A good majority of shooters feel as though the multiplayer facet is a secondary consideration tacked on to justify a hefty price tag. The Call of Duty series has become the exception to the rule. The story mode in Modern Warfare 3 shows glimpses of a potential but it’s jumping online to fight the real enemy (likeminded geeks) that should excite you.

The environments from the single player campaign come alive as you race through a German shopping centre, duck for cover in an African village or imagine a happy time near an outdoor cafe in Paris. You discover new nooks and crannies every time you play. Better yet, Infinity Ward keeps the maps ticking over, so you won’t have to suffer the same two or three over and over again.

You encounter the usual plethora of multiplayer types such as Team Deathmatch and Free For All, as well as the now customary array of objective based challenges. There are also a couple of new modes. Kill Confirmed is a Team Deathmatch variant in which  a gravelly voice says ‘kill confirmed’ (and you score extra points) whenever you pick up your enemy’s dog tags. Team Defender requires a member of your squad to capture a flag and, instead of returning it to your base, hold onto it for as long as possible. The team with the flag earns double kill points.  Both modes are fun additions to the old favourites. You can also generate custom modes for use in private matches with your friends.

As is the case in all team based games, Modern Warfare 3 works best when you hook up with a familiar posse. Too often, you’re playing with a bunch of ‘randoms’ with limited attention spans. You think they have your back as you work to detonate a bomb in Search and Destroy, only to find that they’ve wondered off. Perhaps they spotted a dog with a puffy tail? With shared tactics and a unified approach, multiplayer can be intensely addictive.

The much imitated Call of Duty reward system is both a strength and weakness of the game. The more you rank up, the more perks, weapons and customisations you have available to you. The end result is a character that feels unique. You can run into trouble, though, when you encounter players who have unlocked everything, including devastating abilities such as airstrikes. Thanks to some deeply flawed matchmaking, noobs are often thrown up against seasoned campaigners.

The single player campaign is solid. It’s a Call of Duty game after all. As always, you get to travel across the world as if you’re hosting a war torn special episode of Postcards. Along the way, you revisit series favourites like John Price and John MacTavish and also play as others who, for some reason, aren’t named John. The story is simple. Bad guys are doing bad things and you and your buddies have to kick some serious butt.

Most of the time you’re channelled down a frustratingly linear corridor (street, staircase, bridge, etc) and simply tasked with taking down every foe in your path. Every so often, you’re teased with the promise of ongoing autonomy. At one point, you’re in a European street fighting an enemy down the road. Here you can use nearby alleyways to double back around your opponents and take out the trash. As you delve deeper into the game, these opportunities become few and far between.

You’re occasionally granted the ability to shift into slow motion and this aspect of the game can be immensely satisfying. After you bust down a door to rescue a hostage, you’re given a chance to slowly pick off your targets one-by-one before they can execute their captive. If you have a tendency to accidently shoot the hostage yourself, this may take a few attempts.

While the solo campaign does make you feel like a badass soldier from an 80s action movie, there’s nothing particularly new or exciting to see here.

The Spec Ops cooperative missions are usually variations on the single player levels. For example, in one solo challenge, you’re asked to protect a politician. In its co-op equivalent, you’re required to kidnap him. It sounds like fun, but it doesn’t really work in co-op. Too often you’re trying to run up a flight of stairs or dash through a door at exactly the same time as your teammate. You end up stuck and vulnerable like a heavily armed Laurel and Hardy.

The Survival mode is a much better co-op experience than Spec Ops. Its wide open spaces ensure that you and your teammate don’t get in each other’s way. As you progress through the rounds, you buy better weapons and face tougher enemies.

While the single player campaign is decent and the survival mode a welcome sideshow, adversarial multiplayer remains the game’s strength. Unlocking customisable elements as you progress through the ranks is still one of the best elements of the series. However it’s disappointing that Infinity Ward hasn’t addressed the inequity of the ranking system. In the end, if you love the Call of Duty saga and are hoping for more of the same, Modern Warfare 3 will no doubt satisfy.