Summary
TheCall of Dutyfranchise is no stranger to controversy, whether it’sCall of Duty: WW2’s loot boxes,Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s lack of a campaign, orCall of Duty’s annual release schedule. But very rarely, these controversies actually stem from content within aCall of Dutygame, and more often than not, they revolve around the context and content of specific single-player missions. From the originalModern Warfare’s nuke mission, to seeing a dead child in the 2019 reboot, there have been plenty of controversialCall of Dutymissions, but none of those have been as widely publicized asModern Warfare 2’s No Russian mission, whichCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3takes inspiration from.
WhenCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2released back in 2009, there was a media frenzy over a now-infamous mission titled “No Russian.” While the controversy that this mission caused may have been a tad blown out of proportion back in the day - as is the case with most mainstream video game controversies - there’s no denying that No Russian is a harrowing experience. This year’sCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3has a similar mission, though this time it’s not quite as impactful, not because of the event itself but more what comes after it, or more accurately, what doesn’t.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Version of No Russian is Pointless
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Passenger Mission Is a Solid Twist on No Russian
One of the biggestcriticisms ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaignis that a good portion of it simply takes classicCall of Dutymoments and repeats them, changing very little in the process. The same, however, can’t be said forModern Warfare 3’s own take on the infamous No Russian mission. WhileModern Warfare 2’s No Russian sees the player join Makarov’s squad as part of an undercover CIA operation, and be forced to participate in a mass shooting in an airport,Modern Warfare 3’s “Passenger” mission sees players take on the role of an ex-ULF freedom fighter who’s forced to by Makarov to suicide-bomb a plane full of innocent Russians.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Passenger missionisn’t quite as large scale as No Russian, but it’s arguably just as harrowing, giving players a much more personal angle on a horrific terrorist attack. Rather than play as an undercover Army Ranger, players control a woman who’s left her fighting days behind and has instead chosen to raise a family, and beginning the mission with that gives everything that comes after it a much more intimate and emotional angle.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Passenger Mission is Ultimately Pointless
At its core,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Passenger and No Russian have the same narrative purpose, with Makarov trying to use the attack to incite a war. In No Russian, Makarov aims to frame the US for the mass shooting and thus start a war between it and Russia. In Passenger,Makarov is trying to blame the ULF, which would eventually result in a war between the US and Russia as General Shepherd had been supplying weapons to Farah.
But whileModern Warfare 2’s No Russian mission does actually incite a new world war,Modern Warfare 3’s Passenger falls flat on its face. Immediately following Passenger, players get a cutscene that showsTask Force 141and Laswell discussing the situation, and claiming that a new world war is on the horizon if tensions don’t settle. The scene quickly shifts to Farah and Alex in Urzikstan, near the plane’s crash site. Here, Farah collects enough data from the crash site to prove that the ULF was not behind the attack. In the course of just one mission, Makarov’s plans are scuttled, rendering the events of Passenger completely redundant. While it’s good thatModern Warfare 3didn’t just reuse the same inciting incident as 2009’sModern Warfare 2, it does mean that the campaign seriously lacks stakes.
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
