Summary

  • Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified on the PlayStation Vita is the lowest-rated game in Call of Duty history, with an abysmal 33 overall critic rating.
  • Critics criticized Black Ops Declassified for its small multiplayer maps, short single-player campaign, technical issues, and poor enemy AI.
  • The 2023 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 received low scores due to its recycled assets, lack of traditional Zombies, and lack of original content, but was saved by popular multiplayer maps and improvements made by Sledgehammer Games.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's negative reviews have established it as the lowest-rated main series Call of Duty game, but the PlayStation Vita spin-off Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified has the distinction of being the absolute lowest-rated game in Call of Duty history. Activision may not release many Call of Duty spin-off games nowadays, but there once was a time when the franchise had a fairly consistent presence on handheld gaming systems.

Activision used to release handheld Call of Duty games for the Nintendo DS, PSP, and eventually the PlayStation Vita. PSP gamers were treated to Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, which earned mixed reviews, while the DS saw games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized and Call of Duty: Black Ops DS that, while not exactly lighting the world on fire, were somewhat better-received by the community.

call of duty modern warfare 3 key art captain price
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has a series-worst campaign, but its multiplayer is a blast and open world Zombies is better than one might expect.

By 

The real low point of the Call of Duty series came from these handheld efforts, as Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified on the PlayStation Vita, developed by the now-defunct nStigate Games, was hit with an abysmal 33 overall critic rating. Critics panned Black Ops Declassified for its bizarrely small multiplayer maps, extremely short single-player campaign, serious technical issues, and dumb enemy AI. It is largely considered one of the worst games ever released for the PlayStation Vita, and it is stuck with the title of lowest-rated Call of Duty game, well behind Modern Warfare 3's 56 overall rating.

All Call of Duty Games Ranked by Metacritic Score

Gameplay of Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified from the PS Vita.
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified - 33
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) - 56
  • Call of Duty: Roads to Victory - 64
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized - 73
  • Call of Duty: Vanguard - 73
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops DS - 74
  • Call of Duty: Finest Hour - 76
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War - 76
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) - 76
  • Call of Duty 2: Big Red One - 77
  • Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - 77
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts - 78
  • Call of Duty: WW2 - 79
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - 80
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - 81
  • Call of Duty 3 - 82
  • Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - 83
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - 83
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - 83
  • Call of Duty: World at War - 84
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops - 87
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - 88
  • Call of Duty 2 - 89
  • Call of Duty - 91
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 94
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - 94

The 2023 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, meanwhile, has been hit with low scores thanks to its extremely short campaign that recycles assets from other game modes, its lack of traditional Zombies, and for not having much in the way of original multiplayer content. It was saved from having quite as low a score as Black Ops Declassified because while the multiplayer maps are all redone versions of maps from the 2009 Modern Warfare 2, they are still popular maps, and the various improvements Sledgehammer Games has made to the multiplayer in terms of movement and quality of life features have gone a long way in pleasing fans.

It will be interesting to see if next year's Call of Duty game is able to bring the franchise back to the high 80/low-to-mid 90 scores it used to enjoy. The 2024 Call of Duty game is being developed by Treyarch, and according to leaks, will be titled Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War. Time will tell if there is any truth to the leaks, but Call of Duty fans will find out more next year. Hopefully it is able to stay far away from the shockingly low overall review scores of Black Ops Declassified and the 2023 Modern Warfare 3.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023) Tag Page Cover Art
6 /10

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III
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First-Person Shooter
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 58 /100 Critics Rec: 14%
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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
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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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

Genre(s)
First-Person Shooter