The CoD MW3 Open Beta Reminded Me Why CoD Is the King of FPS

We played the CoD MW3 Open Beta and have some thoughts. Learn what you can expect from the next instalment of Call of Duty.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 was first released in 2011 and was just another milestone in the global success story of the Call of Duty franchise. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era titles of the series were the ones that cemented Activision's legacy and its impact both culturally and in the games industry can't be understated.

Which is why I'm probably the worst or the best person to give my impressions.

My stint with Call of Duty started with a copy of World at War and ended after many long nights playing Black Ops 2 multiplayer matches with my brother on our couch. Now over 10 years later I get to play the Beta of the upcoming Modern Warfare 3 Remake/Reboot and was quite surprised to find out how little has changed.

The CoD MW3 Open Beta is a Blast

There are smarter people out there who can tell you all the little and big changes going from MW2 (2022) to MW3 (2023). We instead want to give you the impression of someone who likes shooters but hasn't touched Call of Duty in over a decade. And I must admit that the appeal of CoD is timeless. It's the junk food of first-person shooters and I write that with great affection.

Maps are small, winding mazes that funnel players into battle while they rush from one objective to the other. Guns all feel and sound satisfying to shoot and you're never far away from an exhilarating firefight.

While I personally prefer shooters that require a little more tactical finesse or offer deep and engaging choices in loadout, there is something beautiful in CoD's simplicity. It's a game you can just pick up, play, tune out your brain, and shoot at everything that moves.

And I want to clarify that these are not bad things, accessibility and ease of use have always been the franchise's biggest strengths. It's nice to to play a title that is laser-focused on letting you do what it does best, shooting baddies.

The constant barrage of feel-good sound effects and numbers only adds to this. Much of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 feels like an arcade game, with quick fun rounds focused on letting you rack up a high score to unlock little goodies left and right.

So after spending 10+ hours with the beta this past week, I'm happy to confirm that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2023) is indeed a Call of Duty game. It might even be the one that finally gets me back into the franchise, as I'm typing this in between rounds.

My complaints are few. Differentiating between friend and foe gets a bit difficult at times, it would be nice if there was an option to outline or mark your teammates. The number of times I've sprinted around the corner and panic-emptied a magazine into friendlies was embarrassing.

It would also be nice if there was a sort of shooting range that lets you toy around with different setups and lets you get a feel for them.

Honoring the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 2023 Edition

As someone who lived in blissful ignorance of what was happening with Call of Duty over the past 10 years, it was nice to see that not much has changed in my absence. And all these years later, CoD's satisfying gunplay and fast-paced, simple action still work.

Activision has an amazing shooter at their hand here. And with enough post-launch support, regular content updates, and a good campaign it might even eclipse the legacy of its namesake.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 releases on November 10, 2023, on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Early Access for the campaign starts as early as November 2nd for everyone who has preordered the game. And we'll keep you updated on everything CoD MW3 here on ESTNN.

**PlayStation 5 Early Access was provided by the Publisher.**