On launch day, Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 generated more revenue than the year's biggest theatrical blockbuster could achieve over the same time period.

It’s a staggering achievement for a title belonging to a medium that was once derided as the domain of basement-dwelling geeks. Today the Modern Warfare franchise shifts multi-millions of copies into the homes of hardcore and casual gamers alike, uniting them in a love of blistering action and frenetic multiplayer combat.

The comparison to the movie industry is relevant because more than any other gaming franchise, Modern Warfare has styled itself on delivering the most cinematic experience available to gamers. It revels in the Hollywood-style set-pieces, utilizes clever direction and employs A-list acting talent to give a measure of gravity to the narrative. It’s undeniably a winning formula.

Of course as a reviewer this leaves me in something of a quandary; should I criticize a game for lacking invention, or applaud it for offering its core audience possibly the most comprehensive package seen in the genre??

Delving into the campaign mode is a lot like putting on your favourite pair of slippers. There are no uncomfortable surprises and you’re immediately made to feel right at home. The loading screens are reassuringly slick and familiar, comprising of the usual wire-frame maps, location photos and gruff voice-overs. The plot leads on directly from Modern Warfare 2, so the heroes of the piece, ‘Soap’ MacTavish, Captain Price and Russian informant Nickolai are all present and correct. Similarly the series’ rent-a-psychopath - Makarov also returns for another crack at creating global armageddon. However for the bulk of the campaign you control a character called Yuri who is an ex-soldier with a grudge against Makarov. He’s a silent protagonist so you can always focus on the chatter from the impressive cast.

Visually this is a fine-looking game that runs at 60 frames-per-second even when all hell is breaking loose on the screen. Locations are diverse and incredibly well represented so running through London, New York and Paris streets for example never feels anything other than authentic. Some of the levels are a tad clichéd (my eyes rolled when a particular level started in a jungle river), but others are so inventive and unique that you quickly forget. The start of the second level in New York is a fine example of what happens when you get the perfect blend of visuals, sharp script and an epic set-piece.

Sound is a high-point of the game and it's obvious that great care and attention went into the recreation of gun shots and explosions. The music provides a suitable accompaniment to the action but probably won't have you rushing out to buy the CD. The damage indicator has also been improved so it doesn’t look like the screen is being splashed with Mateus Rosé as you get shot anymore, being shot hurts, and the game makes it look like it.

There is occasional environment damage caused by your gunfire which adds to the sense of drama but it was a little disappointing that this wasn’t consistently used through the campaign; this is a department where the Activision’s titan lags well behind EA’s Bad Company, Medal of Honor and now Battlefield 3 series. What is hugely successful through is the use of vehicles and air-support to break up the lengthy fire-fights. Hopping on the back of jeeps, commanding tanks and controlling air strikes helps keep the action fresh and can often be a sense of relief after reaching a hard-fought check-point.

It seems as though Infinity Ward have taken on board criticism of the muddled narrative in Modern Warfare 2, and thrown money at the problem. Issues with the narrative? Just hire an established movie script writer (in this case Paul Haggis) and ‘hey presto’, you get an interesting and totally coherent plot. In the style of the best Hollywood blockbuster, the story will have you on the edge of your seat, eager to see how the various twists and turns play during the 6-7 hours it takes you to complete. That’s right, this is not a long game, but it sure packs in enough action to make you feel as though you’ve been part of a thrilling experience.

This game is all about the set-piece, and many of them had me literally giggling with glee at their sheer audacity. Taking obvious cues from some of Hollywood’s finest output of the past few years, the highlights include the storming of a submerged submarine, a tense and thrilling fire-fight in the midst of a furious sandstorm and perhaps the crowning glory of the entire franchise, a zero-gravity shoot-out on the deck of a falling jet (did someone say Inception?).

It’s moments like these that remind you why Modern Warfare is such an enduring franchise and few other games can provide such an intense and thrilling experience. It’s something of a shame therefore that a few niggling flaws can drag you out of the moment. This is still a heavily scripted game, so regardless of the visuals on display, there are always times when the invisible barriers push you down a pre-determined path. Granted the barriers are disguised more effectively than ever before, but on a few occasions you’ll hit a piece of scenery that prevents you from entering a room or street and it jars.

Your squad AI is weak, so rather than supporting you when the fighting gets tough, you always feel as though they rely on you to push forward, to be the hero. This is usually fine and helps engineer a sense of achievement when you complete a mission, but can be seriously frustrating negotiating a tricky passage (especially when the enemies re-spawn until you reach a specific point). If you were being charitable, you would say that these flaws are mere hallmarks of the series, idiosyncrasies that fans have come to accept. I’m inclined to take a slightly more critical view and think that both of these things really should have been addressed by this stage of the series’ development.

Given the brevity of the campaign mode, fans of the series are more likely to be concerned with the treatment of the multiplayer modes, and it’s here that some of the biggest improvements are most visible.

One of the criticisms often levelled at the multiplayer mode of earlier versions was that it was an exclusive experience and newcomers to the series found it far too difficult to compete with the veterans. Modern Warfare 3 takes a different approach by giving all players immediate access to some of the games’ best hardware and accessories. This allows fresh players to feel as though they have a chance to compete and earn that all-important XP. Sticking with a particular weapon pays dividends as you level them up independently, eventually unlocking new attachments to help improve your performance.

Novice players can go for the Support option which won’t offer the same range of weapons but will at least allow them to carry over their kills after they’ve spawned. It’s a clever way of ensuring that less skilled players can still enjoy the sensation of utilizing some of more heavy-duty weapons available in the game.

Taking into account the helping hand for newbies, online multiplayer is still a frantic, intense and at times stressful experience. The maps are designed to deny the player much opportunity to pause for thought, let alone hide in cover, so speed of movement and pin-point accuracy continue to sort the wheat from the chaff.

The 16 maps are varied and expertly designed, but as usual it’s only after memorizing their layout that the player really starts to make significant progress. The standard modes are all present, so fans of Capture-the-flag, Free-for-all, Team Deathmatch, Domination et al will be satisfied.

To be fair a package containing a short-yet-thrilling campaign mode and an improved online multiplayer mode would be more than enough to keep the fans happy, but there’s more.

After an extremely popular debut in MW2, Special Ops mode allows a player to take on a series of levels and missions on their own or with a friend. You can chose to tackle a number of the key set pieces from the campaign mode and try to complete them within the quickest time, earning XP to rank up and earn new weapons and levels. This is great fun with a friend as you try to shave precious seconds off your best times.

It’s easy to be sceptical about Modern Warfare 3. Infinity Ward and Raven Software haven’t pushed the boundaries of the genre, or provided much in the way of original content. But it’s impossible not to be anything other than impressed by the quality and breadth of what’s on offer here. The campaign mode may be relatively short-lived, but it’s a breathless journey with many ‘OMG’ moments that will linger in the memory.

Online multiplayer continues to be the standard against which all others are judged and has finally put a metaphoric arm around those new players who were too intimidated to give it a try. Add in the Special Ops mode and you’ve got a wonderfully rounded package that is easy to recommend.