MW3Blog

Modern Warfare 3 was released onto store shelves with record-breaking numbers. Some people already have gone through the single player story campaign, and have already beaten the game. Gamers are already asking: “What’s next for Call of Duty?” Oh, you mean, Modern Warfare.

Before you continue reading, make sure you played Modern Warfare 3′s story campaign. What I am about to discuss is the nature of the story. Spoilers ahead, you have been warned.

I’ll start from the beginning where cliffhangers begun. In Modern Warfare 2, there were few plot holes in the story: What did Makarov mean by “This isn’t just a message?” And where was Makarov when you [Joseph Allen] were shot by him. This cliffhanger hung over the remainder of the game. No closure, no ending, nothing. You killed Shepherd at the end, to be sure, but there were still questions.

It was answered in Modern Warfare 3 throughout the entire game. One in particular is towards the end of the game. You play as Yuri almost the entire game. Yuri was recruited to Task Force 141 based on trust by Soap. Yuri was helping Soap in the overwatch spot in a church, trying to help Price infiltrate the Hotel Lustig trying to get close to Kamarov. At that moment Makarov makes his appearance known. Makarov starts to call out Yuri, and both Yuri, Soap makes their escape.

It was only minutes later, Price gets enraged, and punches Yuri down the stairs. Price then starts asking “How does Makarov know you?” Yuri then starts having flashbacks starting from the attempted sniping of Imran Zakhaev, then the nuclear bomb that killed 30,000 Marines, however, he tried to stop the massacre at the Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow after being shot by Makarov. This plot twist makes everything seem like it makes sense.

Why? Because people complained about Modern Warfare 3′s graphics being “cut and paste” from Modern Warfare 2, and likewise a “new coat of paint.” But in reality, the developers was trying to keep the consistency intact. Notice that in the flashbacks, the graphics were all intact? We now have a new perspective in the COD4, and MW2 stories than we would have thought.

I don’t think MW3 was designed to be yet, another Modern Warfare game. A marketing gimmick, if you will. World War 3 was a major theme in MW3, and likewise a smart marketing move by Activision. I think Activision was trying to finish off the Modern Warfare story, to make way for a new trilogy in the Modern Warfare series. By doing this, Activision really have opened a door to a new trilogy, and by large: A new engine. There is no cliffhangers, everything is Case Closed.

The next Modern Warfare game is going to be a completely new game, a completely new story, a completely new engine. Everything wiped clean.

I have a feeling that the next Modern Warfare game is going to be on a new console, since we’re only a few years away from the next Xbox, or the next PlayStation console.

I wrote this article in light of people talking about possibilities of the next Call of Duty. Only after a week, people are already discussing the possibility of Modern Warfare 4? One story on our forums is calling COD4 “MW4.” See for yourself. People are questioning the future of Modern Warfare because there’s no indication of a sequel.

One of the things that has been the stable of the Call of Duty series is on-the-fly weapon customization. You could put a Red Dot Sight on a MP5 in COD4, you can put a camo on that MP5. In Modern Warfare 2, you can put a silencer on an intervention even though that you already put a special scope in already. But what about weapon upgrades? In real life, it’s possible to adjust your sniper rifle to be able to see 50 feet from your position. Modern Warfare 3 addresses this directly by not only allowing you to upgrade your weapon through stats upgrades, but also through proficiency classes. These classes help the type of proficiency you’ve selected become more …mature. We all know that “practice makes perfect.” This was true in COD4, it wasn’t in MW2, the developers of MW3 want you to be a better player by helping along your proficiency.

Without further ado, the behind the scenes video of Weapon Progression. Enjoy!

We are days away from Modern Warfare 3 worldwide launch! It’s getting closer, and closer, ladies and gentlemen!

P.S. Notice, that in the video, you’ll see new maps…

At Call of Duty XP last week, Modern Warfare 3′s anticipated multiplayer reveal was met with a lot of fans trying to get information, leaks, and trailers out. It was hard to keep up and keep track of the news. It was crazy.

