call of Duty. There are also new private match game modes such as Infection where you battle Infected enemies who try to infect and convert team members and Gun Game where the object is to be the first to dominate with every gun. I'm especially excited about Infection mode. It also looks like multiplayer will also allow creater customization for private matches. From what I can tell, Elite subscribers of the game will be able to vote on favorite modes that can eventually be released on public playlists.



The multiplayer demo also let you try out the two-player co-op gameplay as well. There is Survival Mode where you have to battle an onslaught and multiple waves of enemies. Mission Mode lets you team up missions that are trial and objective based. You can choose various maps of different sizes. I really like how the map sizes turned out. Even the medium sized maps have a nice bit of space to them.



The multiplayer graphics look great. The new maps look great and even the medium sized ones look especially big. Team tactics and strategy are a must. Some great features to the multiplayer are controlling drones or predators to attack your foes or enemies. In addition you can also call in for like a delta squad assist. So a chopper will drop a bunch of soldiers right into the middle of your gameplay to help clear the area and assist. Weapons choice is really important. And you also have to be careful about expending ammo. There are stations in the maps where you can upgrade your armor or grenades and refill your ammo or buy new weapons. The assault rifle makes for a good weapon to efficiently cut down enemies. I'm always partial to shotguns though for their kick and strength.



The multiplayer has turned out really well and the sheer amount of replay value it offers for the game looks insane. The online content looks more stacked than ever in everything you can do from taking videos of your best plays as well as interacting with a massive fanbase and community. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is due out on Xbox 360, PS3, Windows PC, and Nintendo Wii on November 8.

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All 14 Xbox 360 Screenshots