This garbage franchise continues to get more audacious and worse at the same time.
Despite its apparent popularity, boosted by a surge in casual “gamers” joining the scene, the Call of Duty franchise has been on a significant decline for the past decade in terms of quality and enjoyment.
Its latest iteration, Modern Warfare 3 (not to be confused with the original trilogy), relies heavily on the success of previous titles while delivering the least amount of content in the franchise’s history.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, developed by Activision and Sledgehammer Games, is a lackluster DLC packaged as a full-priced standalone release. Despite boasting a massive 200+ gigabyte installation size, it offers nothing new compared to the original Modern Warfare reboot in terms of gameplay mechanics or even visual fidelity for that matter.
The Modern Warfare Reboot released four years prior. With the latest COD installment boasting the shorted campaign in the franchise’s history, easily completed in just three hours.
That’s because its primary focus has shifted towards its multiplayer component, heavily laden with microtransactions as expected. However, even in this aspect, the 2023 release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 by Sledgehammer Games offers scant value for its multiplayer mode.
Its map pool shamelessly repackages those from the 2009 release of Modern Warfare 2. And to think that millions of people paid $70 for this shit. Gaming is truly a lost cause.
Some players express dissatisfaction with its multiplayer component, which has been inundated with cancerous microtransactional bundles and packages. These include tie-in commercial cosmetics featuring celebrities like Nicki Minaj, an odd choice for a game like “Modern Warfare,” but because it worked in Fortnite you’re just going to have to embrace and accept it.
Additionally, the game employs artificial skill-based matchmaking, purportedly aiming to match players with others of similar skill levels. However, it’s widely believed to be a deceptive tactic by Activision to prolong player engagement.
By occasionally pairing players with seemingly inept opponents to boost confidence before subjecting them to repeated defeats, it creates a frustrating loop for players. This is of course ignoring the long discussions made surrounding Modern Warfare 3 and its swarm of “bots.”
However, Activision’s latest microtransactional move has sparked controversy among players. The tie-in cosmetics with the recent Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire movie in the game’s third season include a crossover melee weapon called the “B.E.A.S.T” Glove, inspired by Kong’s weapon in the latest movie installment.
The “B.E.A.S.T” Glove is exclusively unlocked for players who purchase all four Godzilla x Kong bundles. Each operator bundle is priced at 2,400 COD Points ($20) apiece, totaling a substantial $80 worth of points to obtain the glove which has finally pushed some paypigs over the edge because only “now” have Activision gone “too far.”
In my eyes, the BEAST Gloves serve as a litmus test: if you’re already retarded enough to purchase a degrading franchise year after year, you’re probably gullible enough to splurge on overpriced cosmetic in-game bullshit that costs more than the fucking game itself. It’s reminiscent of Counter-Strike but lacking the tradability and illusion of “value.”
For comparison sake, for the price of a monkey fist, you can buy two copies of Helldivers 2, which does feature microtransactions however if you’re a mindless goon with hours to spend grinding, you can buy whatever trinkets and cosmetics you’d prefer instead.
Fans have drawn comparisons between the monkey hand and the infamous Oblivion horse armor DLC, which was the first global example of in-game microtransactions.
Back in 2007, consumers were charged $1.99 for horse armor, sparking outrage and resistance from gamers. However, over time, players have become desensitized to such practices, and they have now become ingrained in modern games like Call of Duty and Fortnite. These games feature overpriced cosmetics and commercial tie-ins aimed at keeping players spending money.
Content creators and retards are purchasing the necessary bundles to unlock these gloves in-game. While consumers may dislike the practice, merely complaining about it is not the same as taking action by refusing to fund the company. Activision is benefiting from these individuals alone, and if you continue to purchase Call of Duty games regardless, your feedback isn’t of concern to Activision.
A viral Reddit thread on the Modern Warfare 3 subreddit also criticized the glove. A fan who purchased the new cosmetic expressed disappointment at the absence of the ability to apply camos to the monkey fist which lacks unique animations, such as a melee uppercut or the ability to make enemies ragdoll with a single punch.
The root of the problem lies with these unethical content creators who persist in endorsing and promoting such behavior, that and people doing you a “service” by “buying it so you don’t have to.”
Instead of boycotting outlandish in-game microtransactions of which they typically complain about and condemn anyway for their predatory nature, they purchase them because they view them as essential content for their channels.
If they truly stood by their principles and refrained from buying $80 for a fucking monkey fist, and instead condemned the practice to their audiences, there might be a chance for real change. However, this scenario is unlikely to occur.
Cancerous streamers and YouTube content creators provide Activision with enough revenue to continue facilitating this predatory behavior which will only get worse as time goes by.
