Sep 23, 2011

Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games recently held the first ever Call of Duty XP, and with it, they laid all their cards on the table.  Weapons, killstreaks, perks, we know it all and the wealth of sudden information is overwhelming to say the least.  I have read the articles, heard the rumors, and watched too many game play videos and interviews to count.  I have all you need to know about the newest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.  The game will have three parts to it as it’s predecessor did: single player, spec ops, and mutliplayer which I will go over individually.  Lets start with what I know is the reason your reading this:

Multiplayer

Primary Weapons
The primary weapons will be as varied as ever in MW3.  The G36C and original MP5 will be making a comeback from CoD4 as well as most of the favorites from MW2 like the SCAR, ACR, UMP45, AA-12, and the riot shield.  Weapons are still unlocked based on what level you are.  What has changed is how you will unlock the various attachments, camos, and new proficiencies.  The more you use a weapon, the more experience you get with it, just like how you gain experience.  As the weapon gains experience, it increases in level and number of unlocks you have for that particular weapon.  This is how you unlock everything for each gun.  No more trying to get head shots or complete sometimes overly difficult  and monotonous challenges for specific attachments; the more you use the weapon the more you unlock for it.  A new unlock for individual weapons is the new proficiency slot.  They are like the gun-centric perks of past games, freeing up the actual perk slots for enhancements to you instead of your gun.

Proficiencies affect the how the gun actually handles and are almost entirely recycled perks we are seeing re-purposed.  Also worth noting, is that weapon sway has been added for all weapons when aiming down the sights, making it no longer exclusive to just sniper rifles.  Weapons will have more recoil than Black Ops, hopefully helping them be more diversified and distinguishable from one another.  Here are all thirty three primary weapons and six proficiencies that will be in MW3.  Notice how IW is giving us half the weapons up front to play with and the other half spread out over game.  It should make those first levels go by much faster after several prestige levels.

Assault Rifles:

• M4A1
• M16A4 (3 round burst)
• SCAR-L
• CM901
• TYPE 95 (lvl 32, 3 shot burst)
• G36C (lvl 42)
• ACR 6.(8 lvl 50)
• MK14 (lvl 60, single shot)
• AK-47 (lvl 68)
• FAD (lvl 78)

Sub Machine Guns:

• MP5
• UMP45
• PP90M1
• P90 (lvl 38)
• PM-9 (lvl 56)
• MP7 (lvl 74)

Light Machine Guns:

• L86 LSW
• MG36
• PKP PECHENEG
• MK46 (lvl 68)
• M60E4 (lvl 72)

Sniper Rifles:

• Barrett .50 CAL
• L118A
• Dragunov
• AS50
• RSASS (lvl 44)
• MSR (lvl 66)

Shotguns:

• USA512
• KS612
• SPAS-12
• AA-12
• STRIKER (lvl 48)
• MODEL 1887 (lvl 62)

Riot Shield

 

 

 

 

 

Proficiencies:

• Kick (reduces gun recoil)
• Impact (bullets carry more damage through materials)
• 2 Attachments
• Focus (reduce flinch when hit)
• Breath (hold breath while aiming down sights)
• Stability (Reduced weapon sway while aiming down the sights)

 

Secondary Weapons
The secondary weapons in MW3 are broken up into three categories, launchers, handguns, and machine pistols are making a return.  Shotguns can no longer be a secondary weapon for balancing reasons.

Launchers:

• SMAW (1 rocket, free fire or vehicle lock on)
• JAVELIN (1 rocket, location or vehicle lock on)
• STINGER (lvl 40, 2 rockets, vehicle lock on only)
• XM25 (lvl 52, 6 round magazine grenade launcher, cannot be fired from the hip, distance for grenade detonation has to be set through scope, has limited piercing capabilities)
• M320 COLM (lvl 64, single shot grenade launcher)
• RPG-7 (lvl 80, 2 rockets, free fire only)

Handguns:

• USP .45
• P99
• MP412
• .44 MAGNUM (lvl 46)
• FIVE SEVEN (lvl 58)
• Desert Eagle (lvl 76)

Machine Pistols:

• FM69
• MP9
• SKORPION (lvl 36)
• G18 (lvl 70)

Attachments:

• Red Dot Sight (customizable reticules available)
• Silencer
• Grenade Launcher (assault rifles only)
• ACOG Scope
• Heartbeat Sensor
• Hybrid Sight (a holographic sight paired with a 4x zoom ACOG scope that you can switch between, appears to be balanced with the ACOG having a narrow field of view. Assault rifles only)
• Underbarrel Shotgun
• Holographic Sight
• Extended Magazines
• Thermal Sight
• Variable Zoom Scope (sniper only)
• Grip
• Dual wield
• Hamr Scope (same concept as the hybrid sight, except with a 3x zoom ACOG and a red dot sight, SMGs only)

