Summary
The story has always been a bit of an inconsistent thing inCall of Duty’s history. Though they’re never the most groundbreaking stories in gaming,Call of Dutyhas had a lot of really great campaigns in the past that have delivered a lot of spectacle and some great character dynamics, but it’s also had its fair share of paint-by-numbers campaigns, feeling more like a greatest hits collection of some of the series' past entries.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3is definitely one of those.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign is pretty disappointing for a number of reasons. Not only isModern Warfare 3the shortestCall of Dutycampaign ever, but it also feels like the series' most generic. There are no real set pieces inModern Warfare 3’s campaign, and the closest moments fans get are those that have just been copied from past entries. The story itself is also a major disappointment this time around, and that’s exemplified by the game’s post-credits scene, which throws a perfectly good character set-up out the window seemingly for no reason.
Call of Duty Might End Up Wishing Modern Warfare 3’s Post-Credits Scene Never Happened
What Happens in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Post-Credits Scene
For those who haven’t played it,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s post-credits scenesees Captain Price confront General Shepherd in his own military office. After betraying Price’s team and attempting to kill them inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, General Shepherd has been hiding from Price since. The two run into each other duringModern Warfare 3’s campaign but the sudden threat of Makarov causes them to push aside their tensions and work together. But in this post-credits scene, it seems as though Captain Price can no longer contain his distrust and hatred of General Shepherd, whom he executes on the spot with no mercy.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Post-Credits Scene Feels Unearned and Rushed
WhileCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s post-credits scene isn’t bad in its own right, it’s the surrounding context that makes it feel a bit odd and unearned. InModern Warfare 2,Shepherd’s big villainous turnwas predictable, but it made a lot of sense in the moment and had some interesting twists to set it apart from its 2009 counterpart. Shepherd staying alive at the end ofModern Warfare 2was a great decision on Infinity Ward’s part, allowing the character to be used as a major antagonist in the future, and potentially alongside Makarov, which would have been huge.
ButCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3has stepped all over that. Rather than build to some big confrontation between Price and Shepherd, the general simply shows up on a laptop screen early on in the campaign and the two decide to put aside their differences after a quick squabble. Later on in the campaign, Task Force 141 even ends up saving General Shepherd from Makarov’s forces, though it’s clear that the team still harbors a major grudge against the general.
But aside from those wavering tensions, there’s really no indication that Price is going to murder General Shepherd in cold blood. While Ghost and Soap discuss killing the general, Price is a bit more level-headed. This makes his sudden choice to execute the general inModern Warfare 3’s post-credits scenea tad odd. While it could technically show that Soap’s death has pushed him this far, the context of the campaign that came before it makes this sequence feel quite out of character for Captain Price. Even if Price was being affected by Soap’s death, he probably wouldn’t murder an army general in his office, especially not when he’s presumably undergoing some kind of court-martial, which is alluded to in a previous cutscene.
Not only does this post-credits sequence feel out of place, but it also ends up wasting an incredibly important character. While Makarov is still at large, Shepherd could have been an excellent secondary antagonist inthe nextModern Warfaregame, or even the one after it. His role in theModern Warfarestory felt like it was really just beginning, and his death inModern Warfare 3feels rushed and wasted.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
WHERE TO PLAY
The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet
