Reviewed: November 22, 2011
Reviewed by: Jason Flick

Publisher
Activision

Developer
n-Space

Released: November 8, 2011
Genre: FPS
Players: 1-6

7
6
6
7
6.5

Supported Features:

Defiance follows the console story loosely across 14 levels where the Russians are up to no good and it’s up to the US and British forces to stop them. You’ll start out deep in snow as you have to covertly infiltrate a number of places seeking around gathering intelligence and sniping enemies from a far. From the get go Defiance starts off right for me with plenty of sniping goodness and sneaking up on enemies and dispatching them with a knife.

I played some of the original Modern Warfare titles on DS and one of my biggest problems was the controls. Defiance makes things a lot easier with two player control options and a slew of additional tools, such as aim assist, to use depending on your chosen difficulty. You can use the traditional aiming with touch screen setup with the buttons used for moving around and shooting. I preferred the other option for the most part where you use the both the d-pad and face buttons to move and look around. I like this option because the aiming and firing mechanics using the shoulder buttons are more natural this way.

There is a small issue of controls when it comes to using the sprint and crouch functions especially if you’re playing this on a 3DS. If you play this on a regular DS then your fine as it’s easier to use the d-pad to activate both features by double tapping up or down. I tried it on both and found the DS to be the preferred way to play as it was intended to be.

While you will spend a lot of your time on foot you will get a break from the usual. You get to use vehicles such a tank and act as support from above as you direct troops through and over terrain while going undetected. You also get to blow some stuff up using RC car bombs and air strikes. You also get to direct targeted air strikes while in foot. While I used the button mode of playing the touch screen method came in real handy with the ground based strikes.

The AI in Defiance is not what I would call fantastic as there were moments when I killed an enemy right next to another enemy and he could have cared less. I even taken out enemies that I’ve been in plain sight of and they didn’t lift a finger to stop my bullets. The only other problem I really had which didn’t arise often was when I was required to breach doors. The first time I needed to do this I was halfway up a flight of stairs and I died from the explosion but the ally AI didn’t flinch at all.

Graphically, Call of Duty MW3: Defiance hasn’t broken any ground and despite the change of locales still retains its low visual quality. Don’t get me wrong, Defiance continues to push the limits of the DS but this title could have been so much better on the 3DS. You can make out the enemies in the distance though sometimes it’s rather hard to land a headshot when it really matters. I did like the traditional black and white overhead view when playing the support aerial missions and the explosions look good as usual.

Defiance actually has good audio and conversations as well as nice weapons fire effects. The weapons all sound different and I love the sound of a good sniper shot or suppressed rifle. The environmental background audio sounds good and you know you’re about to engage in a big fight when the rock style music queues up.

There is good deal of stuff to do in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance beyond the single player campaign. There is a quickplay that allows you to replay your favorite levels as well as a challenge mode that utilizes those same levels and tests your skills in various requirements like knife kills. For those looking for an even greater challenge you can take your skills locally and online with up to 6 people. The cool thing is that n-Space made this multiplayer very similar to the console versions. There are 14 maps and 6 modes to choose from including returning modes One in the Chamber and Gun Game from the console versions. To save time you can create macros of your favorite Multiplayer modes. Just like the console versions you can create custom loadouts of your preferred weaponry as well. I also love the amount of settings you can choose from including time limit, perks, and even the ability to specify only certain weapons to use like knives only.

I enjoyed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance on the DS though there are a few things that bring it down. The graphics are still rough and they totally missed an opportunity to use the now affordable 3DS’s power. Defiance is definitely on of the best and solid FPS titles on the DS despite its gameplay controls still being a bit rough. The large campaign and plenty of multiplayer options does give the mobile gamer plenty of things to do when they are away from their homes and any Call of Duty fan should enjoy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance.