Trilogy Retrospective: Modern Warfare.

By Sam Coles:

I know Call of Duty always results with a massive sigh from the gaming community these days, but over the years I’ve mentally cut off the title Call of Duty from  and merit them as their own separate title so it’s not Call of Duty Modern Warfare, it is Modern Warfare. So I’ll be going through the Modern Warfare trilogy which first started in 2007 from a transition from World War II to the modern day.

Modern Warfare (2007):

During this time in gaming the Xbox 360 and PS3 were still young and there was an overabundance of World War II games and you can thank Medal of Honour for that, but it took Infinity Ward a company that did make two Call of Duty games that were set in World War II made a bold step.

In late 2007 Modern Warfare was released and no one had seen anything like because the campaign had pacing like a Hollywood blockbuster. The story of Modern Warfare is that an ultra-nationalist leader named Imran Zakhaev who has a passionate hatred for the west and wants to see it crash and burn. You swap between two characters, Soap Mactavish in the British SAS and Sgt Paul Jackson in the USMC. The US parts are the main invasions trying to push back the enemy, where the SAS missions show them behind the scenes fixing everything. The US missions are generally loud and fast paced and the SAS missions are quiet, stealthy and slow which gave you room to breath after long gunfights.

Modern Warfare is known for its multiplayer mainly on Xbox 360 like what Halo 3 did for the system and it was the main reason why a lot of people bought a 360. It had perks which would have different effects on your character whether it be reloading faster or unlimited sprint. You also had kill streaks which will grant you a bonus when you get a certain amount of kills without dying. You have the UAV when you get 3 kills without dying, an airstrike when you get 5 and an attack helicopter when you achieve 7 which will circle the map and kill any enemy that is exposed. You have classes where you can customise your weapons with attachments such as red sights etc. you also unlock camo skins for your guns with certain amount of headshots you achieve with said weapon.

Modern Warfare was a hit and we wouldn’t see a sequel until 2009 and again it would be a big change in terms of content and controversy.

Modern Warfare 2 (2009):

Modern Warfare 2 was a big change for starters in the UK it was rated for the first time by BBFC 18+ which made a lot of people question why? The reason was there was a massive ramp up with the violence and the one level “No Russian” where you go through an airport and gun down unarmed civilians. This was immediately in the news despite the fact there is an option to skip it and there is a warning when you boot up the game about it, but this gave Infinity Ward free publicity and it was the bestselling game in the Call of Duty franchise.

The story of Modern Warfare 2 takes place 5 years after the last game and the world is in shambles due to the fact that one of Imran’s right hand men Vladimir Makarov is trying to start the next global conflict with the US and Russia already at each other’s throats after the events of the original game.  Twists and turns take place in this story as there are two and antagonist the other being General Shepard who wants the US military to be the ultimate super power by any means necessary even it means murdering his own men.

The multiplayer was like the original but times 10 with more weapons, perks and for the first time you could customise your killstreaks which can go up to 25 killstreak which can unlock a game ending tactical nuke.

Modern Warfare 2 was the bestselling game in the Call of Duty franchise and broke records from day one which were beaten later by GTA V.

Modern Warfare 3 (2011):

Modern Warfare 3 was a departure because the original Infinity Ward team did not work on it because Activision fired most of them and they had to get a different studio to help out with the game. Sledgehammer Games who most recently did Advanced Warfare finished the game and you could really tell that they really wanted flex their story telling muscles because this campaign is very engaging and concludes the trilogy perfectly.

World War 3 has finally begun with Makarov’s plans finally coming to fruition; you play as Yuri a former ally to Makarov who is working with Soap and Captain Price who are no longer part of the military. You travel the globe trying foil Makarov’s latest plan of attacking all of Europe with a chemical weapon. You also play as an American soldier who is fighting back against the Russians who have invaded the USA which happened in MW 2, but the conflict is in full swing in this game.

The multiplayer wasn’t really changed that much expect for the killstreak system, it was renamed to point streaks and what this entails is that you can earn a point towards a bonus by killing or capturing objectives. It was a nice change because you’re rewarded with team work and not being a lone run and gunner. You had different categories you have support where you can give ballistic vests to you team mates etc., specialist where you can earn perks on top of the perks you already have and assault which are your traditional killstreaks like attack choppers etc.

Modern Warfare is an action packed trilogy with hours of entertainment, it’s great if you want some good old fashioned popcorn entertainment. If you’re interested the games are wildly available and are super cheap you could probably pick up all three for under £10.Pick them up if you do see them.