Basically, it was information overload. Instead of joining the crazyness, I decided to wait a little longer. For the sake of bringing you quality articles, and detailed look at each trailer released.

This is what we know from the trailer:

Dual Wielding returns; FNG9 is an automatic weapon
Kill Confirmed is a multiplayer matchtype; I’ll get to that later
M1BA4 is in
Your Callsigns are smaller, but is more useful this time around
Blind Eye Pro is in
Quickdraw Pro is in
Steady Aim Pro is in
There’s this “kick” symbol? Is this a new killcam feature?
Not sure what it does, but there’s an Escort Airdrop killstreak (18 points)
You gain points for “bullseye” kills; 500 points a pop
If someone plants a bomb, the HUD tells you so, it’s not limited to just bombsite indicator
First Blood returns
Headshots are 500 points, also
Payback also nets you points; 250 a pop
CM901 is in
Buzzkill returns; they’re 200 points each
There’s a 2 point streak class; Stalker killstreak is unlocked at 2 points, in the video they’re using the pro streak
Remote Turret is in
M16A4 returns
Remote Missile Launcher is in, and you have a choice between a machine gun or a missile
SCAR-L is in; in MW2 the model of the SCAR was SCAR-H
UAV is upgraded with “Advanced UAV” KillStreak (11 points)
Remote Helicopter is in
I stress that Juggernaut is a killstreak, there are two levels of Juggernaut:
1. Equipped with M60E4 LMG and MP412 handgun, you are now in a juggernaut suit, and you have a riot shield too. Your vision is now limited. Very limited (15 kills)
2. Equipped with a USP .45, you [once again] are in a juggernaut suit, and you also have a riot shield (18 Kills)
They are both in two different Strike Packages; Assault Strike and Support Strike Packages.

Stay tuned for more about Modern Warfare 3 as we get closer, and closer to the release of MW3.

People have been asking for it for months. When Activision released the Spec Ops trailer, people still begged for Multiplayer. People were pessimistic since Call of Duty’s rival, Battlefield 3 has already revealed parts of multiplayer, and then there has been lots, and I mean lots of leaks surrounding the Multiplayer Beta. So then, at GamesCom, nothing could stop Battlefield 3 from being extremely popular. This rivalry has been going on since Spring of this year.

Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Activision has been keeping the multiplayer aspect of Modern Warfare 3 secret for quite some time. And it’s quite obvious why.

Without further Ado…

The World Premiere of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is here!

So far, this is what we know about MW3 Multiplayer:

M4 is a primary weapon
M320 GLM is a secondary weapon
flash grenade returns
frag grenade returns
Clan System evident; you can be a clan leader
KillStreak Rewards has classes
UAV returns (3 kills)
AH-6 Overwatch (9 kills)
As we’ve learned in the Spec Ops trailer, Juggernaut is a killstreak at 15 kills
It shows that you can use a cellphone – we don’t really know what for, tho
[Thanks to comments, I can confirm it's UAV, I thought it was entirely something else]
Throwing Knife returns
You can now pick up Dog Tags – we don’t really know how yet
A modern version of bouncing betty is in
Specific equipment are Elite exclusive, such as optimal goggles
EMP Grenade is in
Extreme Conditioning returns
Assassin is in
SitRep returns
You can lay traps now with AirDrop Trap (7 kills)
Remote Turret is in (9 kills)
EMP is now a killstreak (11 kills)
Different costumes it looks like
Capture the Flag returns
A modified ACR known as ACR 6.8 is in
XM25 is a secondary weapon
Claymore returns
Ballistic Vests are in (It’s not a perk, it’s a killstreak at 5 kills)
Recon Drone is in (10 kills)
Stealth Bomber is in (14 kills)
Chickens seem to have a place in MW3 (Possible interactive environments?)
Blast Shield is in
Dead Silence is in
Team Deathmatch returns
Ground War returns
Your proficency can be focus, or attachments, or something else
Dragunov is now a secondary weapon (correction: It’s an overkill slot)
I’m not sure what Trophy System is, but it’s in
Upgradeable perks return; they’re once again known as ‘Pro’
Blind Eye Pro is in
Overkill Pro is in (meaning Overkill returns, you can carry two secondaries)
SitRep Pro returns
Upgradeable killstreaks are in; they’re known as ‘Pro’ just like Perks
Scavenger Pro(2 kills)
Steady Aim Pro (4 kills)
Marksman Pro (6 kills) Not sure what Marksman is, we’ll know more soon
I have a feeling this marksman killstreak has a lot to do with that mysterious sniper that keeps poppin’ in the video
Heartbeat Sensor returns

There’s a lot of firefights in the background, so this actually supports the notion that the maximum amount of players is 32.

Raven Software is nowhere to be seen in credits as the video closes. What the hell?

Stay tuned for more, because CODXP is literally hours away!

This article is a continuation of my previous article about the ongoing court battle over Activision’s various activities regarding ex-Infinity Ward executives. May 23rd was the start of that lawsuit. There was not a lot of information available until someone discovered a wiki entry for the Call of Duty lore.

Let’s start with the stipulations of the lawsuit. Because it’s quite interesting. According to the entry:

If West and Zampella win, the two will be compensated for the royalty payments, and also retain their creative rights to the Modern Warfare series. What that could mean for Modern Warfare 3 is unclear.

Actually, it IS clear. There’s a reason why Activision decided to use the “MW3″ sub-title; its not just a marketing stunt, they have no choice but to go to a plan B. Robert Bowling said in an interview that the Box Art is not final. So if for whatever reason Activision and the duo decides to come to an agreement, they can probably use “Modern Warfare 3.” That might come with a price, though. However if the duo and EA loses:

If Activision wins, then West, Zampella, and EA would have to provide Activision with a hefty sum of money – over $400 million.

This means that whatever Respawn has cookin’ under wraps is going to have to take a backburner and the duo would have to essentially work for EA. This actually coincides with the recent notion that Respawn is not going to appear at E3 to show off the game they’re developing. They, as individuals will wander the showfloor, however.

Now that we’ve got the stipulations out of the way, we’re going to start talking about the case itself. In the case of West, Zampella, Electronic Arts, Inc. v. Activision Publishing, Inc. everything looks messy because things get really complicated by the time this whole thing gets underway. Just looking at the list makes a lot of people confused as to what is the intention of everyone involved. Yes, you can argue that Activision wants money, Vince and Jason wants the money, too, and they all also want to take over the Modern Warfare brand. But EA got into this mess late last year because Jason and Vince were accused of conspiring against Activision.

There are reports coming in about a new Modern Warfare 3 Ad during the finals of Champions Leagues game between Manchester United and Barcelona. [source] The ad spot is the final act of the trailer we already saw – the Modern Warfare 3 reveal campaign. It was revealed at the NBA finals game a week ago.

It will be aired on Sky Sports 1 and ITV, which are United Kingdom channels. It will be aired 11am PST. As disclosed by Fox:

Union of European Football Associations Champions League
Barcelona, Spain vs. Manchester United, England
Live Wembley Stadium, London at 11am pacific time or 2pm eastern time on Fox

So, by the time you wake up, the trailer may already have been aired. Don’t expect much from the trailer though because the trailer may be an extension of what we already saw.

In any event, Activisions European marketing director, Daniel Green said this about the ad:

“We’re really excited to start showing our fans what they can expect from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with over 7m YouTube views of our reveal trailer since it was released on Tuesday, it seems our fans are just as excited.”

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Strikes November 8, 2011
Year’s Most Anticipated Entertainment Launch Stages World Wide Invasion

Global warfare is raging and the battle will begin on November 8 when the cultural phenomenon Modern Warfare returns with the worldwide release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the newest installment in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) #1 first person action series and is being developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games.

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is by far the most epic Call of Duty experience yet. The teams at Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games have worked tirelessly to create for the Call of Duty player a scale that is unimaginable with a level of polish and creativity that will push the genre forward,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. “The passion and energy of our developers is reflected in everything about the title. From the innovative gameplay, to the cinematic intensity, to the most advanced multiplayer ever, Modern Warfare 3 will raise the bar for this already incredible franchise.”

This game is not yet rated. For more information, visit the official Call of Duty website. If you would like to check out the official Modern Warfare 3 website, check it out here.

Source: Activision Press Release

Yesterday, I talked about the possibilities of the MW3 engine. There are 4 developers working on the game. And the trailer is…..HERE!

These are confirmed:

- Destructible environments.
- New Killstreaks. I see machine guns used from a different angle – the side of a helicopter.
- More emphasis on indoor environments.
- Tanks are controllable, and usable in combat.
- November 8th, 2011 is officially confirmed. Not a rumor anymore folks. Its official.
- AC130 makes a return, the killstreak is more deadlier now thanks to the indestructible environments.
- Infinity Ward is marketing MW3 as WW3. World War 3 is the prominent theme in MW3.

Are you excited yet?

19 hours ago, it was revealed that the “reconstructed” Infinity Ward has upgraded the Call of Duty engine in a tweet. Robert Bowling made it perfectly clear that the engine goes far beyond that of the MW2 engine.

We haven’t gone into detail on the engine yet but we’ve moved beyond the MW2 engine and added a lot of cool stuff for MW3.

Ever since Call of Duty 2, the series has been using an proprietary engine of their own, called “IW.” As much as it is based on the legendary Quake engine, it has been modified again, and again, and again. For example COD4′s engine was dubbed “IW3.” With MW2, Infinity Ward still used the engine, but with a bunch of tweaks, and new features.

When Bowling made that tweet, people were pessimistic about the tweet, as one person said “They are just making the game shinier.” A lot of people think that Mr. Bowling was lying, and that the they haven’t moved past the modified Quake engine. In Robert’s defense, he’s actually telling the truth, because each time a new Call of Duty title is being developed, their engines get modified. With MW2 the engine went a step above: IW4. Modern Warfare 3 could very well be IW5. But internally, I don’t think its being dubbed that, since after all, the game is being developed by 4 developers.

I’m going to start talking about the developers now so that you can get a clear idea of what to expect from the new MW3 engine, and what Bowling meant by “cool stuff.”

Sledgehammer Games: These guys were in Electronic Arts’ Visceral Games label. Some of them were from Insomniac Games. Together, their experience in the industry includes developing the Ratchet and Clank games, the EA 007 games, they even created the Dead Space series. There’s a lot of dismemberment in Dead Space. This might mean that MW3 can have dismemberment “kills.” If you want to see what the team is capable of, see the Dead Space trailer:

The other thing to consider, is that they have a really big knack for detailed characters, and environments, but what stands out is their proficiency in light sourcing. They seem to be very good at it. The thing about the previous Call of Duty games is that they’ve never been known to have good lighting. Maybe Sledgehammer Games can solve that problem.

Raven Software: These guys have worked on some FPS titles. Their most recent FPS was Singularity, a game that told the story of a person traveling through time via a device that can manipulate time. These developers actually does a great job at programming, so I think they’re a good pick for MW3. Hell, their development styles may be similar to Infinity Ward, because the way in which you use your guns takes a page out of COD4′s book. See for yourself:

What stands out for them is that they are very proficient with the Quake engine, as they’ve done projects with the engine before; they were developers of Quake 4. And their relationship with Activision plays a role in being the developer picked for MW3 – Activision started out as their publisher, and then outright acquired them.

But what can we expect from them? Well, going by Singularity, an epic, on-going battle for survival. What I got from Singularity, is that they seem to have a good idea of how to incorporate the story into the gameplay as you go along. In Modern Warfare 2, we had a similar feeling, but it didn’t feel like the universe of MW2 was in any way sync’ed with the on-going crisis. It felt like, MW2 didn’t have much going on in the background, but more going on in front of you. Singularity seemed like it was doing a good job of having one story on one side, and the other story on the other end.

Infinity Ward: We don’t know much about the “reconstructed” IW. Nothing, at all. The only thing that we know for sure, is that IW5 was still in the Infinity Ward offices when Vince and Jason left with the old IW crew, and that whoever is working there is using what they have. With help from Raven and Sledgehammer.

Beachhead Studios: They too, are very questionable. This company came out of nowhere in the masses of information. I wrote an article about them trying to figure them out. We still don’t know who they are, and why they’re a big deal to Activision.

Stay tuned for the official trailer of MW3 tomorrow. By then, we’ll know exactly what Robert meant by “cool stuff.” Robert also said he’ll blast a tweet about the MW3 trailer.

‘Till next time.

There has been a wealth of new information swirling around Modern Warfare 3 in the past week that its hard to keep track of what’s rumor, and what’s fact. I have been watchning quite closely, and keenly. So, I’ll break them down into sections so that YOU can stay current without all that rumor bull$#!^. Ready? Righty so.

Modern Warfare 3 is set to released on November 8th, 2011 as it has been revealed in a poster. It was a retail leak. [See poster here] It has been a rumor for quite some time, but this poster sends a clear message that Activision will throw down the gauntlet to fight against Battlefield.

GameStop and other retailers all around the world have been taking pre-orders for Modern Warfare 3 since the big poster reveal. GameStop even created a page for MW3 specifically. Its here. It was revealed that ever since the pre-orders opened, the pace of these pre-orders were sold faster than the previous 2 games in the series. [source]

The rapid pre-orders were a result of the recent teaser trailers that were released by Activision. [MW3Blog article] People were surprised, because the teasers were released earlier than anticipated. Robert Bowling, the community manager at Infinity Ward says that the teasers weren’t planned to be released this soon in his tweet.

As for the story, so far, this is what we know:

Spoiler Warning: If you have not played and finished Modern Warfare 2, stop reading. You have been warned.

Modern Warfare 2 ended with a cliffhanger story. Task Force 141 were set up by General Shepherd, in an ambush mid-way through the game. Ghost was killed in action during the same setup ambush. Roach was with Ghost at the time, and was also killed in action. After learning of the betrayal by Shepherd, Soap and Price went after Shepherd and ultimately killed Shepherd. There are questions and speculation surrounding Ghost’s past, and future. The other question is: “Where in the world is Makarov?” As far as we know, Makarov is still alive, the last time we saw him when you played as an undercover CIA agent named Joseph Allen. So, as of right now, Makarov is on the loose. MacTavish and Price are on the run with a Russian informant named Nikolai.

You can now read on. This is purely speculation, and nothing is official until Infinity Ward says so.

When you load the game onto your console, you will now be in the middle of U.S. being under siege by the Russian forces. So far, the teaser trailers has shown 4 confirmed locations: America, more specifically the general New York public. Germany, an unknown building being destroyed. A war broke out in France on their ports. In England, we are seeing nothing but buildings, one stark clue may be that we may go back to where Modern Warfare all started; the Ferris wheel. There’s a message in the MW3 logo; that the main theme of MW3 is indeed World War 3. Flip the ‘M’ and you will find a ‘W.’ The result would be “WW3.” Quite the marketing stunt there, Infinity Ward.

Call of Duty: MW3 will once again feature the Spec Ops mode from MW2, and some sort of survival mode. [source] Next monday, we’re going to see the results of the pending lawsuit between Infinity Ward, and its former employees. Also, its been known that we’re going to get a reveal of MW3 on the same day. An event that was posted on facebook today, solidifies the notion that Activision is going to unveil the full Modern Warfare 3 trailer. That page can be seen here. Notice that it was created by the same guys that created the MW3 page. So, this means that the reveal is official. It’s not a rumor anymore, folks. Its over.

It has been a tradition of Activision using the Western Conference basketball games on ESPN to reveal a new Call of Duty game. Electronic Arts tried to uppercut Activision with this tradition last month by using one of the basketball games to reveal Battlefield 3.

To prepare for the influx of gamer interest in MW3, Activision updated the official Call of Duty website to include MW3. With that, a Modern Warfare 3 page was revealed.