Resounding success has become irrevocably native to the Call of Duty series, with it we see each game in the franchise tipped for game of the year, days after their release. This year is just like any other, where the latest game in the series, Modern Warfare 3, has already cemented itself in the record books; as in the first week alone it has reportedly sold over 20 million units already - six and a half million of which were sold on the first day. After my lengthy review of the game, I've finally gained the chance to sit down, relax and experience the allegedly immersive multiplayer, with no distraction to take me off my righteous path! With most of the initial first week antics of sheer excitement while running around like a lunatic set aside, I've managed to drop my ignorance to most of the games flaws and pay attention to them. Unfortunately, just like any other Call of Duty game, MW3 is plagued with a list of flaws, most of which are recurring problems that I expected to be ironed out. Sadly that's not the case. So four years down the line, where has the Modern Warfare series gone wrong this time? Cynical gamers will quickly chime in and say that the game is "MW2.5"; I however prefer to shrug off such claims, it is after all a sequel, not a whole new series. So what are some of MW3's genuine problems?

Spawning System





Every first person shooter that ever hopes of gaining respect is highly reliant on a well balanced spawn system. Unfortunately for most developers, spawn systems are not exactly the bread and butter of making a game, they in fact require an integrated list of algorithms to allow them to function properly. Thankfully for us gamers, by the power of the education system, people can learn how to do all this, and thus become game developers! Sound simple, right? Well it's still not at all, at least not for Infinity Ward and their partners, Sledgehammer Games, where, after a highly disappointing spawn system in MW2, we were all expecting them both to combine and to deliver a better one. This time around, in MW3, it has arguably got worse, where spawn trapping - where you trap a team in one area, forcing them to spawn in it, and then repeatedly kill them - in a number of game modes is as certain as the sun rising the next morning. Our quarrels with the spawn system don't end there though, the developers have also decided to take back the infamous 'Revenge kill spawn' where once you kill an enemy, they at times seem to spawn almost directly behind you to avenge themselves. Thanks for that one, Infinity Ward. Now maybe you can argue that the spawn trapping scenario has only came about in recent years, and that it's due to players simply getting smarter, but the main problem seems to be that they have set spawns, and not dynamic ones, which ultimately punishes those with the soiled end of the stick.

Knifing






Now before Modern Warfare 2, it wasn't often that you would see someone complaining about knifing in Call of Duty, as it's a reasonably fair and common element in first person shooters. Then along came a spider, MW2, which introduced the most evil perk known to man: Commando. This perk allowed its users to literally lunge around 7ft with their knife in hand and kill their enemy, which, you may have already guessed, led to a massive uproar from gamers globally. Sadly our outcries fell short of Infinity Wards ears (more like we were ignored) for MW2, but with MW3 a beacon of hope was light, when they announced that they would be abolishing the perk once and for all. That beacon of hope was quickly diminished, as after playing the game for a while, I began to notice that the ever-treacherous developers decided to basically integrate the perk into the game, where we now must suffer 4ft lunges at a time. Yes, the ridiculous and unrealistic knife lunging is back, where opponents seem to easily glide across the ground, as-if it was ice, and plant their blade firmly in your chest. To me it seems the developers have stabbed us in the back with this one (pun intended).

Online Security






Since early 2009, online gaming has gained a certain degree of infamy, due to the plethora of hackers and modders who exploit the games code. More often than not, these exploits lead to a series of problems which can ultimately lead to games being ruined - such as MW2. The MW2 era seen the unfortunate birth of the infamous prestige lobbies, where players could pay for their in-game rank to be hacked, for all their items to be unlocked and eventually, experience aim bots or even wall hacks. Thankfully, at least for us legit gamers, Black Ops eradicated all the hacks, via their smooth banning system and consistent, vigilant security. So all signs were pointing to the same results for MW3, right? Well, sadly this was not the case, as within the first day of the game being out, rank hacks and stat modification already surfaced. Although you may say that the hands guilty in the matter were swiftly banned, with such acts playing out on day one, I cannot fathom that these are early indications of a worrying future. To make matters worse, in the past couple of days we've seen the rise of the notorious clan-tag hacking, which was first conceived in MW2. So far it's all seeming too familiar. How long until we see players who're able to spot you through walls?

Head Glitching





This is a short, but not at all sweet, problem that's been infecting Call of Duty for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, head glitching is perhaps one of the most problematic issues in the game for me at this moment in time. For those of you who're unsure of what exactly this is, it is when an opponent player stands behind an object (a car, for example), that essentially obscures the player from your vision, with only the top of their head showing - which is damn hard to shoot from distance. For them however, they have a clear vision of you and they are able to easily shoot you, whilst being virtually invincible due to their cover. Now of course the developers can put their hands up and say "What can we do?" The answer is painfully evident though: Simply lower said objects so this cannot happen, which will thus open up the game play and allow it to be more fluid. This 'glitch' received a high volume of complaints in Black ops, due to its game changing nature, and after Infinity Ward came out and said that they were listening to complaints across the franchise to make their game as balanced as possible, I for one expected this to be abolished. Sadly us gamers are left with yet another element to rage about, thanks Infinity Ward.

Quick scoping





I'm sure many of you were expecting this, and I have indeed left the biggest and most controversial problem to last: quick scoping. Quick scoping is the Marmite of the gaming world, where gamers either love it, or hate it. Back in 2007, the YouTube montage scene allowed quick scoping to become an internet and gaming phenomenon, where it spawned an expansive fan base. This *cough*art*cough* was coined by a few gamers, who decided to use their sniper rifles just like any other gun, and run around with them, quickly scoping in to leave enemies at their wake. Everyone's favourite developers, Infinity Ward, quickly picked up on this after Call of Duty 4, and decided to make it much, much easier in Modern Warfare 2- much too many gamers displeasure. This time around it became highly controversial, as it was watered down to the point where if you were even half-decent at doing it, you would easily kill any enemy, regardless of what gun they used. With the backing of a mass of online personalities within the YouTube scene, we of course witnessed the return of quick scoping to MW3. Unfortunately, this time it is even easier, where essentially any gamer familiar to the franchise can go straight out and do it, as-if they were a veteran of the alleged art. For me, I feel Treyarch's Call of Duty Black Ops got quick scoping spot on (after a few patches), where you actually had to be skilful to be successful at it - which is the way it should be. Infinity Ward on the other hand seems to outweigh the needs of the few, over the needs of the many. It's disappointing to see that they prefer to cater to the out-voiced minority, whilst leaving the majority of gamers left to suffer. It doesn't matter how loud someone shouts guys, it doesn't make their opinion any more important than those of us who quietly complain.

So after a year of hype, we're left to wallow in self-pity at the same recurring problems plaguing us once again. The Call of Duty series is always going to have its problems, and nit-pickers such as myself to jump on them, as critical as ever. This year however, I feel that the aforementioned issues are five basic problems that should really have been ironed out by now, yet haven't been. So I'm left with a very worrying question: Has the franchise dried out?