Yesterday, we took a look at the current state of Battlefield 3. Today, we're putting our eye on the Modern Warfare 3 online experience. Almost a month after its release, let's take a look at what's working and what's still an issue with the newest Call of Duty.
Triumphs
- Kill Confirmed: Modern Warfare 3 didn't introduce many new multiplayer modes, but this one was a definite hit. If you take a look at the playlists, it almost gets hit as hard as fan favorite Domination (both modes are far behind the super-popular Team Deathmatch, however). Kill Confirmed offers a small tweak to the standard TDM gameplay, but it was enough to catch the interest of the multiplayer crowd.
- Killstreak overhaul: Ever since Call of Duty 4, the killstreak system has been a subject of debate amongst the series' faithful. They can be a blast to use if you're having a good round, but they can be infuriating if the skies are constantly littered with the opposing team's tools of destruction. With the new Support package that encourages team play, the killstreak system is more accessible for players that aren't racking up 5+ kills during every life. Even better is the fact that most of the Support rewards are defensive in nature, which makes it easier to keep the airspace clear of annoying threats.
- Elite's features: If you're the type that likes to study heat maps and obsess over your K/D ratio, Elite offers an absurd amount of information. Even if you're not paying for the premium features of the service, you can still track your progress across multiple Call of Duty titles, join or start clans, obsess over leaderboard stats, or customize your created class on the fly and push it to the game. You can pick up and play MW3 and get a great experience without ever touching Elite, but the tools are all there for those that want to get serious about the game.
- Lack of lag: Activision is well-aware of how popular its biggest franchise is, and clearly prepared for its success when it comes to servers. Lag is virtually non-existent in most matches, and host migration works great. So many Call of Duty fans run straight to multiplayer as soon as they get home with the game, so it's fantastic that they were able to play with minimal issues from day one.
- Feedback: When a series has this many fans, its developer is bound to receive countless questions. Thankfully, Infinity Ward has been speedy and thorough when it comes down to responding to fans. This is in no small part thanks to Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward's creative strategist. One look at his Twitter feed makes it clear that he spends an insane amount of time communicating with fans, answering questions and addressing concerns on a near constant basis.
Problems
- Elite's launch: If you head over to the Elite website today, everything appears to be running smoothly. As anyone who tried to log on in the first several weeks found out, however, that wasn't always the case. It wasn't just a matter of certain features not working correctly, it was the entire service as a whole. The problems were so unavoidable that Activision eventually offered all paying members an extra month for free. Thankfully, these issues seem to be greatly reduced or nonexistent as of this week.
- Spawn issues: Once killstreak rewards became plentiful in Modern Warfare 2, players began complaining about dying within seconds of spawning. While MW3 has lessened the frequency of this, it hasn't been completely eradicated. It won't be every round, but don't be surprised if you spawn directly underneath a stealth bombing run or next to a bouncing betty every once in a while.
- Sabotage: While Kill Confirmed is bringing the players in, this returning mode is floundering. Even during peak hours, you'll see only a few thousand players partaking in this mode. Considering you'll see TDM numbers in the six figures and Kill Confirmed and Domination regularly hovering around 50,000+, it's a sure sign that fans aren't particularly interested in Sabotage.
Performance
As expected, Modern Warfare 3 has been trouncing everything on Major Nelson's Xbox Live activity reports ever since its release. Not only has the newest Call of Duty outperformed Battlefield 3 in Live activity, but its predecessor Black Ops has been as well.
Balancing
On my retail build of MW3 on Xbox 360, I'm sitting around level 40 (no prestige). Despite this, I regularly find myself placed on teams of similarly-leveled players while we take on dream teams that have prestiged multiple times. Rounds that are this lopsided are rarely fun, as one side is mercilessly pummeled by the more-experienced half.
Best Maps
Reaction to the new maps has been predictably mixed, with some offering praise and others being borderline hostile. While maps like Downturn and Village are frequently criticized, others like Arkaden, Interchange, and Dome have their share of fans. Regardless of their stance on the current maps, we imagine most Call of Duty fans are looking forward to...
Map Pack Timeline
Those that purchased the Hardened Edition of Modern Warfare 3 or pay for the premium Elite service can look forward to the upcoming maps at no additional charge. For those that didn't opt for those purchases, they can choose to buy each of the upcoming DLC packs individually. Details are scarce regarding the timeline and schedule of the upcoming packs, but previous years would indicate we can expect around 3-4 packs of 5 maps for approximately $15 each.