Highlights
- Modern Warfare 3 Zombies brings a new gameplay format with a 24-player map and intense challenges, but its reception may depend on the story, which is concerning for a few reasons.
- The chronological finale of the Dark Aether story possibly being in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies means fewer beloved characters will be involved, which is disappointing. It's also unlikely to have major stakes since it's set between MW 2019 and MW2, meaning that the undead must be stopped with little consequence.
- Call of Duty 2024 will also suffer since players could have little motivation to fight, as they know the undead just come back in the present day anyway. Additionally, the fates of Requiem's leaders have been spoiled, and fans now know that their sacrifices will not really matter.
When it comes to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, most gamers will be eager to weigh in on the gameplay, as the mode is going in a very different direction from the round-based format that started at all. Players will be entering a 24-player map full of roaming undead, dangerous storms, and even the biggest CoD Zombies boss ever. With an extraction timer ticking down and pressuring players to loot as much as they can, the mode will surely be loved by some and disliked by others. However, the story could play a big role in the mode's reception.
Though it is true that addictive, highly replayable gameplay experiences are why Call of Duty Zombies has stuck around as long as it has, the storytelling is another key reason for the mode’s success. After all, many players would not care about completing Zombies’ main quests if they had no interest in the plot, and entertaining interactions between characters like Richtofen and Dempsey helped make them as iconic as any map. While fans do know that Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 3 Zombies will be set in the same universe as Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard, its story taking place during the modern day raises a few red flags.
Why Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Could Feature Black Ops 2 Content in Future Seasons
According to recent leaks, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 might be featuring some big homages to past entries, and that could include CoD:Black Ops 2.
Call of Duty 2024 Zombies Being a Prequel Will Be Risky Territory
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies is in danger of simultaneously feeling too important and not important enough. On the one hand, it being set so late in the Dark Aether story means that it could essentially be the end of the timeline. This means that whatever happens in Modern Warfare 3 Zombies will, oddly enough, be a big finale of sorts. Treyarch has already killed off four CoD Zombies characters in the Modern Warfare 3 Zombies cinematic trailer, so it’s clear that the mode is being taken seriously from a story standpoint. While this should be a good thing, it seems problematic for a few reasons.
Perhaps the biggest issue with this possible finale is that the modern day setting means very few characters from the previous story can be involved. Weaver, Dr. Grey, Carver, and Dr. Strauss are all dead, and Ravenov is now an old man. Eddie, AKA Richtofen, is nowhere to be seen, and Samantha is presumably still trapped with the Forsaken. While Sam escaping and interacting with her former ally Ravenov would make for a nice moment, it seems like most of the characters that fans care about will be out of the picture, with the big modern fight being carried out by random Operators who were not even present for Requiem’s efforts in the Cold War.
Another issue with this approach is that whatever players accomplish in the 1990s era of the Dark Aether story, which is all-but-confirmed to be covered in Call of Duty 2024, will feel pointless. After all, the Zombies still end up returning in the present day, so players will be fighting to solve a conflict that they know they cannot end. This will make the sacrifice that Weaver, Grey, Strauss, and Carver apparently end up making feel meaningless, as they will essentially give their lives to keep the undead away for just a few decades. Sadly, Call of Duty 2024 Zombies being set in between Black Ops Cold War and MW3 means that the next part of the story is predictable.
On top of this, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies itself is set between games, as it takes place between MW 2019 and MW2. This basically means that nothing important can happen to the Modern Warfare universe or characters like Soap and Laswell, as everything has to go back to normal before Modern Warfare 2 takes place. Essentially, Treyarch will be sending a mixed message with this new mode, as it both matters greatly and does not matter at all. It may follow Call of Duty 2024 in the timeline, suggesting it will be the culmination of decades of fighting, yet if it can just be tossed in between two Modern Warfare games' stories then it must have no major effect on the wider Call of Duty universe.
Though there is a chance that Treyarch surprises fans with a narrative that navigates this minefield of problems, unfortunately that seems unlikely. Ultimately, Modern Warfare 3 Zombies showcases the problem with crossing over the Zombies and campaign experiences, as the former's story has to become too safe and predictable since the campaign characters have plot armor. Additionally, the mode highlights the downside of prequels, as not only is it in danger of feeling inconsequential, but now Call of Duty 2024 Zombies is as well.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
