UPDATE: Graham has just posted his first impressions of Modern Warfare 3 on PC.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is out, and you'll see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 reviews appearing all over the place. We don't have a review yet because we haven't had access to the PC version until the game was officially released. We did get a copy this morning, but it was for the Xbox 360. :(

So Graham went and bought a copy this morning. He's playing it for review right now.

The copy Graham bought this morning is the first we've seen of PC code. The PC version hasn't been shown at any preview events and the videos and screenshots have all come from console versions. The console mags in our building all got early access to console versions of the game, but the PC has been mysteriously absent. The Call of Duty Elite service that console players can use to track stats and stay in touch with friends has been delayed on PC, too.

Still, it's in shops, unlocked on Steam and we're getting stuck in right now. We'll bring you our impressions and our full review once we've had a chance to play it properly.

Are you playing Modern Warfare 3? What do you think so far?

Update: Activision's UK PR team have been in touch and have explained that the Xbox 360 copy was a bit of a mixup. They feel sad and have sent their apologies. Poor sad PR team. Everyone send cuddles.

VentureBeat have been speaking to Bret Robins - creative director on Modern Warfare 3.

Bret worked on the single player portion of Modern Warfare 3, due for worldwide release on Steam at midnight tonight. When asked how Sledgehammer deal with such a sensitive matter as World War III, he said: "You blow up a lot of cities, is what you do. We’re creating a huge, like a summer blockbuster story and experience. You try to go for the biggest and craziest moments and set-pieces and locations you can come up with. You try to do it in a very believable and authentic way, so it feels like this could actually happen."

He was also asked how the studio manage to create a story that's controversial, but not controversial enough to get banned or censored. It seems to be something Bret has considered in some depth.

"Without getting sued by everyone? Yeah. Very carefully, is how you do it. How do you go about blowing up the world? You just come up with scenes and moments that would make sense within the story. So you don’t do it just for the sake of blowing everything up, just for the fun of it. Does this make sense? Should the characters actually be here at this time? Does this fit the plot? You want it to be exciting, but you also want it to make sense. It can’t just be gratuitous, it can’t just be fantasy. It needs to be real missions, things that you think could possibly happen, given the extraordinary circumstances that you’re creating. So it’s always walking that fine line of believability and insanity and crazy action."



The creative director insists that the studio don't attempt to cause controversy for the sake of it but strive for originality, not gratuitous shocks: "What you don’t do is say: "we’re just doing this to top ourselves." Like you say: "it needs to be something that’s authentic, that actually moves the plot forward." We have some moments in the game that I think are pretty shocking, that push the envelope a little bit. But like I said before, it’s not a matter of trying to be gratuitous about it, doing shocks for shock value. You always want to push yourself and see if you can push the limits of the medium, and storytelling. We’ve got such a big audience for this game that we want to deliver something that’s memorable. Experiences that people are going to be talking about the next day after they played it, talking about with their friends. It’s really a matter of creating something unique."

We recently covered a controversial scene in Modern Warfare 3, which featured lots of pigeons getting massacred, along with the death of a child. The footage has now been taken down from YouTube, but we're sure you'll see plenty of it on the internet over the next few days, so don't worry too much.

Modern Warfare 3 is due for release this evening. And, although we'd love to get our review online for the embargo date, Activision are yet to send us review code. The console versions of Modern Warfare 3 have been shown off at recent events around the world, but the PC version has remained aloof.

Still, Graham will be playing at midnight tonight, and reporting his first impressions as soon as his fingers can type them. Until then, check out the launch trailer, embedded below.

http://youtu.be/zuzaxlddWbk

The new live action Modern Warfare 3 trailer shows a rare event. A veteran helping out a new player without telling him to GTFO. The prestiged pro makes it through the entire trailer without once saying anything even vaguely unpleasant about the other guy's mother, showing immense restraint when the noob RPGs a single man five metres away (a very familiar sight for Battlefield 3 players at the moment).

Call of Duty fever is reaching frenzied levels. CVG mention a van hijacking in France in which masked attackers used tear gas to stall a delivery vehicle, and reportedly made up with 6,000 copies of Modern Warfare 3. There are midnight launches happening around the world tonight, and launch events will be broadcast live on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Youtube channel.

If you go along to your local launch and it turns out to be two men in ski masks selling copies out of a van, give Interpol a ring. Will you be picking up a copy of CoD this week?

The social network, matchmaking and stat-tracking service, Call of Duty Elite will not arrive alongisde Modern Warfare 3 on PC next week as originally planned. VG247 have spotted a blog post from community manager Dan Amirch explaining that the service has been delayed due to security issues.

"We’re as committed as ever to the PC, but the need to ensure a safe PC environment is greater than ever," said Beachhead Studio head Chacko Sonny. "It’s really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1. We’re working our butts off to make it happen, but we won’t release it until we know that PC gamers can enjoy Elite as it’s meant to be." It doesn't sound like a small delay either. "It is not going to come out until we've done a lot more work" say Beachhead.

The devs cite the insecurity of dedicated servers as the reason for the delay. It also means that there won't be a Call of Duty Elite subscription option on PC. The subscription service gives members access to Call of Duty web TV series, competition tournaments and monthly DLC packs. The DLC updates will still be available to PC players as separate downloads, as with previous Call of Duty map packs.

"Not being able to trust stats is a big problem for our design. Because of this, we had to re-imagine Elite for PC. Elite for PC will be about access to your own stats, or those of your friends. Basically establishing a circle of trust. And because it will have some reduced functionality, it will be free for everyone," said Beachhead.

We won't see a PC version of Call of Duty Elite for a while, then, and when it does arrive, it will be a different animal to the console versions. It's the latest example of a familiar trend in the lead up to Modern Warfare 3's release next week. Throughout the entire multi-million dollar PR and advertising campaign, the PC version of Modern Warfare 3 has been conspicuously absent. At press and preview events, and at the Call of Duty XP conference every instance of Modern Warfare 3 was running on consoles.

All of the videos and screenshots released seem to have come from console versions of the game, too. We only know that the PC versions is coming because Activision announced it, but we won't know it even exists for sure until we hold it in our hands next Friday. If the devs are "as committed as ever to the PC," why aren't they showing it?

 
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is out next week. In terms of the sheer mass of copies flying off shelves and raw marketing hype it's likely to be the biggest launch of the year. It's surprising, then that we've heard so little about the multiplayer changes that Infinity Ward are planning for the multi-quadrazillion dollar sequel. As well as some very promising tweaks to perks and kill streak rewards, new game modes hope to add more variety to CoD's obscenely popular arena-based man shoots.

Firstly, there's a capture the flag mode that asks you to hold on to the flag as long as possible to rack up points, dashing round the maps and finding hold up points that will let your team mates defend you. Kill Confirmed, meanwhile, won't give you any points until you snatch the dog tag of a downed enemy, forcing players to fight at close quarters. Will that finally remove CoD's devastating snipers from the equation? Find out more about the new changes in our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 preview.

 
Even your weapons will have experience bars in Modern Warfare 3. The unlock system has been revamped, and will work differently depending on which of the three classes you play as, but the perks and point-streak rewards will be separate from the weapon unlocks. You'll be able to earn new attachments by fighting and killing with a weapon. See the devs explain the system in the new trailer above, spotted on Evil Avatar. Infinity Ward say that the unlocks will be geared towards giving players more options in combat, though some, like the weapon stabilising upgrade, will probably just make you better.

If guns can level up, it feels as though they're starting to become RPG characters in their own right. We're hoping for loyalty side quests and proper story arcs come Modern Warfare 4.

 
The Modern Warfare 3 "launch trailer" has been released three weeks ahead of the game's actual launch. That's odd, but you have to remember that this is "the most anticipated game in history." And a Battlefield 3 launch trailer was released a day ago and could not go unanswered. There's plenty of explosions, of course, and tanks, and talk of Modern Warfare's great villain, the mysterious Makarov. Will we finally get to finish him off? And where is Captain Price's magnificent beard?

 
Jut a few weeks before Modern Warfare 3 comes out, Infinity Ward reveal some major and encouraging changes to the way Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer works. In his opening comments executive producer Mark Rubins says that Infinity Ward took a hard look at Modern Warfare 2, and realised that they'd "made a game for one type of player, the high kill-count, low death," recognising that "that was really the only type of player that was getting rewarded."

Their solution for Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer includes a healthy reshuffle of the way that kill streak rewards are earned. Points, not kills, are the key to accessing Modern Warfare 3's most powerful abilities. The reliance on points instead of kills is an interesting switch, because they can be earned by capturing points and helping out team mates as well as lining up the perfect headshot.

There are also three different classes with different unlock patterns. The assault class unlocks new gear through traditional points streaks, the support class carries over points streaks between deaths and gradually unlocks powerful support tools like UAV drones and gun turrets, and the Recon class unlocks new perk every couple of kills, transforming himself into an incredibly powerful super-soldier as the fight wears on. Infinity Ward say they've spent time trying to ensure that the perks are well balanced this time round, and there's no sign of anything like the game-ending nuke of Modern Warfare 2.

Elsewhere, Infinity Ward have been making some good noises about the PC version of Modern Warfare 3. Eurogamer note an exchange on the Call of Duty forums in which community manager Robert Bowling tackles questions about dedicated servers, and the kind of graphics options we can expect from the gargantuan sequel.

"The big feature for MW3 we are supporting is Dedicated Servers, this includes a server browser, voting, RCON, and more", writes Bowling, adding "we are embracing the Steam platform by integrating fully with Steam including friends list, Steam achievements."

Valve's anti-cheat tech will be employed to thwart hacks, layered over a number of other anti-cheat programs with a view to "keeping online multiplayer fun, fair, and secure for all players without limiting the control they expect on PC."

On the graphics side we can expect SSAO rendering, anti-aliasing, depth of field options and texture resolution options.

"We value the PC player and have gone to great lengths in providing a more rich experience for our players," Bowling writes. "We keep our ear near the ground and try to deliver items most requested."

Still no dinosaurs, though.

Modern Warfare 3 is out on November 11.

Will Modern Warfare 3's single player campaign be as crazy as the globe trotting, paranoid, numbers-obsessed missions of Call of Duty: Black Ops? The latest screenshot of three men in gas masks running away from an exploding Eiffel tower says YES. Individual Modern Warfare 3 screenshots have been popping up at regular intervals over the last few weeks. See four of them bundled together below. As well as the full sized Paris explosion shot, there's one that looks to be from the Black Tuesday single player mission and a couple of aerial images that show aerial bombardments. It looks like the AC130 is back!


 

 

 

Reckon you could no-scope a man at thirty metres before he even has time to take aim? Then point your trigger finger towards the sign up page for Corsair's upcoming Call of Duty 4 tournament and get ready to kill men for money. Corsair are getting into keyboards and mice, and they've put together the $10,000 Vengeance Cup to put their new gear through its paces. You can register a spot for your team on the Vengeance Cup website now.

256 teams will enter the group stage on October 17 and the very best will fight through to the finals on Monday November 21. The top team will scoop a cool $6,000 and prizes of $3000 and $1000 will be awarded to the runners up. You have until Friday October 7 to get a team together and grab a spot. If you're tempted but not convinced, consider the fact that prizes will be dished out as wads of cold, hard cash.