Summary
Game developers often push boundaries to create a new exciting experience for players. For instance, Nintendo’s use of the Havok Physics engine inThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildtransformed how players tackled in-game challenges, ushering in a more realistic approach, and the dynamic turned out to be a success as the title became one of thebest-selling games of all time. However, not all radical changes pan out to be the right move. Sledgehammer Games took a giant leap inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and with its PlayStation-exclusive beta recently concluded, fans have voiced their concerns with the direction the franchise seems to be towing. History often repeats itself, andModern Warfare 3might have repeated a problem fromCall of Duty: Ghosts.
Call of Duty: Ghosts' rollout was quite an eventful journey, as the franchise aimed to generate social media fanfare with the legendary “the Ghosts are real” tagline. Coupled with the addition of the Squads game mode, fans expected another quality experience from the premier FPS franchise. However, the game was a letdown for all the hype it got, as the title didn’t have enough going on to get players invested in its campaign. A major contributor to the negative sentiment was its poor visuals. The lackluster sales numbers told the story of fan displeasure, with players and critics citing the game’s depressively gray appearance – andCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3could be in danger of repeating the same mistake.
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A Gray Outlook Could Clip MW3’s Wings
Although visuals weren’t as essential to a game’s success as an engaging storyline and immersive gameplay at the time,Call of Duty: Ghosts' gray aesthetic was too dominant to ignore, contributing to a bland atmosphere in the traditionally colorful maps. The developer probably went liberal on the gray appearance to fit the ghostly theme, but the visuals directly impacted the title’s gameplay. Enemies were difficult to pick out on the terrain – even accounting for camouflage – due to the excessive shadow casting. These issues directly contributed toCOD: Ghostsnever getting a sequel.
A number of factors share the blame forCall of Duty: Ghosts' underwhelming visual experience, from Infinity Ward prioritizing a higher frame rate at the expense of quality colors to the game engine’s object rendering tool. Given the problems and criticism that edition of theCall of Dutyseries endured, it surprised gamers when recent reveals ofModern Warfare 3featured similar issues – a full decade afterGhosts' infamous struggles. Sledgehammer Games seems to pivot away from the warm and vibrant lighting of previousModern Warfareinstallmentsin favor ofGhosts' looks.
In response,Modern Warfarefans have taken to social media to request a revamp addressing the game’s flat appearance. Given the emphasis on skins andModern Warfare 3’s Carry Forward feature, much ofMW2’s elements will suffer from the greatly reduced vibrance, which is counterproductive, seeing as players spent so much on skins for their distinct color in the first place. Dark-colored skin types are now at a disadvantage withMW3’s proposed gray look as they stick out over the background, making players vulnerable to attacks.
Ever the resourceful bunch, theCall of Dutycommunity has been conjuring creative ways to mitigate the effect ofModern Warfare 3’s hazy grey display. Some have suggested that players reduce the brightness of their display screens, but this suggestion doesn’t entirely resolve the issue. With the clock counting down quickly toModern Warfare 3’s release date, Sledgehammer Games is running out of time to address the fans' requests. Hopefully a patch will adjust the game’s lighting and color grading after launch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3launches on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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