This article contains major spoilers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Summary
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 brings back Soap, but his death in the rebooted series feels lackluster compared to the original trilogy.
- Fans haven't had enough time to form a true attachment to the new version of Soap, making his death less impactful.
- While Soap's death in the 2023 game is technically shocking, it feels unearned, despite a final cutscene attempting to salvage the emotional impact.
Generally speaking, the last two Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games have shared fairly little with their original 2007 and 2009 counterparts. At most, 2019's Modern Warfare and last year's Modern Warfare 2 borrowed a few classic weapons, old maps, and some returning legacy characters, but aside from that, the reboot series has delivered completely new and original experiences, and the same can be said for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's campaign definitely borrows elements from the original series, what it does with those pieces is pretty new. But that doesn't mean that all of Modern Warfare 3's show-stopping moments are Sledgehammer originals. In fact, Modern Warfare 3's biggest moment actually comes from the original 2011 MW3, with John "Soap" MacTavish meeting a tragic end in both.
Soap Dies In Both Versions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
How Soap Dies in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)
Right at the end of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Captain Price and the rest of his team discover that Makarov plans on taking the London Underground hostage, and destroying the tunnels with explosives. In a desperate attempt to stop him, the team rushes to disarm the bombs. While defusing one, Captain Price and Soap are interrupted by Makarov himself, who shoots Soap and throws Price to the ground. Soap suddenly - and mysteriously - rises from the ground, attempts to wrestle Makarov's gun out of his hand, and gets shot again, only this time it's in the head. Makarov then makes a quick escape, Price defuses the bomb, and the rest of the team is left staring at Soap's body.
Soap's New Death Doesn't Feel Quite as Impactful
One of the biggest criticisms coming out of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's story is just how suddenly and nonchalantly Soap dies. In the original Modern Warfare trilogy, fans were given the best part of three games to form a strong attachment with Soap. The first Modern Warfare's most memorable playable character and a strong presence in Modern Warfare 2, Soap's eventual death in the 2011 MW3 did hit home for many players. However, the same can't really be said for 2023's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Only introduced in last year's Modern Warfare 2, fans really haven't had that long to get used to this new version of Soap, or form any kind of true attachment. While Soap has had a few big moments to shine, he hasn't been given much depth, and it's extremely likely that any love fans have for the character is coming from nostalgia for his past iteration, not any of his screen time in this rebooted series.
Because of all this, Soap's death in this year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 feels a bit lackluster. Soap is shot incredibly quickly, but also gets a moment to stand back up and fight before being shot to the ground, which feels more like an awkward interaction than a climactic, emotional moment. While this moment is technically shocking, its impact is lost almost immediately, since it's all arguably unearned, rushed, and wasted. The final cutscene of Ghost, Price, and Gaz spreading Soap's ashes together does go a long way in pulling it all back together, though for some fans it might not be enough.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 58 /100 Critics Rec: 14%
- Released
- November 10, 2023
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Sledgehammer Games
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- iw 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
The war has changed. Call of Duty returns with an all-new campaign, modernized versions of classic Multiplayer maps and an open-world PvE Zombies experience. The campaign, a direct sequel to the record-breaking Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, sees Captain Price and Task Force 141 face off against ultranationalist war criminal Vladimir Makarov as he extends his grasp across the world. In Multiplayer, the 16 maps that launched with Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 return with upgraded graphics, new modes and innovative gameplay features. In Modern Warfare Zombies, team up with other squads for the first time ever as you work together to survive in the largest Zombies map yet
- Franchise
- Call of Duty, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
