Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III & Warzone Season 5 impressions — The fading armory

I mentioned in our last seasonal impressions on how we were closer to the end than the beginning when it comes to the current Call of Duty cycle. Whether you like it or not, Modern Warfare III and the current iteration of Warzone will change; sooner rather than later. Season 5 continues what began last season – a lightening of resources. The effort Sledgehammer and Raven keep putting into their games is commendable, and this second to last season is well done, beyond its shrinking content.

As we did in the previous impressions, let’s talk about Zombies and Warzone. Zombies is again relegated to the mid-season Reloaded update, but that’s not all. The storyline will wrap-up here, and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether or not it will lead us into Black Ops 6 at all (although I highly doubt it). It’s sad to watch this mode go, as it was an inventive use of available resources that was truly one of my favorite implementations of Zombies. Here’s hoping this isn’t the end for larger-scale or open-world Zombies.

For Warzone, we have a little bit more, with the addition of Atlas Superstore to the Urzikstan “big” map. I’m actually a little surprised to see a map update during the World Series of Warzone (not sure if they’ll play the new patch in Las Vegas in September). Even so, the memories of this location came flooding back the second I dropped in. There have been minor reworkings since it’s Verdansk era, but this is the same Superstore you know and love. Something else I love, the choice to add a special Resurgence mode around the location. This is a great way to not only insert an incredibly fast-paced mode (only 28 players in teams of 4 drop in), but to showcase a map addition as well. It’s a great idea that I hope continues.

Moving into the weaponry available in Season 5, we have two absolute winners coming into the arsenal. These come in the form of an old friend, the STG assault rifle, and a new submachine in the Static-HV. The STG is so familiar, but it’s impressive the way it’s been worked into the game. I figured it would follow plenty of other ARs added to Modern Warfare III and Warzone; it comes in and is good but isn’t meta. That is not even close to the case with the STG, which has established itself as a go-to assault rifle.

There’s something about the STG that just feels powerful. I love the sound of gunfire, and the feel of it as you shoot is nearly perfect. The only thing I could even critique are the iron sights, which is somewhat akin to what the Kar98K has. Otherwise, this is an easy four-bullet-kill monster that has roared its way into the best assault rifles to use in the current meta.

With the Static-HV, I’m not as convinced it’s a no-brainer to use, even if it’s technically better than the STG as a Warzone weapon. This high-fire rate SMG packs a punch, but even with fifty bullets in the magazine, I feel like I need to dump half of it in to get the kill. It’s fine in Warzone, with most gunfights requiring precision and a lot of ammo, but in Modern Warfare III there are better submachine guns you can use to finish the job. The recoil is a bit buzzy, but manageable, and the iron sights are garbage. It’ll do, but even though many think it’s the best gun in the game right now, I just don’t see it.

Continuing into the new maps, we have two additional locales in Bait and Yard. These are two very different maps, but both are small to medium sized. This works for people who love high engagements, but I am a bit saddened that we’re probably not going to see many more competitive-style maps arrive in this iteration of Call of Duty.

Bait is an interesting idea, but it’s too chaotic for me. This is a dock-based area, with a boathouse, restaurant, and bait shop to boot. Unfortunately, the setup of the map feels extremely cluttered, with none of the lanes really developing correctly to have a natural flow. I love the vibrance of the setting, but Bait just doesn’t cut it in the rotation for me.

Similarly, Yard has a fantastic visual aesthetic, a cell-shaded junkyard that is similar in size to something like Shoot House. While it flows better than its counterpart, the size limitation does make this a map you’re going to get into a lot of engagements on, meaning playing it on anything other than a free-for-all or team deathmatch mode is too hectic to make work. This is a clear “grind your weapon XP” kind of map, good for getting kills but not a lot else.

Speaking of aesthetics, let’s talk about Sledgehammer’s reinvention of several maps. The cell-shaded look has been moved into more than just Yard, with Rust becoming Toonoxide, Shipment becoming Celship, and in-season we’ll see Stash House become Ink House. Over every season the team has stepped up and knocked quite a few of these variants out of the park. I love seeing the creativity this group has, making some truly memorable experiences with maps we’ve seen for years and years.

As for modes, there are some really fun and original ideas in play, even if they’re quite over the top. COD Warrior is more or less an arcade mode, with three teams of two battling it out to win five rounds by staying alive. Staying alive will be tough, however, given some random rules that apply to each round. Some are kind of normal, with a great gun in hand, but some are the wackiest I’ve seen, like each team getting recharging bomb drones to throw at each other. It’s a mess of a mode that revels in the mess, making it a fun time.

Slam Deathmatch is a mode inspired by the current collaboration with the WWE, and it goes hard. You’ll knock an opponent down, similar to Warzone, but then you have the opportunity to finish them with one of the cool WWE moves that recently dropped in the game. Behind it you’ll even hear classic WWE commentary. I’m not even a fan of the WWE, but this mode rocks. It’s exactly what you want to see out of a collaboration, using in-game mechanics creatively.

The battle pass, as you could guess from the above commentary, is loaded with WWE stuff. Things like the takedowns, Rhea Ripley as an operator, all culminating in a WWE fans dream. There’s not necessarily a lot for me given I’m not into the scene, but it’s nice to see those fans getting their due. The content on its own is great, with some fantastic skins and blueprints along with epic BlackCell variants. This is a really good battle pass, an area that Call of Duty continues to shine in.

Bundles are a separate purchase, so I don’t generally cover them much here as they accentuate a season rather than define it, but they are so good I had to give them a shout out. Some of the most ridiculous and outstanding weapon inspections exist in the Down From The Skies Mastercraft bundle and the CODfish bundle, so if you love excessive skins and blueprints, these will be perfect for you. There’s more fun coming as well with a Toon Force cel-shaded bundle and Black Hole tracer pack, so keep your eyes peeled.

Even though this is certainly the cycle for Modern Warfare III winding down, it’s great to see we aren’t devoid of content. While not every piece scratches the itch, there are some truly fantastic additions in Season 5 that make this a worthy of grinding out. Sure, we’ll spend some of this season playing the Black Ops 6 beta, but it won’t be too much trouble to head back into Modern Warfare III afterwards.

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