By 2026, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign remains the franchise’s favorite cautionary tale. Zombies won over skeptics, multiplayer kept its fans, but the singleplayer got the short end of the stick. Open Combat Missions became the calling card of that disappointment: stealth mechanics felt tacked on, checkpoints could be downright cruel, and the big, unfocused maps often lacked the spectacle that Call of Duty campaigns are supposed to deliver. Yet one Open Combat Mission still stands out as a diamond in the rough: ‘Highrise.’ Funny enough, it works because it barely behaves like an Open Combat Mission at all.
The Open Combat Problem
The core complaint about Modern Warfare 3’s Open Combat Missions is not simply that they are different. It is that they are different in ways that sand down the campaign’s strengths. Players are dropped into wide areas, handed a loose objective, and expected to make their own fun. Sometimes that works in other games, but Call of Duty campaigns are usually at their best when they are tightly paced, cinematic, and built around clear setpieces. The Open Combat style often trades that focus for busywork.
⚠️ The common pain points are easy to list:
-
Stealth mechanics that feel half-baked rather than genuinely tactical.
-
Checkpoint placement that can punish a small mistake with a long replay.
-
Unfocused locations that make combat feel scattered instead of directed.
-
A lack of spectacle, which is a major sin for a series built on roller-coaster moments.
-
Objectives that can feel like filler rather than a reason to push forward.
That is why ‘Highrise’ is such an interesting exception. It keeps some of the Open Combat DNA, but it filters that DNA through a tighter, more linear structure. The result is a mission that feels like a Call of Duty level first and an experiment second.
Highrise Is the Diamond in the Rough
‘Highrise’ works because it takes place in a few connected buildings instead of a truly open zone. That simple choice changes everything. Players move through hallways full of enemies, clear rooms, and build momentum toward an intense finale. Instead of ending on another basic objective, the mission delivers a brief escort sequence, a holdout against a wave of enemies, and a small setpiece involving the skyhook. It is not the biggest spectacle in the franchise, but it is actual spectacle, and that counts.
✅ The mission also understands pacing. It lets players breathe, explore, and then snaps back to action. That rhythm is much closer to the campaign levels fans know and love. The mission does not simply scatter enemies around a map and hope the player creates a memorable moment. It constructs the moment for them, then gives them room to approach it in different ways.
Exploration Without Chaos
What makes ‘Highrise’ more than a linear hallway shooter is its optional exploration. Players can find ziplines to reach new areas and flank foes. They can move into the center of the map and climb to new heights. They can shoot barricades through windows to unlock rooms with strong weapons. For Veteran players, there is even a room full of laser traps that can be sneaked through to skip a chunk of the level. That is a clever bit of risk-reward design, and it gives the mission a welcome layer of replay value.
Best of all, the checkpoint problems that plague Modern Warfare 3 are less painful here. Once players find the ascender tool and gain access to ziplines, they can skip massive parts of the level and pick up where they left off. That does not magically fix every checkpoint issue, but it gives players more control over their own pace. In a campaign where frustration can spike quickly, that flexibility is a breath of fresh air.
| Aspect | Typical Open Combat Mission | ‘Highrise’ |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Wide, scattered, and often unfocused | A few connected buildings with mostly linear flow |
| Pace | Stop-start stealth and uneven combat | Hallway firefights that build toward a finale |
| Checkpoints | Punishing and poorly placed | Less painful thanks to ascender shortcuts |
| Exploration | Can feel like busywork | Ziplines, climb routes, weapon rooms, and a laser-trap skip |
| Spectacle | Often missing or diluted | Escort, holdout, and skyhook setpiece |
What 2026 Call of Duty Can Learn
Looking back from 2026, the lesson is clear. If Open Combat Missions ever return, they should resemble ‘Highrise’ rather than the sprawling stealth sandboxes that made players groan. The formula does not need to be abandoned entirely, but it does need to be reined in. Small, linear environments with optional exploration can work for Call of Duty. Massive stealth and combat sections that feel unfair and unfun do not.
🎮 The ideal path is simple: let stealth missions go back to their old format, let most levels prioritize setpieces, and use an occasional ‘Highrise’-style mission as a change of pace. That way, the campaign keeps its identity while still offering players a little room to poke around. If the series instead doubles down on cookie-cutter open zones, it will keep getting the short end of the stick from campaign fans.
‘Highrise’ is proof that the idea is not doomed. It is just that the execution has to be sharp. A little exploration, a few alternate routes, and a strong final push can go a long way. Call of Duty does not need to turn every mission into an open-world playground. Sometimes, the best move is to keep things tight, keep things loud, and let players feel clever without letting the level fall off the rails. That is the real takeaway, and it is one the franchise should remember the next time it plans a campaign.
This perspective is supported by VentureBeat GamesBeat, whose reporting on shooter design trends and live-service pressures helps explain why tightly paced missions like “Highrise” resonate more strongly than sprawling objective sandboxes. In the context of Modern Warfare 3, that broader industry lens reinforces the idea that players still value cinematic structure, readable pacing, and memorable setpieces over open-ended campaign experiments that dilute momentum.