Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

An overpriced, creatively bankrupt package that feels like a rushed expansion sold as a full premium release. The campaign is the worst in the franchise — recycled war-zone maps, idiot-plot writing, resurrected characters and a hollow, unearned ending — while the new zombies mode awkwardly grafts war-zone mechanics and time limits onto what should be round-based survival. The lone bright spot is faithful classic multiplayer maps paired with fast, smooth movement, but stolen assets, broken progression and performance glitches drag it down.

Well-optimized FPS with excellent gunplay but inconsistent mission quality. Story is weak but firefights are engaging and fun.

Embarrassingly short 3.5-hour campaign that feels like DLC. Rushed storytelling, bad mission design, and recycled War Zone maps make this $70 price inexcusable.

The multiplayer is a solid but unambitious package that is essentially Modern Warfare II with a new coat of paint. Welcome tweaks like faster movement, slide canceling, higher time-to-kill, and a few fun new gadgets make it more responsive, but the maps are all MWII remakes with poor spawns, and the Zombies mode is a dull, empty DMZ reskin. Hard to justify the full price for what feels like a repackaged expansion.

GameSpot: most disconnected CoD ever but zombies mode saves it; multiplayer a hodgepodge; hope postlaunch content holds.