Compared to some of my game critic friends, I haven't been especially kind to Call of Duty in the last couple of years. With serious PC issues on launch for the last two games and campaigns that were memorable but short with little replay value, I've had a hard time considering any recent Call of...

Modern Warfare 3 is, in some ways, a bit like buying a Spice Girls album, in that, no matter how cool you think you are, it's impossible not to sing along. This is what Call of Duty is, gaming fun in its purest form.

Everything you want from a Call of Duty game and just that little bit more; well worth the asking price; insane fun

At times feels like it is playing it safe; engine is getting a tiny bit tired; multiplayer still slightly too hard for beginners

The ground rumbles beneath my feet as I step out into the hazy daylight. The streets of lower Manhattan are a mess, but a loud noise from above immediately draws my attention to the sky-scraping rooftops in front of me.

Better story with non-stop pace and explosive set pieces; Multiplayer tweaks offer more depth; still inviting to newcomers; Spec Ops missions return and new Survival mode is rewarding; Call of Duty Elite integration is smooth and seems to work well

Two-player max for co-op play in Spec Ops; Several Black Ops innovations are missed

this year, it's now clear that they have two very different approaches to the same genre. At this point, Activision's success story really is its own thing, a game that's so fast, sharp and over the top that at times it has more in common with arcade shooters than military ones.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 offers a satisfying challenge with an expanded Spec Ops mode, while bringing the trilogy's campaign to a solid end and significantly improving the console market's leading multiplayer.

The campaign is bombastic bordering on bewildering, but the rest of the (gargantuan) package is typically life-consuming stuff.

Intelligently expands multiplayer while trimming obnoxious excess; Enough content to last until the inevitable Modern Warfare 4; An eye for a blockbuster setpiece few games possess

Campaign fails to keep momentum; even in a slim six hours; Spec Ops survival feels a little 'me too

Many, including myself, have considered the Call of Duty franchise the heavyweight champion of first person shooters. Over the years, many publishers and developers have attempted to create an FPS experience comparable to Activision's beloved franchise, but inevitably they fall short and are unable...

It would be easy to dismiss Modern Warfare 3 as just another iterative update to the massively successful shooter series. After attending a preview event this summer, I left with concerns that the Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games collaboration shelved the multiplayer innovation Treyarch introduced...

first things first, if you like COD and MW then you will like this. It seems everyone was expecting some brand new version of the MW saga, it was never Marketed as this and so it isn't. What it is, is a brand new chapter with extra features, improved game play in both the campaign and multiplayer.

Call of Duty has proven itself to be the most popular gaming franchise in the world over the last few years and Modern Warfare 3 sets out to retain that title by delivering a globe-trotting war of epic proportions.