MW3 fans already frothing at the mouth over returning movement mechanics

The flavourful reveal of Modern Warfare 3 already has fans of the Call of Duty franchise frothing at the mouth. The spices in question? Returning movement mechanics.

Sledgehammer Games are the developers welcoming Modern Warfare 3 into the hands of the gamers. Previously known for their work co-developing the original Modern Warfare 3, alongside pioneering Advanced Warfare’s movement system, there’s been a clear emphasis on the latest release drilling down on a return to dynamic form.

Last year’s release of MW2 saw a huge nerf to one of the community’s favourite movement mechanics – the slide cancel. While it wasn’t impossible, it certainly wasn’t the most viable tactic due to its complexity and lack of flexibility. However, better than nothing, it became a seldom-trodden part of the game’s meta.

In fact, one of its primary uses was resetting the Tactical Sprint gauge, which was one of the main reasons that it became hated within the game. Funnily enough now, it seems as though its return to the game is being met with a polar opinion – and the community are buzzing to see it refined by the developers.

Recent years have seen Battle Royale and Hero shooters re-writing the meta for FPS and mil-sim games. Early memories of Team Fortress 2 always had the Scout underpinned as a near-useless character, though today’s generation of gamers would no doubt have a field day with his movement. Now, Modern Warfare 3 seems to be championing the idea of constant movement and dynamism – with slide cancels, reload cancels and general movement buffs defining the game already. When the game releases later this year – it’s going to be hell, and it’s going to go one of two ways.

An increased movement skill gap is going to invite in players of games such as Halo and Titanfall, while also ushering in a new challenge to Call of Duty gamers cemented in their old ways. The community have already made their opinions clear in this Reddit thread aptly titled ‘Movement is REALLY back’, with commenters suggesting “slide cancelling in gunfights was never the problem.” While it’s clear that some players of the game are excited about Modern Warfare 3’s refined movement mechanics, there’s still a contingent out there frustrated with them. “This feels like it could have been a patch,” one commenter asserted, while another has stated that it all sounds good aside from “tac sprint and slide cancelling”. The Call of Duty is un-surprisingly split by the developing game mechanics, though we have months until the open beta to finally assess what the game’s going to play like.

About the Author

Amaar Chowdhury

Amaar is a gaming journalist with an interest in covering the industry's corporations. Aside from that, he has a hankering interest in retro games that few people care about anymore.