Activision reveals Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer modes and updates, including new perks and a replacement for the controversial Killstreak system
Activision certainly knows how to work a room – or in this case, an aircraft hangar. The company chose its CoD XP fan event in Los Angeles to reveal key details of Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode to 300 members of the world's press. Housed within the mammoth complex at LA's Hercules Campus, built by Howard Hughes to facilitate his Spruce Goose project, it was a noisy and confident briefing with tantalising glimpses at the future of the franchise's vital online component.
It seems the key concern with multiplayer this time round is balance. Over-powered elements such as One Man Army, game-ending nukes, shotguns as secondary weapons and the Commando and Last Stand perks have all been removed. Killstreaks, too, have been replaced. "When we examined objective modes like Capture the Flag, Domination and Search and Destroy the best players were focusing on their team objectives instead of just racking up kills," said Infinity Ward's creative strategist, Robert Bowling. "But it became clear that Killstreaks were optimised for one game type and that was Team Deathmatch."
Now, there are 'pointstreaks' in which players rack up rewards, not just for kills, but for assists and for meeting objectives – capturing flags, for example. The system is divided into three selectable 'strike packages', each optimised for different play styles. With the Assault strike package, players earn in a familiar way, through kills and destroying equipment and vehicles. They then get to select from a range of streak rewards including access to a 'strafe run' feature at nine kills and a heavily armoured Juggernaut suit at 15 kills, as well as attack drones. Players opting for the Support strike package earn points through meeting objectives and crucially these points rack up even after deaths. These can then be blown on rewards like ballistic vests, airdrop traps, recon drones, counter-UAVs and the ability to call in a recon juggernaut.
Finally, the Specialist package is aimed at elite players and opens up additional perks with every new kill threshold. Users will be able to gain up to three extra perks alongside the standard three options – although for balance, players are unable to call in air strikes or gain tactical support from their team. "We think this is the greatest test of individual skill ever included in a Modern Warfare game," concluded Bowling. Apparently, there are 28 different pointstreak rewards in total.
And of course, the Perk list has been updated and added to. With 'Recon', explosive damage paints the target on the player's mini map, while 'Blind Eye' makes you undetectable by air support or sentries, and 'Assassin' renders you invisible to UAVs and portable radars. 'Quickdraw' provides faster aiming, 'Stalker' lets you move faster while aiming, and 'Marksman' identified targets at longer range.
Explaining these alterations, Bowling declared, "We think this is the deepest experience we've ever created. We've made more profound additions and changes to the core multiplayer experience in MW3 than we have in any other chapter. We're supporting a larger variety of play styles than ever before. This is the most balanced multiplayer experience than we've ever done."
Another new addition in MW3 is the weapon progression system – in essence, a replacement for the currency system in Black Ops. As you build experience with a particular gun, it gains its own XP, which can then be spent on upgrades such as attachments, reticules and camo designs. However, you can also unlock and select different 'weapons proficiencies' which act like gun-specific perks. For example, 'Kick' provides reduced recoil when firing, 'Attachments' lets you add two attachments on your primary weapon, 'Focus' reduces the flinch reflex when hit by enemy fire and 'Stability' reduces the sway of the weapon when you're shooting on the move.
Attachments, meanwhile, include holographic sights and a dual scopes providing both close and long-range optics. According to Infinity Ward producer Mark Rubin, there are different versions of the dual scope for different classes: the assault version has a holographic sight and a magnifier, while an LMG and SMG version has a hammer sight – an ACOG-style magnifier and a red dot on top, which you can switch between.
In terms of classes, we now have five options. Judging by the Team Deathmatch session I played, the grenadier is the standard assault option, with a Heckler & Koch G36c assault rifle as primary. Then there's 'First Recon' with a Heckler & Koch UMP SMG and an MP-412 revolver. The burly Overwatch class has an MK46 LMG and Mark 153 SMAW rocket launcher, while the Scout Sniper gets a .50 cal Barrett sniper rifle. Lastly, there's the interesting Riot Control option, wielding the nightmarish Armsel Striker, a shotgun with a 12-round rotary cylinder. In real-life, it's apparently slow to reload, but the in-game animation has you whizzing cartridges in at impressive speed.
Of the 40 weapons in the game, there are some other intriguing new additions. Rubin spoke about the XM25 20mm grenade launcher which lets you use the left stick to mark your distance via a laser sight; then you can shoot a grenade through a window. The projectile will air burst a metre into the room. "It's a smaller grenade than the 203 but it's a fun tool to use to get people out of cover," said Rubin.
16 maps will be included with Modern Warfare 3 on release. At the demo event last night, I played through a tense, claustrophobic map based in the winding back alleys of Paris. I also tried Village, set throughout a ragtag collection of huts on an African savannah, and the visually arresting Underground, set in and around a blast-damaged tube station, complete with burned out trains, and – outside on ground level – police cars with their lights flashing, and iconic red buses abandoned on empty, eerie streets. More on those later.
Two interesting new play modes were announced. In Kill Confirmed you have to collect the dogtags that appear above downed enemies in order to gain the points from a kill. However, if a teammate of your foe gets to the tags first, the kill is cancelled. I played this mode in the Village setting and it's already spawned an intriguing gang tactic where groups of players roam the map together, often lobbing concussion grenades and flash bangs ahead of them. The other newcomer is Team Defender in which two sides fight to gain possession of a single flag and then gain points for keeping hold of it.
Elsewhere, private matches will allow participants to mix and match different elements, settings and features to create user-generated game modes. Elite subscribers will be able to submit their creations to online votes and the best will be made available to the public. There are also several Private game mode templates including 'Drop Zone' where you must hold the zone for team points and care packages; 'Infection' in which the infected team kills opposing team members to bring them across to the sick side; and 'Juggernaut' in which players must kill the Juggernaut and then take on the role themselves. Infinity Ward has also brought over the fun 'One in the Chamber' and 'Gun Game' options from the Black Ops wager matches.
Activision also clarified details of the co-op Spec Ops mode. There will be two options: the Survival mode, seen at E3, in which two players face increasingly tough waves of enemies, earning cash to spend on weapons, equipment and airstrikes. Then there's the return of the Mission mode giving players16 new time-trial and objective-based missions to play through with a friend. The Spec Ops modes will also come with a separate ranking and progression system.
Other reveals included a Universal Player Card, which apparently collates and rewards all your achievements from every Call of Duty game you've played on your machine, with attendant loyalty rewards. There is also a special Prestige Shop which provides a range of in-game rewards every time a player prestiges – this looks to include things like double weapon XP, but it flashed past rather quickly on the screen so I'll be checking that out again later. And of course there will be support for dedicated servers on PC, with players able to browse, filter, favourite and join any server they like as well as setting up their own servers and admins with controls over rules, setup and ban lists.
It was a comprehensive unveiling, then, of a multiplayer system that's been subtly re-worked and re-engineered to be more inviting to a wider range of players, as well as rewarding those who have reached higher levels of competency. The releasing of the streak reward system from kills may well prove the most important upgrade in terms of the online playing field, though the social networking and group definition elements brought in by Elite could well bring about a shining new era in which players on public servers never again need face the barrage of slurs and insults from let's say 'over-enthusiastic' teenagers. That in itself could be the revolution that more reserved and thoughtful Call of Duty fanatics have been waiting for.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is released on 8 November for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/sep/02/modern-warfare-3-multiplayer-details
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