THE COD MODERN WARFARE 3
FANS WHO PREFER TO PLAY ON
PS3 THAN BUY INTO BLACK OPS
4 ON PS4
Meetthecommunityattempting to keep one of the most divisive Call of Duty
games alive.Luke Winkiewastiredofstaringatthesky.The
verticalityofthemorerecentgames
wereinteresting,hesays,butyoucan
onlyeata crossmapheadshotfromsome
wallrunningjamokeenoughtimesbefore
wantingtoretiretoa quiet,simplelife
wheretheonlyenemiesonyourmindare
thosewhohavebothfeetstuckfirmlyto
theground.ModernWarfare3, hesays,is
anidealsummationofthatformula.WARNEVERCHANGES
I’mnotsureanyofthatis
objectivelytrueoruntrue,
butit is interestinghow
Activisionhaspicked
itsspotsonthe
partsoftheCall
ofDutylegacy
thecompany
hasdeemed
indispensable.
ModernWarfare
Remasteredwasan
obviouschoiceforits
historicalsignificance,
butfansofotherentries
in thechurnareforcedto
fendforthemselves.Thereis
nobetterexampleofthisthanCallof
Duty:WorldatWar,whichtodayremains
perhapsthemostephemeraltitlein the
franchise’shistory.(Itwasdeveloped
byTreyarch,andit shiftedthefocus
backtoWorldWar2 oneyearafterthe
firstModernWarfareanditsincredibly
successfulpivottocontemporary
armories.)Naturally,thegamewasmet
withsullenindifferencefromcritics;a
retread,a cash-in,a signofthings
tocome.
Andyet,todayWorldatWarremains
one of the most popular Call of DutyIT’SA REALLY
GOODGAME,I LOVE
ITSOMUCH,ANDIT
SUCKSTHATITTAKES
ANHOURTOGET
INTO A MATCH.War...
JACOBANDBRANDONARETWO
16-YEAROLDSINONTARIO,AND
THEY’REWORKINGDAYANDNIGHT
TORESURRECTMODERNWARFARE3.
EVERYCOUPLEOFDAYS,THEYPOST
A MISSIVETOTHEGAME’SMOSTLY
DORMANTSUBREDDIT,PETITIONING
THEMASSESFORA QUICKROUNDOF
HEADQUARTERS,ORKILLCONFIRMED,
ORTEAMDEATHMATCH,LIVEAND
UNCUTFROMDILAPIDATINGPS3
FIRMWARE.FORTHEMOSTPART,THE
QUERIESARELEFTUNANSWERED,
WHICHHASMADETHEMESPECIALLY
EAGERTOJUMPONA SKYPECALL
WITHMETOHELPGETTHEWORDOUT.
IT’SA TUESDAYEVENING,THREESHORT
DAYSAWAYFROMTHELAUNCHOF
BLACKOPS4 ANDITSANAUDACIOUS
REENVISIONINGOFTHECALLOFDUTY
FORMULA- BUTTHESEBOYSBARELY
CARE,ASTHEYTELLMEEXACTLY
HOWARDUOUSITISTOKEEPSOAP
MACTAVISHALIVE.
“Wecameback[toModernWarfare
3]a monthortwoagoandwenoticeda
dramaticdropofplayers.It’sveryrareto
findgamesnow,”lamentsJacob.“It’sa
reallygoodgame,I loveit somuch,andit
sucksthatit takes an hour to get into
a match.”INWITHTHEOLD,OUTWITHTHENEW
It wasn’talwayslikethis.Overthecourse
oftheeightyearssinceModernWarfare
3’srelease,Jacobhasoccasionallyorbited
backtoitsmultiplayertofinda small,
vibrantcommunityofplayers.Eventhe
bestCallofDutygamesareonlyasalive
astheweightonitsbandwidth– which
meansthatolderentriesin thefranchise
canberenderedessentiallyunplayableas
people pick up and move on for greenerpasturesandhigherdefinitions- but
there’salwaysa fewholdoutsreadyand
willingtostandagainsttherisingtide.
It’sa stubbornnessthat’smagnifiedeven
morebytheunyieldingyearlymandate
Activisionenforcesonitstriptychof
studios,andthat’ssomethingI’vebeen
thinkingaboutlately,asthisindustry
pivotsintoitsnascent,service-driven
model.Somuchworkis dumpedinto
everysingleoneofthesegames,onlyfor
themtobesavagelysupplantedand
uprootedbytheirowncreators.
In thegrandschemeof
things,ModernWarfare
3 didn’tdistinguish
itselfparticularly
well.In 2011,it
feltlikethefirst
hiccupin Callof
Duty’slengthy
uncontestedreign,
whichcracked
openthedoor
forBattlefieldand
Counter-Strike.So
atfirstI foundit odd
thatthesetwoboyswere
soeagertopumpbloodback
intoa fairlyanonymousvein(forthose
wondering,no,there’snotmuchofa Call
ofDuty:Ghostsscenethesedays).But
theyquicklyremindmethatfallingin love
witha gameis rarelya logicalprocess.
No,it’sallabouttheincidentalsand
particulars.ForBrandon,ModernWarfare
3 captureda heavy,dark-skymilitary
ennuithatslowlydriftedoutoftheseries
asBlackOpsgotgoofierandAdvanced
WarfaregotHalo-ier.“Nowpeopleare
jumpingaroundwithjetpacksin rainbow
kits,”helaments.
Jacob has a similar perspective. He