Summary
When it comes toCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3Zombies, most gamers will be eager to weigh in on the gameplay, as the mode is going in a very different direction from the round-based format that started at all. Players will be entering a 24-player map full of roaming undead, dangerous storms, and even thebiggestCoDZombies boss ever. With an extraction timer ticking down and pressuring players to loot as much as they can, the mode will surely be loved by some and disliked by others. However, the story could play a big role in the mode’s reception.
Though it is true that addictive, highly replayable gameplay experiences are whyCall of DutyZombies has stuck around as long as it has, the storytelling is another key reason for the mode’s success. After all, many players would not care about completing Zombies’ main quests if they had no interest in the plot, and entertaining interactions between characters like Richtofen and Dempsey helped make them as iconic as any map. While fans do know thatCall of Duty:Modern Warfare 3Zombies will be set in the same universe asBlack Ops Cold WarandVanguard, its story taking place during the modern day raises a few red flags.
Call of Duty 2024 Zombies Being a Prequel Will Be Risky Territory
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare3 Zombies is in danger of simultaneously feeling too important and not important enough. On the one hand, it being set so late in the Dark Aether story means that it could essentially be the end of the timeline. This means that whatever happens inModern Warfare 3Zombies will, oddly enough, be a big finale of sorts. Treyarch has alreadykilled off fourCoDZombies charactersin theModern Warfare 3Zombies cinematic trailer, so it’s clear that the mode is being taken seriously from a story standpoint. While this should be a good thing, it seems problematic for a few reasons.
Perhaps the biggest issue with this possible finale is that the modern day setting means very few characters from the previous story can be involved. Weaver, Dr. Grey, Carver, and Dr. Strauss are all dead, and Ravenov is now an old man. Eddie, AKA Richtofen, is nowhere to be seen, and Samantha is presumably still trapped with theForsaken. While Sam escaping and interacting with her former ally Ravenov would make for a nice moment, it seems like most of the characters that fans care about will be out of the picture, with the big modern fight being carried out by random Operators who were not even present for Requiem’s efforts in the Cold War.
Another issue with this approach is that whatever players accomplish in the 1990s era of the Dark Aether story, which is all-but-confirmed to be covered inCall of Duty2024, will feel pointless. After all, the Zombies still end up returning in the present day, so players will be fighting to solve a conflict that they know they cannot end. This will make the sacrifice that Weaver, Grey, Strauss, and Carver apparently end up making feel meaningless, as they will essentially give their lives to keep the undead away for just a few decades. Sadly,Call of Duty2024 Zombiesbeing set in betweenBlack Ops Cold WarandMW3means that the next part of the story is predictable.
On top of this,Modern Warfare 3Zombies itself is set between games, as it takes place betweenMW2019 andMW2. This basically means that nothing important can happen to theModern Warfareuniverse or characters like Soap and Laswell, as everything has to go back to normal beforeModern Warfare 2takes place. Essentially, Treyarch will be sending a mixed message with this new mode, as it both matters greatly and does not matter at all. It may followCall of Duty2024 in the timeline, suggesting it will be the culmination of decades of fighting, yet if it can just be tossed in between twoModern Warfaregames' stories then it must have no major effect on the widerCall of Dutyuniverse.
Though there is a chance thatTreyarchsurprises fans with a narrative that navigates this minefield of problems, unfortunately that seems unlikely. Ultimately,Modern Warfare 3Zombies showcases the problem with crossing over the Zombies and campaign experiences, as the former’s story has to become too safe and predictable since the campaign characters have plot armor. Additionally, the mode highlights the downside of prequels, as not only is it in danger of feeling inconsequential, but nowCall of Duty2024 Zombies is as well.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3launches on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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