18 cert, Activision, PS3 (also Xbox 360, PC) ****

With such high expectations, Call of Duty: MW3runs the risk of becoming a victim of the hype surrounding the series. And while it's by no means the perfect game, it's certainly worth playing.

The action picks up where MW2left off, and right into World War 3, with "Soap" MacTavish, John Price and Nikolai making a return. So does Vladimir Makarov, who is up to his old tricks.

Set across several cities, you travel from Paris to New York trying to foil Makarov’s plans to bring more chaos and destruction.

In all, the single player campaign is about five hours, and more or less carries on the path laid out by MW2. It's absorbing and offers some real heart-pounding moments, But it's the online play where MW3,like its predecessors, becomes a truly compelling game that drags you back in time and again.

Spec Ops returns, with 16 new missions to complete, but the new title also brings in a “survival” mode. This allows you to team up with up to three other players to take down enemies, and is way more satisfying than you’d think. The pointstreak system has also been revamped, introducing “strike packages”.

There are some quibbles. It doesn't feel like there's been a huge amount of innovation since the last outing. The graphics, for example, haven't had any major leaps. There are some new weapon customisations, among other tweaks, but on the whole, it feels rather similar to MW2.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, unless you were holding out for a drastically revamped game. MW3has been refined rather than rebuilt from scratch; major changes might have brough on more backlash for Infinity Ward.

In general, Modern Warfare 3is a solid follow-up to MW2.There's enough in there to keep the hardcore fans happy while also luring in new players.