The Original Modern Warfare 3's Most Underrated Mode Deserves a Return

Survival mode is one of the Call of Duty franchise's forgotten game modes, but it has the potential to become the series' best feature.

The upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III is shaping up to be one of the best games in the franchise's history. The return of fan-favorite features like the red-dot minimap, faster movement, and the ever-popular Zombies mode are bringing the series back to the fast and frantic gunplay of prior titles. Likewise, new innovations like open-world campaign missions and cross-progression systems represent exciting advancements for the Call of Duty formula. However, the new game still seems to be missing one of 2011's Modern Warfare 3's best game modes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the first mainline entry to include Survival, a multiplayer horde mode where players face off against waves of armed soldiers, attack dogs, and even armored helicopters. Although it never reached the same level of fame as the immensely popular Zombies mode from the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty titles, Survival was still an incredibly fun addition to the series. That said, Modern Warfare 3's Survival left plenty of room for improvement and a new Call of Duty game could potentially elevate its simple premise into the next fan-favorite feature, if it commits to the idea.

Survival Is A Fresh Take On Call Of Duty's Horde Mode

As with other Call of Duty horde modes, Survival challenges players to stay alive against endless waves of enemies, with each wave bringing stronger and larger hordes of foes. Enemies start out with low-grade shotguns and submachine guns but quickly upgrade to stronger weaponry and body armor. However, defeating these enemies and clearing waves rewards the players with funds to buy weapons, perks, and other useful equipment, as well as experience points to rank up and unlock more items.

What sets Survival apart from Call of Duty's other horde modes is its enemies. Whereas Call of Duty's zombies overwhelm the players through their immense numbers, the armed soldiers of Survival utilize a larger range of punishing tactics. Apart from being able to attack from a distance with firearms, enemies also attempt to flush out players from hiding spots by using grenades or split up to flank the player's position. Some enemies like attack dogs or soldiers equipped with explosive vests will rush towards the player while others prepare claymores and other deadly traps around the stage. With all these threats, the constant flurry of gunfire, and the rapidly increasing number of enemies in each wave, Survival mode can be a daunting yet incredibly rewarding challenge.

Survival is also one of the few Call of Duty modes that appeals to fans of both solo and co-op experiences. While Call of Duty's horde modes usually include single-player and multiplayer options, Survival's difficulty is balanced to cater to both playstyles. Fighting alongside other players against massive hordes of enemies is always a blast, and the option to select stages with varying difficulties makes the mode perfect for both Call of Duty veterans and series newcomers. As a bonus, abilities like self-revive and support from the AI-controlled Delta Squad give solo players a fair chance to overcome the game's tougher waves.

Despite its unique challenge, Survival failed to live up to the lofty expectations set by the labyrinthian maps and imaginatively absurd story of Treyarch's Zombies mode. The original Survival mode relied heavily on reused assets, with its large selection of maps ripped from Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode and its enemies similarly taken from the single-player campaign. Modern Warfare 3's Survival lacked the creativity and depth of Zombies or even Call of Duty Ghost's Extinction mode. Unfortunately, this led many players to write off Survival as a shallow replacement for Zombies rather than appreciating it for its own merits.

Even with this rough start, Survival can still be developed into a much better mode. In the same way that Call of Duty: World at War's barebones Zombies mode paved the way for its convoluted yet captivating follow-ups, Modern Warfare 3's Survival could set the foundation for a vastly improved successor. This doesn't mean it needs to directly copy the Zombies formula or abandon its grounded setting. Instead, the next appearance of Survival needs to expand its gameplay with original content that plays to the mode's strengths.

A Modern Call Of Duty Game Could Improve Survival Mode

Before delving into the ways Survival could improve, it's worth noting the mode's disappointing return in 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Modern Warfare removed features and abilities from the original Survival mode, including powers like self-revive, summoning Delta Squad, or even swapping perks. These were replaced by the multiplayer mode's killstreaks, some of which were practically useless in Survival matches. Enemies also lacked the variety and ruthless tactics of the original version, instead serving as cannon fodder by mindlessly charging towards players.

Furthermore, unlike Modern Warfare 3, progression in Modern Warfare's Survival mode is directly tied to the player's multiplayer rank rather than a separate leveling system. Since the experience points earned in Modern Warfare's Survival are disappointingly low, it's a bad mode for new players to start in and offers little incentive to attract high-ranked players. Modern Warfare's version of Survival can still be entertaining, but it fails to improve or evolve the mode in any meaningful way.

Survival needs to grow past the problems that plagued it in the Modern Warfare series. To accomplish this, the next incarnation of the mode needs completely original stages that are designed to fit its gameplay. The smaller multiplayer maps of previous titles created tense skirmishes and forced players to adapt to their limited space but also discouraged them from leaving the most well-protected areas. Having larger stages could create more opportunities for player choice and make room for even larger waves of enemies. Better yet, the expanded map size could also be utilized to add optional objectives and story content into Survival, which would motivate players to avoid relying on camping tactics and add some much-needed variety to its matches.

Along with new maps, Survival could also benefit from new mechanics that incentivize cooperation and place a greater emphasis on team strategy. A class system similar to the one from Ghost's Extinction mode or the specialists from Black Ops III's Multiplayer can add another element of strategy to Survival, as each class would possess unique skills and abilities that determine each player's role in combat. Alternatively, the mode can simply focus on expanding players' arsenal of weapons and equipment to create a versatile selection of combat and defensive options. Either way, it's clear that Survival could be improved in numerous ways, and hopefully the next Call of Duty that includes the mode will take full advantage of its promising concept.

Sadly, it's unlikely that Survival will return to the Call of Duty series anytime soon, both due to its lack of popularity and the upcoming Modern Warfare III's inclusion of Zombies mode. Despite this, Survival has developed into a cult hit over the years. Its fast-paced progression, difficult gameplay, and accessibility for both solo and co-op players resulted in one of the most challenging and underappreciated features in any Call of Duty game. Survival deserves another chance to fully realize its untapped potential, as it could deliver the most pulse-pounding experience the series has ever seen.