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IGN Review of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
What's most impressive about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on Wii is that the teams behind it have managed to squeeze so much of the other versions into it. You have the same campaign as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, the same online multiplayer (albeit only five versus five), and at least some of the same Spec Ops content. But this is running on dated hardware, which brings the performance down to a state that makes it a chore to play. Texture pop-in occurs all too often, it often drops below 30 fps, and online connection issues mar what should be the best part of the experience.
Modern Warfare 3 wraps up the story laid out in the previous Modern Warfare games. Or, at least, it tries. The story in three confuses and isn't all that interesting, serving only as a backdrop for the badass set pieces and battlegrounds you play in. If you really pay careful attention to the plot, you might be able to follow along, but the fact that I have to put effort into understanding or caring about it remains problematic.
Also returning are the annoying endlessly spawning enemies and crazy A.I. Certain stages will have portions where a near-endless flood of foes come at you until you get to a specific point in the level, while at other times enemies completely disregard their own well-being if it means they can run up and shoot you in the face. It's annoying.
Story and other irritating issues don't matter all that much in the other versions of Modern Warfare 3 because the sheer spectacle and awesome firefights are enough to keep me riveted and in the heat of the moment. With the Wii version, though, the graphical fidelity, while pushing what the system can do, just doesn't deliver what's needed to make the scenes as striking and enveloping as I know they are from playing the other platforms. Sure, it has moments that impress, but more often, badass scenes are ruined by intrusive texture pop-in and muddy visuals. I don't expect the Wii to have the same power as other platforms, but even over component the lower resolution makes it hard to pick out targets at range. It also pulls you out of the scenes, so instead of focusing on how crazy the set pieces are, I found myself wincing at the constant visual issues.
Modern Warfare 3 on Wii could also use a bit more light. Unlike the other versions, the Wii doesn't even have a brightness setting. I can raise the brightness on my TV, but it always looks a bit too dark, making many of the firefights even harder. Combine this with the problematic performance – it runs at 30 fps or lower when it was designed for 60 – and shooting made me feel clumsy and frustrated. You have the option of playing with with pointer controls or Classic Controller but it doesn't have the same sort of tightness and responsiveness that I've come to expect from the franchise when its running at a higher fps.
The words "Wii" and "online multiplayer" aren't used in the same sentence very often, but Modern Warfare 3 for Wii takes the same multiplayer suite from the 360 and puts it onto Nintendo's console. Feature-wise it's rich, with the same refined systems of unlockables, great game modes, perks and leveling that I loved on the other platforms. Hell, it even has online voice chat if you have a headset. Again though, like the campaign, the problem with it comes down to performance. Despite playing on multiple networks and on multiple systems, online play suffers from constant lag. Forum users have adapted to this, encouraging people to "lag shoot" (essentially compensate by aiming ahead of the other player), but it makes multiplayer difficult to stomach. I don't mind being cut down by a better player, but losing because hit detection is off due to lag annoys me to no end. Maybe they'll patch it in the future, but I'd be sorely disappointed as a consumer jumping online right now.
The ability to do quick-matches is great, but MW3 is still held back by Nintendo's friend code system. If you want to directly connect to a friend you better be ready to exchange a code – it's tedious and feels completely outdated. The Wii version also doesn't include Elite, Activision's service that tracks your stats and allows you to interpret and interact with them in really exciting ways. It doesn't ultimately affect gameplay, but it would have been nice if it could have made the leap to the Wii alongside the other features.
The new Spec Ops Survival Mode also makes the Wii version but has been so lag-ridden that it's effectively rendered unplayable. I've conferred with other players and have tried to play it several times, but every session tells the same story. You can play it alone (the Wii version doesn't support split-screen in any capacity), but it isn't nearly as fun. The lack of the Spec Ops mission modes also makes it feel a bit feature light; a strange omission since almost all the other content from the 360, PS3 and PC versions seems to have come over.
©2011-11-14, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Modern Warfare 3 wraps up the story laid out in the previous Modern Warfare games. Or, at least, it tries. The story in three confuses and isn't all that interesting, serving only as a backdrop for the badass set pieces and battlegrounds you play in. If you really pay careful attention to the plot, you might be able to follow along, but the fact that I have to put effort into understanding or caring about it remains problematic.
Also returning are the annoying endlessly spawning enemies and crazy A.I. Certain stages will have portions where a near-endless flood of foes come at you until you get to a specific point in the level, while at other times enemies completely disregard their own well-being if it means they can run up and shoot you in the face. It's annoying.
Story and other irritating issues don't matter all that much in the other versions of Modern Warfare 3 because the sheer spectacle and awesome firefights are enough to keep me riveted and in the heat of the moment. With the Wii version, though, the graphical fidelity, while pushing what the system can do, just doesn't deliver what's needed to make the scenes as striking and enveloping as I know they are from playing the other platforms. Sure, it has moments that impress, but more often, badass scenes are ruined by intrusive texture pop-in and muddy visuals. I don't expect the Wii to have the same power as other platforms, but even over component the lower resolution makes it hard to pick out targets at range. It also pulls you out of the scenes, so instead of focusing on how crazy the set pieces are, I found myself wincing at the constant visual issues.
Modern Warfare 3 on Wii could also use a bit more light. Unlike the other versions, the Wii doesn't even have a brightness setting. I can raise the brightness on my TV, but it always looks a bit too dark, making many of the firefights even harder. Combine this with the problematic performance – it runs at 30 fps or lower when it was designed for 60 – and shooting made me feel clumsy and frustrated. You have the option of playing with with pointer controls or Classic Controller but it doesn't have the same sort of tightness and responsiveness that I've come to expect from the franchise when its running at a higher fps.
The words "Wii" and "online multiplayer" aren't used in the same sentence very often, but Modern Warfare 3 for Wii takes the same multiplayer suite from the 360 and puts it onto Nintendo's console. Feature-wise it's rich, with the same refined systems of unlockables, great game modes, perks and leveling that I loved on the other platforms. Hell, it even has online voice chat if you have a headset. Again though, like the campaign, the problem with it comes down to performance. Despite playing on multiple networks and on multiple systems, online play suffers from constant lag. Forum users have adapted to this, encouraging people to "lag shoot" (essentially compensate by aiming ahead of the other player), but it makes multiplayer difficult to stomach. I don't mind being cut down by a better player, but losing because hit detection is off due to lag annoys me to no end. Maybe they'll patch it in the future, but I'd be sorely disappointed as a consumer jumping online right now.
The ability to do quick-matches is great, but MW3 is still held back by Nintendo's friend code system. If you want to directly connect to a friend you better be ready to exchange a code – it's tedious and feels completely outdated. The Wii version also doesn't include Elite, Activision's service that tracks your stats and allows you to interpret and interact with them in really exciting ways. It doesn't ultimately affect gameplay, but it would have been nice if it could have made the leap to the Wii alongside the other features.
The new Spec Ops Survival Mode also makes the Wii version but has been so lag-ridden that it's effectively rendered unplayable. I've conferred with other players and have tried to play it several times, but every session tells the same story. You can play it alone (the Wii version doesn't support split-screen in any capacity), but it isn't nearly as fun. The lack of the Spec Ops mission modes also makes it feel a bit feature light; a strange omission since almost all the other content from the 360, PS3 and PC versions seems to have come over.
©2011-11-14, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved