Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is officially this year's Call of Duty title, and ahead of launch, the team is running multiple beta tests across different platforms to gauge community feedback. The Xbox open beta is about to go live shortly, so we've been hands-on with the early access version to see how things are shaping up on the multiplayer front for CoD 2023.
The long and short of our time with the beta is that MW3 feels a lot like last year's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, at least from a technical perspective. This is no bad thing - the bones of MW2 were absolutely fantastic and last year's CoD release remains one of the best-feeling FPS titles on the market. It's Sledgehammer Games at the helm this year though, so things have changed somewhat.
The team has made a concerted effort to speed things up this year - one of the biggest community complaints from last year's title was that things felt too slow to play, at least on the multiplayer front. MW3 encourages fast movement and a run & gun style of play, so if that's your thing, you'll probably get on quite well with this year's offering.
![Hands On: Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Feels Like DLC Of The Nostalgic Kind 1](https://images.purexbox.com/7285bb8abeacc/hands-on-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-feels-like-dlc-of-the-nostalgic-kind-1.900x.jpg)
The faster base movement speed makes the new MW3 feel a bit more like an older COD title, something that extends to the content present in multiplayer at launch as well (and in this beta for that matter). For those of you who don't know, this year's COD contains every single multiplayer map from the original MW2, and five of those are present in the beta. We've got Rust, Favela, Estate, Highrise and Skidrow here - and we've been having a great time revisiting these classic levels.
Sure, it does feel like you're getting short changed a little bit with so much old and reused content, but at the end of the day these maps work for a reason and the standard of new, original maps in the series these days isn't at the same level anymore - for the most part anyway. We're already looking forward to playing the rest of these classic 2009-era maps in the full release, but if you're yearning for some new playgrounds to take names on, the team is bringing brand-new maps to the full game via post-launch seasons.
Weaponry has a 'throwback' feel to it as well. You've got versions of the classic ACR and UMP weapons from the original MW series, among others - although there are some new ones mixed in. Gunplay feels almost identical to last year's game, and this is where MW3 most feels like 'DLC' for 2022's MW2. Taking down enemies doesn't feel much different to last year — aside from a longer time-to-kill in MW3 — although you could arguably say most Call of Duty titles feel similar in the shooting department.
![Hands On: Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Feels Like DLC Of The Nostalgic Kind](https://images.purexbox.com/dd1be561407ea/hands-on-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3-feels-like-dlc-of-the-nostalgic-kind.900x.jpg)
The modes present here are franchise mainstays too for the most part - we've had TDM, Kill Confirmed, Domination and Hardpoint to play around with since the start of the beta. There are no surprises with these, they all work well with MW3's fast and frantic style - we've probably enjoyed Domination and Hardpoint the most during our time with the beta. Search & Destroy, and a brand-new mode, have just been added to the rotation too, and we're curious to see how those feel once we've got more playtime in.
For the most part, the beta has been stable for us on Xbox Series X and PS5, and it's definitely worth a download if you're looking for something that closely resembles the final release - at least on current-gen. On Xbox, you have the option to use 120Hz with the right display, and the game will default to this higher refresh rate if it's selected in your console settings. If you can, we absolutely recommend playing at 120FPS - the added smoothness is lovely in a frantic FPS like this.
Modern Warfare 3 is turning into exactly what we expected as soon as we first heard about it - a glorified DLC package for last year's game that fully hones in on classic CoD nostalgia. However, that doesn't mean it's not worth your time - these maps remain a blast to play and the game's mechanics are further refined from last year's MW2. We're definitely hooked enough to want to try the full game out anyway, and we can absolutely recommend giving the beta a go to see if you too are pulled back in by these old school Call of Duty battlegrounds.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Open Beta goes live on Xbox this Saturday, October 14. For the full beta release times, check out our guide down below.
Have you locked in some CoD beta time this weekend? Let us know your plans in the comments below.
Comments 17
I won't be buying as these have become more about selling Cosmetic Bundles and Season Passes on top of buying the Game. I loved MW2 on the 360 and the maps bring back great memories but most were because of the 'friends' I played with - most, if not all have also moved on from CoD now too.
Does the term 'Ultra DLC Pro' exist? Cause if not, this game would fall into that category. 😂 I'm sorry nothing they're doing justifies asking full price. I for one won't be dropping a cent on this but watch this become the best selling COD game since Judas Iscariot charged the Pharisees 30 pieces of silver.
@BRT15
You could actually play it instead of parroting everything you see on the internet. I actually played it this morning and it plays pretty different in a good way.
@ZuneTattooGuy hold the phone, so what you're saying is, I should drop another 80€ for this game based on some minor tweaks to the gameplay, which mind you, people complained about during the beta of MW2 (i.e. slow movement, TTK etc.)? No thank you...
And as for your insinuation that I'm a mindless drone spewing recycled comments from the internet, how about considering for one moment that others have played COD since 2003 and maybe, just maybe, know what they're talking about or may even have a legitimate opinion on it.
@BRT15
How can you form a legit thought about a game you haven't played? I too am very old and have played every entry in this series. If you can't afford to play I understand that complaint
Didn't realise mw2 was considered slow....seems plenty fast enough for me....guess it wasn't fast enough for the sugar educed kids who like to jump and slide every second
I'm always in it for the campaign. The multi is an afterthought.
@ZuneTattooGuy if you can't afford it i understand what a noncy comment🙄betas free tomorrow to see if you even wanna buy it instead of wasting like 80 quid on a game that's probs 🐶💩 again😂
@Kezelpaso do you know how big the file size is for the Beta on Series X? I'd like to try it but I'm afraid I don't have enough room on my console and external memory lol
@Decimateh
I wasted nothing because they didn't charge me up front. But have fun with your freebie
@clvr
You have to have I believe at least warzone launcher installed and then you simply activated the beta
@ZuneTattooGuy thanks, but I don't have that cause I don't play Warzone!
@clvr
I don't either I have modern warfare 2
@clvr It's about 110GB because it forces you to download the 'core' of Warzone, and then an additional Beta file :/
@Kezelpaso thanks!
I was really disappointed with the last one, I'll just wait for this to hit Gamepass.
@ZuneTattooGuy IL not be bothering tbh IV too many games to play atm and all new cod's since bo4 have been💩😭
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