Nov 25, 2011 1:04 AM
State of the Game Address
It's been almost three weeks since Modern Warfare 3's release, and there have been very mixed responses. Some love the game, some hate it, some are indifferent. I believe however, that we can all agree the game has many flaws that do need to be addressed. I commend Infinity Ward & Sledgehammer for tackling at least a few of the problems (map glitches, hacks, boosting, spawns), but there are still many things that need attention, and I plan to address them here.
ISSUE #1: LAG COMPENSATION
This has been a doggedly persistent problem since Black Ops in terms of my short history with the CoD series. Those players with bad connections should not be rewarded for making games harder on those who have good connections. If they went out and paid for the games, then they should go out and find better ISPs. There are many among the CoD community who are dedicated enough to the game that they spend the extra money necessary to make sure they can enjoy their experience to the fullest. Why should those dedicated fans have their experience ruined by those who have piss-poor playing conditions? Why should better players be lagged out of honest wins by those who blatantly exploit lag, be it overseas or otherwise?
In short, bad players with bad connections shouldn't be rewarded/handicapped with lag compensation. This is the first of many cases in which Infinity Ward is appeasing a MINORITY. There is a much larger fanbase that will be more loyal to the franchise and can rake in more money than that small percentage that steal McDonald's WiFi to play the game twice a week.
ISSUE #2: THE COMMUNITY
This is a problem I have had with a majority of the CoD series. Most of the problems that fall into this category include:
- Hackers (leaderboards, wallhacks, aimbots, etc.)
- Boosting
- Little Kids
It's hard to go into detail, as most of the problem players fall under these three categories. In every CoD I have played, there is almost ALWAYS 1-4 people exploiting some kind of cheat/hack/glitch. There is also the persistent problem of being invited to boosting lobbies (most prevalent in MW2); the fact that most people outright extort for it, charging anywhere from 1600 to 4000 Microsoft Points for people to enter hacked lobbies is just sickening (I want to say that it's fraud, since you're using a license you don't own as a means to profit).
The community is also polluted just as badly by prepubescent little runts that shouldn't even own these games. The fact that I have to listen to little kids talking language that any self-respecting person would smack them for is just stupid. I shouldn't have to mute an entire lobby when playing something like S&D by myself, either (which I rarely do, but the point still stands). I'm further dumbfounded by the fact that stores would even allow kids to buy these games, or let the parents buy it for them. I suggest console developers and game publishers co-operate in checking birth dates of all console owners, and place heavy restrictions on underage players in order to make the game more enjoyable for the MATURE audience. Bar players under 17 from multiplayer until the age restriction is lifted, plain and simple. Check voice communications as well, to detect underage players and stop them from ruining the game.
The CoD community is, to say the least, a complete cesspool. I tend to hold communities for FPS games to Halo standards, as Halo has the best community track record by far IMO. At least they play with some dignity (save teabagging).
ISSUE #3: PERKS
After playing the game for this long, I do realize that at least two perks need fine-tuning:
- Assassin: As much as I LOVE this perk on my CQ class, I hate the fact that IW made it stupid easy to camp. Campers were given enough of a crutch with all the dark corners and places to prone in without this. However, it would not take much at all to fix it: Simply make Assassin users appear to Advanced UAV, and those using the Marksman perk. The Blackbird was an excellent tool in Black Ops, and countered Ghost campers perfectly.
- Scavenger: I'll say outright that I like what was done with Noob tubes and Grenade Launchers overall. However, as weak as regular Lethal grenades are now, there is really no reason they couldn't be resupplied with Scavenger. Notice I said GRENADES, meaning this would NOT apply to C4/Betty/Claymores. I'm a little unsure on Tacticals, though I don't see the harm in resupplying anything outside of Flashbangs and, to a lesser extent, Concussions.
The Perks/proficiencies idea was a brilliant concept, and splitting up the overpowered perks from games past made class setups more tactical. However, with these small tweaks, it could be made so much better.
There are a few topics I did not address for reasons of them either being worked on, or otherwise being a non-issue. These include:
-General map design (See the Nostalgia Map Pack thread)
-spawning
-OP weapons (I lean on the belief that a weapon is only as good as the player wielding it).
In closing, I'd like to say that overall, even with the rough first two weeks of the game's release, that I am pleased with the efforts Infinty Ward has made thus far. I hope to see more improvement in the future, and plan to refrain from taking the game back in the hopes that the developers do better in pleasing the community, and weeding out the cockroaches of said community in order to make the game a better experience for everyone. I am hoping that the holiday season breathes new life into this game; I for one will see that my K/D goes up from all the Christmas n00bs.
Please comment as you wish, keep the discussion intelligent, and enjoy the game 
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