The Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Crime Boss: Rockay City. Modern Warfare 3’s critical reception sits among those games near the bottom of the 442 games that have earned a Metacritic rating so far in 2023. Some games are missing from the list like Skull Island: Rise of Kong, but it appears that game doesn’t have enough critical reviews to be included.
Modern Warfare 3’s Metacritic User Score is even worse at 1.6. Most user scores call the game a $70 DLC pack or slam the lackluster story. Both points are hard to argue with. Most of the pushback can be traced to the price tag. $70 feels way too much for a short campaign, a batch of remastered multiplayer maps, and DMZ turned Zombies mode. A $30/40 price point could have avoided a lot of this response from critics and the community.
Steam’s user reviews for the aren’t much better. If you filter Call of Duty reviews since November 1, it sits at 36% with a ‘Mostly Negative’ rating. Again, complaints focus on the campaign and how the game feels like a DLC for Modern Warfare 2.
That DLC comments stem from early 2022 when it was reported that Call of Duty would skip an annual release in 2023. This ultimately did not happen, and instead, a bunch of studios led by Sledgehammer Games rushed to get Modern Warfare 3 ready.
Here’s a quick look at how Modern Warfare 3’s Metacritic Score stacks up against other recent franchise entries:
- Modern Warfare 3: 53
- Modern Warfare 2 (2022): 75
- Vanguard: 73
- Modern Warfare (2019): 80
- Black Ops 4: 83
We’ll see what metrics Xbox (who recently finalized the acquisition of Activision Blizzard) announces and how it compares to previous Call of Duty games. SteamCharts shows a slightly higher pop than what we saw during the open beta a few weeks ago.
While the complaints are loud, Call of Duty is a cultural staple in the gaming industry. Millions will buy it no matter what.
Is Modern Warfare 3 worth the $70 price tag? Yes, but only if you enjoy the multiplayer. If you want to play it for the story, wait for a deep sale or when the game inevitably comes to Game Pass next year. The multiplayer is the saving grace here. But it’s not without its issues. Whoever thought putting perks and equipment behind daily challenges was a good idea – don’t listen to them anymore.
Featured image credit: Activision