Sight Reticules:

• Target Dot
• Delta
• U-Dot
• Mil-Dot
• Omega
• Lamda

Weapon Camo:

• Desert
• Arctic
• Woodland
• Digital
• Urban
• Blue Tiger
• Red Tiger
• Fall

 

Equipment
The equipment slot from Black Ops has been eliminated, and we now have only lethal equipment and tactical equipment with some brand new toys to play with.  As a result of this new consolidation and variety, expect less random grenades and less of a constant barrage of flash and stun grenades that has become common place in Black Ops.

Lethal Equipment:

• Frag Grenade
• Semtex
• Throwing Knife
• Bouncing Betty (lvl 37, same as a claymore except with a 360 degree field of detection instead of the claymore’s directional lasers which offer roughly a 90 degree field of detection.  For balance, the player will have a brief moment upon triggering the device to lie down and avoid the explosion)
• Claymore (lvl 53)
• C4 (lvl 69)

Tactical Equipment:

• Flash Bang
• Concussion Grenade
• Scrambler (jammer)
• EMP Grenade (destroys enemy equipment and electronics)
• Smoke Grenade
• Trophy System (lvl 45, anti-rocket device, intercepts them before they can reach you)
• Tactical Insertion (lvl 61)
• Portable Radar (lvl 77, motion sensor)

 

Perks
Perks still come as three different sets of five that you get to choose from, with each of them having an unlockable pro version.  The weapon centric perks are gone, having turned into proficiencies.  In their place are many old perks and some new ones.  They seem to be designed to be used in tandem with other perks creating some unique combos.  You will notice last stand, stopping power, one man army, and commando have all been cut.  Not only that but an old CoD4 favorite, Overkill, is finally back.

1st Tier:

• Recon: Explosive damage marks target on radar
  Pro Ability: Bullet damage marks target on radar
• Sleight of Hand: Reload your weapons faster.
  Pro Ability:  Swap your weapons faster.
• Blind Eye: Enemy air support and sentries can’t detect you.
  Pro Ability: Faster launcher lock-on + extra damage vs. enemy air support.
• Extreme Conditioning: Allows you to sprint longer
  Pro Ability: Climb obstacles faster
• Scavenger: Level 39, Replenishes your ammunition when you walk over scavenger bags that are dropped by players when they die
  Pro Ability: Extra starting magazines

2nd Tier:

• Quickdraw: Allows you to aim down the sight faster
  Pro Ability: Use equipment and grenades faster
• Blast Shield: Greatly reduces explosive damage
  Pro Ability: Makes you immune to Stun and Flash Grenades
• Hardline: Reduces the amount of kills required for killstreaks by one
  Pro Ability: Two assists add one kill towards your next killstreak and deathstreaks require one less death
• Assassin: Makes you undetectable by UAV, thermal, Heartbeat Sensor, and Portable Radar.
  Pro Ability: Makes you immune to Counter-UAV and EMP. Enemies won’t see a red crosshair or name when targeting you
• Overkill: Level 47, carry two primary weapons
  Pro Ability: Your 2nd primary weapon can be equipped with up to two attachments (2 attachment proficiency required)

3rd Tier:

• Marksman: Allows you to identify enemies from farther away
  Pro Ability:Hold your breath for even longer when steadying a weapons scope
• Stalker: Faster movement while aiming down the sight
  Pro Ability: Delays enemy Claymores
• Sitrep: Highlights enemy explosives and Tactical Insertions
  Pro Ability: Makes enemy footsteps louder
• Steady Aim: Increases hip-fire accuracy
  Pro Ability: Allows you to aim down the sight faster after sprinting
• Dead Silence: Level 55, makes you silent
  Pro Ability: You don’t take any damage from falling

 

Deathstreaks
Deathstreaks are back, and have a better variety than we saw in MW2.  The Dead Man’s Hand looks particularly interesting as it turns you into a suicide bomber!  It also looks like we will never be free of Stopping Power and Last Stand at least in some respect, but at least painkiller is gone.

• Juiced: 4 deaths – move faster for a few seconds after spawning
• Revenge: 5 deaths – see position of last enemy that killed you on your mini-map
• Final Stand: 4 deaths – lvl 32, similar to last stand
• Martyrdom: 4 deaths – lvl 51, drop a live grenade after dying
• Dead Man’s Hand: 6 deaths – lvl 57, fall into last stand with C4 equipped in your hand
• Hollow Points: 5 deaths – lvl 71, bullets cause more damage for one kill (stopping power)

 

Pointstreaks
Pointstreaks are what used to be called killstreaks, and now come in three different strike packages, assault, support, and specialist.  You must choose which of these strike packages you use before the game begins.  The assault strike package is comprised of streaks that bring the pain like attack helicopters and missile strikes.  The Support strike package has streaks that support the rest of the team like advanced UAVs and SAM turrets.  The support strike package does not reset your pointstreaks when you die.  Lastly, the specialist strike package is something completely new.  It gives you an additional perk at two, four, and six kills for a total of six perks active at once!  Additionally, they can be any three perks, so if you love the whole third tier of perks, then after six kills you can have all but one equipped on you at a time.

The whole system has also received a couple of changes overall.  They are now called pointstreaks because players get credit toward them for completing objectives as well.  Hopefully this will encourage more objective minded play.  Unlike Black Ops, kills scored with pointstreaks will again count toward your next pointstreak like MW2.  Powerful pointstreaks now take a higher overall number of kills it achieve for balancing purposes.  Lastly, pointstreaks now reset after you earn your last one so players who play well are no longer penalized for for not dying.  The one problem I see with these changes is say you get a very powerful streak like the AC130.  If this AC130 is at the end of your three streaks, couldn’t you use it to just get another AC130 in after your current one is done?  I hope IW has an answer for this, with streaks only counting toward the streak cycle they were earned prior to resetting.

Assault Strike Package:

• UAV – 3 Kills
• Care Package – 4 Kills
• I.M.S – 5 Kills (deployable anti-infantry trap that carries 4 charges)

• Predator Missile – 5 Kills
• Sentry Gun – 5 Kills
• Precision Airstrike – 6 Kills
• Attack Helicopter – 7 Kills
• Strafe Run – 9 Kills (call in 5 helicopters to do a strafing run with a great amount of firepower)
• Little Big Guard – 9 Kills (calls in a helicopter that follows you from above, protecting you)
• Reaper – 9 Kills (control a UAV circling the map that launches missiles at enemies you guide)
• Assault Drone – 10 Kills (airdrop a controllable drone with a mounted machine gun)

• AC130 – 12 Kills
• Pave Low – 12 Kills
• Juggernaut – 15 Kills (you receive a Juggernaut suit which makes you highly resistant to damage but slows mobility, as well as an M60)

• Osprey Gunner – 17 Kills (similar to MW2 chopper gunner but also drops care packages for team mates)

Support Strike Package:

• UAV – 4 Kills
• Counter-UAV – 5 Kills
• Ballistic Vests – 5 Kills (drop a care package that gives every teammate who picks it up higher explosives resistance)
• Airdrop Trap – 5 Kills (drop a booby-trapped care package)
• Sam Turret – 8 Kills
• Recon Drone – 10 Kills (you take control of a small helicopter that marks enemies for your team)

• Advanced UAV – 12 Kills (SR-71)
• Remote Turret – 12 Kills (you get a sentry gun that you can remotely control and is redeployable)

• Stealth Bomber – 14 Kills
• EMP – 18 Kills
• Juggernaut Recon – 18 Kills (you receive Juggernaut armor with a riot shield, ideal for capturing objectives)

• Escort Airdrop – 18 Kills (an airdrop of 4 care packages and one booby trapped care package.  The Osprey that drops them also protects them)

 

Prestige and Levels
Perhaps the most contributing factor to millions of peoples addiction to CoD is the unique prestige feature.  After achieving the highest level possible, players are offered a choice: prestige and lose all unlockables for a chance to do it over again with a new, cooler looking emblem or don’t and miss out on some fun extras while retaining your gear.  There will  eighty levels in each prestige of MW3.  While that number may seem daunting, Creative Strategist for IW, Robert Bowling, says the higher level count is to smooth out the grind of the later levels and keep things moving rather than pad the length of each prestige.  Most choose to do so at least a couple of times, as earning everything all over again, experimenting, and tweeking different classes is a lot of fun.   These players are given awards for taking the risk in the form of:

• Extra Custom Class
• Reset All Stats
• Double XP
• Double Weapon XP
• Unlock Gear
• Challenges 1
• Challenges 2
• Challenges 3
• Title and Emblem 1
• Title and Emblem 2
• Title and Emblem 3

 

New Game Modes

• Kill Confirmed: TDM with a twist.  When a player is killed, their dog tags are dropped.  The other team has to pick up those dog tags to get credit for the kill before the decease’s teammates do and nullify the kill.  It should be a nice change of pace that leads to less camping and better team work.  There will be a great amount of additional strategy necessary to win. Will you pick up your fallen teammate’s dog tags or use them as bait?  Can a sniper killing and a shotgun retrieving work?
• Team Defender: Capture the flag with a twist, no flag return.  Teams gain points by holding onto the enemy flag as long as possible.  This should lead to some great cat and mouse scenarios, and be a great change of pace for team oriented players.

