Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 review

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED games of the year, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 has finally arrived and we've had a chance to get to grips with the first person shooter.

We'll start with the single player campaign which, for fans of the series, starts where Modern Warfare 2 left off. There are the classically well made cinematic cut scenes and as the game starts you get some nice flashbacks to previous parts of the story. It's essentially the US versus Russia and the campaign takes place in various locations around the globe. You start in a stunning looking New York with other famous cities such as Paris, Berlin and London coming later in the game.

We don't want to give away or spoil the plot of MW3 so we'll let you experience the game for yourself. However, the game plays as we would expect a CoD title to play and will be instantly familiar for long time players. The level of scale, detail and realism are truly amazing with subtle elements like clothing material making you feel even more a part of the game.

The single player mode will grip players right from the start, especially if they've played previous MW titles. The game play sticks to the winning formula that has made the series such a roaring success. The game's multiplayer mode has been tweaked and expanded the most, though.

We won't go through them all but there are over 40 different weapons and as usual you can unlock different attachments, camouflage and reticules for customisation. Some of the weapons are brand new for MW3 with some interesting additions including the 'bouncing betty' grenade and the Trophy anti-grenade, anti-RPG turret.

In addition there are new 'Weapon Proficiencies' that allow players to rank up individual guns as they are used. Theses are particular attributes that you can add to a specific, probably favourite, weapon. Proficiencies include improved range, better stability and reduced recoil. This is a nice extra level to the system and it takes customisation a step further.

However, the biggest change to the multiplayer mode has to be 'Strike Packages'. Killstreaks have been replaced with a new method of earning bonuses that is based on points. As you will probably know, players previously had to string together kills without dying to get extras such as team radar. Now, players can choose an option that suits their play style to get tailored rewards instead of needing to be merely a killing machine. After all, some game modes are about more than just deaths.

Strike Packages come in three categories, which are Assault, Support and Specialist. The former is the fairly traditional approach based on damage and resets on death. Support rewards surveillance and disruption, so team players can gain rewards by capturing points and similar tasks and does not reset when you die. Specialist gives players Pro versions of regular perks that can be used until death.