Activision's Modern Warfare 3 will reportedly go head-to-head with Battlefield 3 by focusing on large-scale maps and destructible environments, two of the features that have helped EA's rival FPS franchise earn its strong following.
That's according to Kotaku, which says it has been informed by "sources who have seen the game in action" that the threequel raises the bar for the Modern Warfare series.
The title is said to continue the story of Modern Warfare 2, which saw Russian forces invade the US. The site was told MW3 will deliver a "world in crisis" feel, but that it's unlikely to centre on a post-US invasion plot similar to Homefront's.
It will have an urban setting and may include characters from Modern Warfare 2 such as John 'Soap' MacTavish and Captain John Price, the report adds.
Activision said last night that details of 2011's Call of Duty "initiatives" will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Comments
54 comments so far...
TheLastDodo on 10 May '11 said:
Is it popcorn time again?
Headsrinker on 10 May '11 said:
I look forward to hearing more on this. I definately think the maps for BLOPS are all very small and make for a very quick 'spawn, shoot, die, spawn, shoot, die'
djhazardous on 10 May '11 said:
Bigger, large-scale maps 'ey?
Don't like the sound of that, that's Battlefield's thing not Call of Duty's.
Expect the next one to be nowhere near the standards of the first two Modern Warfare's now that so many key staff have departed from Infinity Ward.
StonecoldMC on 10 May '11 said:
I think it would be hysterical if MW3 turned out to be the best shooter of this generation!
Everyone would still say they hate it, no one would buy it, but it would still be the biggest selling and most played Game this gen
.
BLOPS was the first one I didnt buy, interested in seeing where they go with MW3.
monkeyd_93 on 10 May '11 said:
ye....nah load of crap and not going to happen, How will a destructible environment handle killstreaks coming in every few seconds, or nubetoobers in CQ? There's no middle ground for tanks or choppers which take skill to utilise, between p**sy weapons and the OP killstreaks. All this does is give people reason to use explosives everywhere.
sibear on 10 May '11 said:
Bigger maps for COD? Why? It doesn't suit it's style of play unless they put in loads of vehicles which isn't gonna happen. Destructible environments? So a completely new game engine that's taken less than 2 years to build, is unheard of and was worked on by multiple teams?? Super unlikely. Or maybe they used Atomic Games amazing Breach game engine!
This story reeks of BS
SkyBlueJukeBox on 10 May '11 said:
I thought they couldn't call it Modern Warfare 3 due to the ongoing lawsuit with the IW founders? I kinda hope Activision do call it MW3 and then lose the lawsuit, just to see how much damages the IW founders get from the courts for that!!
SeroliuS on 10 May '11 said:
Doubt it highly. Most of their audience simply wants TDM maps as they fail to understand the concept of objectives and teamwork. It would backfire on them, people who are any good at FPS will get BF3, so...
aawells07 on 10 May '11 said:
Hey guys can i jump on the "I hate COD bandwagon" with you guys? I dont have anything else to do.
Headsrinker on 10 May '11 said:
Just wait and see what the deal is. I can understand people's negativity because of past experiences. If they are actually trying to develop COD's so each one isn't EXACTLY the same then surely this is a good thing. Wait and see some footage of this destructable environment and bigger maps, then make a judgement. Dont just dismiss because its COD. The last MW games have been exceptional(MW) and good (MW2) so it deserves to be given a chance.
callumca on 10 May '11 said:
Bobby Kotick: The Call of Duty franchise has made my filthy stinking rick not only have we capitalised on it's success we have Pounded it into the ground and due to this some those game t**ts are claiming that we are milking the franchise and that is stale and boring. So gentlemen to ensure that my bank account stay full and yours of course remains empty we need ideas. Now!
Worker1:Erm ideas? I'm the artist I'm not trained for this! None of us are!
Bobby Kotick: I dont care if you were trained to lick your own ass come up with some ideas!
Worker2:How the hell do you expect us to come up with any ideas!? Were nowhere near as good as the guys YOU fired!
Bobby Kotick: Let's get this straight if I don't make a tremendous amount of money on the next call of duty game not only will you all be fired but I'll have your home set alight and your children sold into slavery now get your s**t together!
Worker3:Sir I have an idea....why don't we just copy the next battlefield game I mean noone could say were not being innovative then can they? As an added bonus we don't have to spen any money at all on design because it's all there waiting for us just copy and paste.
Bobby Kotick: You sir just got a promotion
Munsen on 10 May '11 said:
In other words, they're turning MW3 into a Battlefield clone
Sounds to me as if Activision are admitting defeat. No way will MW3 match the graphic quality, specialisation or scope that BF3 will achieve, and BC2 before it
COD is dead
gmcb007 on 10 May '11 said:
I remember a time when devs took pride in their work, just aimed at pleasing the player and creating all round goodness. Now its constant schoolyard trash talk at each other and creating stupid rivalries to oust each other like its the goddam US V USSR space race. Hell we have our own gaming cold war.
For example this current COD vrs BF is going to end badly because they're getting too focused on what features the other lacks and so they'll both end up with shoddy games by just blatantly copying each other. (as this article proves)
Make your game UNIQUE!!! Not just what the other competitor is doing!
Oh are people not allowed to make a negative comment towards COD without being branded as some member in a COD hating fad cult? God forbid somebody mentions the many flaws the game contains.
stedwyer on 10 May '11 said:
Don't care what all the haters have to say........... I want this game!
skyvisco on 10 May '11 said:
buying it for the single player.
gothchild on 10 May '11 said:
The story has become ridiculous drivel and I'd prefer the maps to stay tighter like the first Modern Warfare. Pessimistic.
danhalen74 on 10 May '11 said:
i love black ops. and you can take that to the bank motherbitches!
RichPerry on 10 May '11 said:
...I like the Modern Warfare games.
meh2allfanboys on 10 May '11 said:
If theirs bigger maps is it safe to say theirs more players i liked bfbc2 in squad deathmatch 4 teams of 4 if im not mistaken because 6 v 6 on bigger maps is a bit meh but we still need dedicated servers on consoles and not for £10 a month you greedy t**ts Activi$ion
Red Deer01 on 10 May '11 said:
Well quite clearly we need more info.
1) We need to see their idea of "bigger maps".
2) We need to see how petty their destruction is in comparison to an engine built especially for destrucition (looking at the Frostbite 2 and Red Faction engines for comparisons).
Plus even with those 2 things this still sounds more like a Battlfeild wannabe. Plus, Player count? Dedicated Servers or not? (thats a big one there considering the P2P CoDs associated with), Killstreaks effecting destruction?. In other words, theres a hell of alot we need to know. But i'm already sold on battlefield and against CoD regardless; just nice to see if they can even peak my interest with whatever they have atm.
darkchaser25 on 10 May '11 said:
god look how desperate activision are. destructible environments yeah work on the rubbish graphics and everything else to start with!
Hashbrown on 10 May '11 said:
Admitting defeat? Seriously doubt it as they break records with each release of game and DLC. I'm no COD fan boy, haven't paid of any DLC and only have two of the games, but saying they have lost it is a bit of a joke
TheCrimsonFenix on 10 May '11 said:
If the reports are right then all it will be is the same CoD game just with cover that just gets destroyed. Does that sound terribly unexciting? Good, because that's the effect the final game will have.
Very_Silver_Ownz on 10 May '11 said:
The MW games were really good I thought. MW1 is the best FPS's ever and MW2 was decent. I won't bash it like the cool kids but I won't hold my breath.
BenThomasFoster on 10 May '11 said:
Ohhh this should be fun. who knows what amazing thing they've got up their sleves. However i'm sure i seen an article where activision themeselves said that the current engine will still be used? Only miricals will allow that engine to do detructable enviroments. then again the recent cod games have been on a 2 year cycle and now with this new studio there on 3 year cycle and you can to ALOT in 3 years
Headsrinker on 10 May '11 said:
COD haters just see a headline that contains 'MW/BLOPS' and see it as an opportunity to start rambling, its a complete waste of time reading the comments on any COD threads in most cases.
Bright-Light on 10 May '11 said:
this is gonna be exciting stuff. It is either gonna add a little extra to the experience or they will make a total mess of it. Its a big risk on their part. But im glad they are taking that risk.
craiglackenby on 10 May '11 said:
I love CoD and will no doubt be at the midnight launch. I just can't see these destructible environments being more than cover chipping away, there will be no collapsing buildings mark my words.
aawells07 on 10 May '11 said:
@Headsrinker
I totally agree its so annoying to see the same comments posted over and over the hate is ridiculous and most of time immature garbage. I think its a love/hate kinda thing cause if all these people truly didnt care for the game than they wouldnt bother even clicking on the article let alone taking the time to comment. I know that when i scan the front page when visiting this site i only click on things im interested in. Welcome to the internet i guess.
Sp0nGeToM on 10 May '11 said:
I want maps like World At War had. Big maps, but still there are close quater battles. Although the destructable enviroment thing? I dont like it. But it would be interesting to see what IW can do to outbeat Battlefield 3 and other big games coming out this year.
The_Jaster on 10 May '11 said:
They could always adjust the killstreaks ye know.
kimoak on 10 May '11 said:
I would say Activisions should get worried when there is an article about CoD and there are no comments.
Rise_ofthe_Mike on 10 May '11 said:
LOL, sticking with Battlefield 3...But I hope they do a good job on MW3 and up the ante. I've never been much for a game that requires so little skill and is pretty much just a twitch shooter that oozes style. I want a fight that is challenging. BF3 gives me that.
Headsrinker on 10 May '11 said:
Rise_ofthe_Mike
LOL, sticking with Battlefield 3...But I hope they do a good job on MW3 and up the ante. I've never been much for a game that requires so little skill and is pretty much just a twitch shooter that oozes style. I want a fight that is challenging. BF3 gives me that.
Im not taking the p*ss, but am i the only one who hasn't played BF3 yet??
Your guessing what BF3 gives yer, it might give you a big disappointment, you dont know yet
wasted-again on 10 May '11 said:
Keep taking the little blue pills, I'm sure the voices will go away sooner or later.
yodalicious on 10 May '11 said:
@wasted-again
Point proven. Another COD piece and dissing someones opinion on what is modestly true. Defo a COD lover. And that is your choice. I'm not going to go to your level and diss you too much and call you names and ask you to grow up. Just respect what others have to say. That piece above you commented on was actually quite funny because it could be true.
callumca on 10 May '11 said:
I don't just have blue pills I have green and red too
The green ones do have the slight affect of making me paranoid however they do stop the urge to kill so that can only be a good thing and the red ones well im not really sure what they do at all.
yodalicious on 10 May '11 said:
@wasted-again
Oh and by the way just noticed that I'm almost double your age and I have been in business/a job, WAY longer than you. Took risks, but guess what, all employees got their pay-checks Yeayyyyy. So in closing, COD lover (your choice) and the rest of us will enjoy good competition and hope that Acti get a kick in the ass and give us great COD games in the future.
Mmmmgrolsch on 10 May '11 said:
Sammy_bham on 10 May '11 said:
this article cracks me up
it may comtain this
and it may have these characters.
it may also have this...
i could have told you this information cvg.
for example, there may a new character called "spirit" which also has ghosts voice. and is just ghost with a badly burnt body, in new clothing.
FTW!
LOL
pRM8 on 11 May '11 said:
For all those whining at the "haters", yeah sure you going to get some that just moan for the sake of it but maybe some folks have genuine reason to not particularly like the MW series or indeed the publisher involved. Maybe they are PC gamers who have been shafted in the past or even console gamers who aren't that fond of paying stupid amounts of money for some re-hashed maps every few months. Who knows? But just as you are free to proclaim your love for the game others are free to show their distaste.
Would also like to point out that CVG are the architects at work here
Jensonjet on 11 May '11 said:
callumca, don't give up the day job!
360_Fan on 11 May '11 said:
Good to see that COD has some real competion this time around. I am still playing Bad Company 2 on a regular basis and there are still plenty of people playing.
I just hate that Battlefield 3 and Gears 3 are released around the same time. I will be getting both, but I am wondering where I will find the time to play both!! No time for another COD this year. Will always score very high in the reviews, but cant hold my attention.
icedmetal57 on 11 May '11 said:
As much as I personally dislike Call of Duty due to it's stale yearly rehashes and whatnot, I'm still partially interested in what's to come of this new game. Of course I don't plan on buying it, I'm only curious to see if they bring anything new, though unlikely as that is.
MattyR95 on 11 May '11 said:
Interesting. But will it be full of bugs and unbalanced like the others.
FoxySnake on 11 May '11 said:
Bigger maps and destructible environments by fall this year? How can they have made an update reliable game engine in such a short space of time? I enjoy COD but this story doesn't have much solid evidence
_Marty_ on 11 May '11 said:
New features that are in Battlefield 3, but it sounds like they'll be charging for them...
KK-Headcharge78 on 11 May '11 said:
'Bigger maps and destructible environments by fall this year? How can they have made an update reliable game engine in such a short space of time? I enjoy COD but this story doesn't have much solid evidence'
Much like most of the comments posted after it.
The_Jaster on 11 May '11 said:
@foxysnake
You do know this upcoming call of Duty will have been in development for 2 years plus couldn't sledgehammer games who have some involvement been working on an engine for it for the last 4?
Wroooooooong.
TheCrimsonFenix on 11 May '11 said:
^ With Activision pretty much saying a new better engine is a no no as it would be counter productive, I sincerely doubt it. If anything, the CoD games have been a prime example of copy and paste games development. If we're lucky, they'll have heard the almighty cry of a lot of people who are complaining about the series. But seeing as this is CoD, a game where the changes feel like nothing more than glorified expansion packs, has so many teens screaming like 9 year olds for their mommy to buy it each year, morons buying it just because it has CoD in the title, and of course those who actually do enjoy the game for what it is, I seriously doubt they're going to bother to implement anything much different in the next one.
To Activision, this is just an annual cashcow waiting for it's time of year to come around and be milked once again. I'd actually love for Activision to pull something out their arses that turns out to be a pleasant surprise this year but all I can predict is MW2.5 with a few minor gameplay "improvements" in the form of some fancy new weapon or maybe even destructible environments. The exact same thing goes on with Smackdown. Each year, THQ boast about something that "makes it the best yet" and at the end of the day all it turns out to be is a slightly refined and reworked gameplay mechanic that's either already been in the game before or even worse, been taken out of one of the prior sequels. Bring on CoD: Project Colossal Cash In.
The_Jaster on 11 May '11 said:
Even if they just added Destructible environments it changes the mechanics of the game completely as they would have to be smarter in their map design not mention they would have to be bigger (the maps) as this article suggests.
Destructible environments would get rid of most campers too which is a good thing.
TheCrimsonFenix on 11 May '11 said:
Not if their definition of destructible environments is "Preset walls that chip away gradually". I couldn't honestly see Activision bringing anything beyond Crysis 2's level of destructible cover. It would just end up feeling like MW wall penetration 2.0.
perins on 11 May '11 said:
This sort of proves how threatened activision now feels towards Battlefield 3
SpandexArmstrong on 12 May '11 said:
I hope Battlefield 3 sucks so you guys have no choice but to play MW3!
Or maybe, just maybe you come outta your caves & try something new. The over saturation of FPS titles (especially military ones) has made this a pretty dull gen.