Highlights
- The Open Combat missions in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 offer a twist on the franchise's usual linearity, and it sounds like they will resemble the reboot's Spec Ops mode.
- However, recent Spec Ops modes have been poorly received by many fans who preferred the classic linear structure of the original missions, as well as the location variety since all the missions took place inside a Warzone map.
- To avoid the same criticism, Modern Warfare 3 should include set-pieces in Open Combat missions and make sure that there are plenty of linear levels as well.
The recent Gamescom presentation outlined new Open Combat missions for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 that will add a twist to the usual linearity of the franchise's campaigns. With Open Combat missions featuring semi-open worlds and a variety of objectives, fans have already noted the similarities they share with the new take on Spec Ops that the MW reboot has employed.
While Open Combat will shake up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's campaign, it remains that recent Spec Ops modes have not been received well by a lot of the CoD fan-base. Many players preferred the carefully crafted, linear structure of classic Spec Ops missions, and so inserting the newer framework of the mode into the campaign of MW3 could draw the same criticisms of Open Combat levels feeling hollow and lacking memorability.
Why the Similarities Between Modern Warfare 3's Open Combat Missions and Spec Ops Are Concerning
Open Combat campaign missions in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 do away with the usual intimacy of the franchise's single-player experiences, instead offering larger playing fields for fans to navigate as they see fit. The way in which these levels will operate seems almost identical to modern Spec Ops missions, resulting in an immediate stigma around Open Combat before MW3 has even released.
The way in which Spec Ops appeared in 2019's Modern Warfare and its 2022 sequel was perhaps the most controversial element of the franchise's reboot. While maintaining the same name, the core mechanics of the original Spec Ops' intimate linear missions were completely done away in the new titles. The reception of the original Spec Ops gave the MW franchise a third mode that rivaled the iconic Zombies seen in Treyarch titles, with fans having these same expectations going into the MW reboot. Unfortunately, those expectations were not met.
The original Spec Ops was defined by its wider range of shorter levels, usually based off of memorable campaign moments. These missions allowed Spec Ops to explore sequences centered around stealth, timed races, or explosive combat encounters. This was entirely lost in the open areas of new Spec Ops modes, greatly limiting the breadth of experiences that the new modes can explore. Additionally, all the missions had the same type of environment because they took place within the series' Warzone maps, as opposed to letting players visit numerous areas from all over the globe like in the old Spec Ops missions.
The first Spec Ops formula was defined by how it maintained the feeling of Call of Duty's linear set-pieces within its campaigns, but extended that style to two-player co-op. While removing this aspect from Spec Ops in new games has not gone down well, taking away linearity from the actual campaign in Modern Warfare 3 could be catastrophic for the title.
Of course, Modern Warfare 3 could also take these similarities as a way to finally rectify the criticism that Spec Ops has faced recently. One way to accomplish this would be to ensure that the set-pieces of the title's campaign are even more concentrated in regular missions to make up for the lack of their presence in Open Combat segments. It would also be smart for Sledgehammer Games to include some linearity within the different objective locations of Open Combat maps.
This would allow certain portions of an Open Combat area to explore things like stealth, whereas other locations could focus more on explosive cinematic moments confined to spaces within the map. There is definite utility behind the new Spec Ops formula, and Modern Warfare 3 needs to split Open Combat missions into separate linear experiences, or the campaign could feel more like battling AI in a Warzone map than a proper campaign.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is coming on November 10 to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.