 

There are additional game modes that are only playable in private lobbies:

1. Infection – A mode borrowed from Halo, there will be a small team of infected and large team of uninfected.  The infected have to kill the uninfected to recruit them, slowly shifting the teams over a game.
2. Drop Zone – Protect a drop zone for points and care packages while the enemy team fights for control of it. It looks to be an interesting king of the hill variant.
3. Team Juggernaut – TDM with one player being a Juggernaut for each team.  These power-houses will require teamwork to overcome.
4. Juggernaut – A game mode that has been in many FPS games over the years under a lot of different names.  The premise is that a player is a Juggernaut and the rest of the players are trying to kill them.  If you get the kill, you are the new juggernaut.
5. Gun Game – The Black Ops wager match game with a new set of weapons.
6. One in the Chamber – The same as the Black Ops wager match of the same name.

CoD Elite Integration
There has been a lot of buzz in the industry about the new service currently in open beta testing called CoD Elite.  It is a website that links directly to your gamertag to give you a tremendous amount of stats about your Call of Duty career.  There is a free version and a version you will have to pay for when it launches later this fall.  The pay version has everything you will get with the free version, and more.  It will cost sixty dollars a year to subscribe, but a one year subscription comes with the hardened edition which sells for a hundred dollars.  If you intend on subscribing, you save ten dollars by buying the hardened edition.  This CoD will not have a Prestige edition version so hardened is the top of the line edition.  A list of features for each version is as follows:

Free Version:

• Match and score information

• Kill and death heat maps

• The ability to edit classes and look up stats with a mobile app.

• Clan support (which is sadly capped at a hundred players per clan).

• Career stats

• Video sharing

Pay For Version:

• You will get twenty pieces of DLC spread out over nine months including new maps and game modes, before non- subscribers are even able to buy them

• Eight times the video storage

• The ability to level up your clan and earn exclusive in-game prizes

• Access to a consistent flow of new advice, tips, hints, and strategies from the pros

• Access to Elite TV that will have streamed Call of Duty themed shows

• Daily Competitions for real world prizes

• Access to exclusive leagues

Misc. Details

There are a number of details that have surfaced about MW3 multiplayer that do not fit into any of the categories above but are worth knowing regardless.

• There will be no dedicated servers on XBOX 360
• A new background update system has been added for the developers.  It will allow them to fix things such as the javelin glitch without the need for a patch, and should make fixes appear quicker for us so we don’t have to suffer for months of overpowered weapons.
• There will be up to twenty maps available at launch, with a simpler focus and gun-on-gun play with anti-camping designs.  Expect the maps to be more reminiscent of CoD4 than MW2 and Black Ops.
• Spec Ops and campaign progression will will give further currency for the prestige shop and allow weapons to be accessed in multiplayer before the required level.
• Split-screen online play will be returning.

Spec Ops

In addition to standard multiplayer, the spec ops mode from MW2 is returning and looking better then ever.  It is the same concept as before, with scenarios two players have to strive to overcome.  From what we have seen they look even more varied and exciting than the originals.  The one mission that has been available for the press to play is one player assuming the role of a bomb diffuser in a Juggernaut suit while the other play plays the sniper, defending his comrade.

The second part of spec ops is a new survival mode for two players.  IW has gone on record saying they wanted to keep it to just two players as each player will be more likely to feel like they are contributing.  The horde mode has the players facing increasingly difficult waves of enemies on any multiplayer map.  Players earn money from killing attackers, completing rounds, and challenges.  They can then use this money to unlock new weapons, air support, and reinforcements such as an AI controlled Delta squad.  This mode will have it’s own leader boards and leveling up system separate from multiplayer.

Single Player

Lastly, single player will have the you finish the story from CoD4 and MW2.  Expect the same big context-sensitive moments that we have become used to.  Players will see the end of the war through multiple sets of eyes, a long time staple of the CoD single player.  IW has promised to have us fighting through world renown cities and international land marks reminiscent of fighting through the White House in MW2 and Pripyat in CoD4.  We have been shown action in Berlin, Paris, and New York to name a few, with one trailer showing the player fighting his way through the NYC stock exchange.  Is Ghost really dead?  Who will Makarov stand with by the end of the war?  Will we see this games version of another unforgettable “No Russian” like level?  What will happen to Soap and Price?  We will find out November 8th.