Summary
The response toCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3has certainly been interesting. The DMZ-like, open-world Zombies mode has surprised players, even if many feel frustrated by the timer. Multiplayer’s usage of classic maps, returning features, and faster movement have helped ensure that it has satisfied long-term players too. However, the argument that the game is simply an overpriced DLC has not faded away, and the continued criticism of theCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3campaign has not helped matters. Though there is plenty to complain about, stealth is one of the more apparent issues.
TheCall of Dutyfranchise has offered several memorable stealth sequences over the years. “All Ghillied Up” is one of the most iconic stealth missions in video games, while the snowy “Cliffhanger” level in the originalCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2made brilliant use of the heartbeat sensor gadget.Call of Duty: Ghostsoffered some underrated levels like “The Hunted,” whiletheBlack Opscampaignsalso have their share of good stealth sections. Unfortunately, Open Combat Missions do not deliver the high quality stealth fans have come to expect, as a lack of proper indicators will have players feeling as if they were unfairly spotted.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Stealth Missions Have a Big Problem
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Needs a Clearer Indicator of Which Enemy is Spotting Players
While linearCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3missionsthat feature stealth, like “Payload,” still play fine, Open Combat stealth sections can be painful. A big part of the problem is the lack of a proper indicator to highlight the enemy that is spotting the protagonist. Instead, the map glows yellow when enemies are searching for the player and red where they are found. Yellow dots on the compass at the top of the screen indicate when enemies are searching for the player as well, but like the mini map colors, this is too vague, as the dots only indicate close enemies and it can be hard to pinpoint where exactly those foes are. For distant enemies who see the protagonist far more easily than they should, players are out of luck.
This poor indicator of where the enemies are who detected the player makes sneaking around inOpen Combat Missionslike “Crash Site” tedious. Players risk getting spotted by enemies they cannot even see, and when coupled with how many enemies are thrown their way when they break stealth, death is likely to follow. Considering that death often means a full mission restart due to the poor checkpoint system in Open Combat Missions, stealth quickly becomes unfun, as players are spotted before they know it and must take several minutes to get back to where they made their mistake - making it tedious to learn what went wrong.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaignis also missing a useful tactic that previous games in the reboot taught players. If players see a light covering an area that would be dark otherwise, they cannot shoot it out like before, making missions feel less detailed and the stealth less deep.
How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Could Have Fixed Its Stealth Problem
Along with distraction tools being made more readily available in certain missions, and features like shooting out lights being added,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3should have made it clearer exactly who spotted players. While going too far in the direction oftheMetal Gear Solidserieswith a big exclamation point and loud detection noise could have risked being too cheesy in a grounded military FPS, it certainly would have made it clear to players what went wrong. Alternatively, zooming in on the enemy that spotted the player before returning to the action could have done the trick, as could highlighting the enemy in red that ruined the stealth run.Call of Duty’s stealth missions have always worked because of their linear style, as it means that enemies are easier to track and levels are carefully crafted to remain fair. To make Open Combat Missions’ big areas viable for stealth, more should have been done to keep things fair.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
WHERE TO PLAY
The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet
