Co-op Gaming in Eyefinity: Modern Warfare 3 Spec Ops

Welcome to the next of my video blogs where I look at co-op games and how satisfying the experience is in multi-monitor. I love co-op gaming, but not all co-op games play well in multi-monitor. My reviews cover what I needed to do to get the game working in Eyefinity, any issues that I found in the game that relate to it, and how fun I found the whole experience.

This episode reviews the game Modern Warefare 3 - Spec Ops.

In case it is helpful, I have provided a text copy of the transcript as well. Enjoy!

In today's video blog, I take a look at the game Modern Warfare 3 by Infinity Ward, and specifically, the co-op Spec Ops missions.

Now any of you that have been gaming with a multi-monitor setup for a few years will know that Infinity Ward have no interest in supporting Eyefinity whatsoever, and this game is no exception. While the game will natively run in Eyefinity, it's stretched across the screens and looks terrible.

However, thanks to forum member and long-time game fixer dopefish, we can correct this problem. Go to the Widescreen Gaming Forum website, choose the Games menu, and then search all games. Search for Modern Warfare and then click on the game to bring up it's Detailed Report. Under the multi-monitor solution, you can find the widescreen fixer made by dopefish. Download it, run it, and choose Modern Warfare 3 Single Player as the game's co-op missions are found in the single player part of the game.

So now when we are in the game, all we need to do is press the hotkey, which is asterisk by default, and heya, the game looks much better now! The fixer can also be toggled during gameplay as well, and you can see the big difference that it makes.

This is just half of the fix - the other half is to go into the game's advanced video settings and change the Image Quality from Extra to Native.
If you don't do this, the game looks very blurry and pixelated.

So let's check out how it performs in game. The graphics are very good, although most people agree that Battlefield 3 graphics are still better. However, I get better framerates with this game so it's a trade-off. Most HUD elements are centered on the middle monitor, this a tribute to dopefish's widescreen fixer. With the fixer applied, I have not noticed any visual anomalies when playing, other than the usual 'seeing through walls' that can happen when standing alongside one.

Creating or joining games is very easy and reliable, but there are some connection annoyances once you are in the game itself.

No other game I have played is so fussy about a little bit of lag, which causes stuttering in game. It's almost like every frame has to be synced, which sounds ideal but in reality it's a pain. I play alot of co-op gaming and this is the only game I've played that does this, and while it doesn't happen often, when it does it breaks the immersion of the game.

But the worst crime this game commits is the secret division of the two co-op players if a decent hiccup of lag is found. I am only talking about a second of lag tops, and all of sudden, both players are asking what the other person is doing. You then both start to realise that things are not right. There is no notification of any problem and no option but to restart.

However, when it's running well, this game is very intense and rewarding. The Spec Ops missions on Veteran difficulty are challenging and we'll often take 5 to 10 attempts to beat each one. There is a range of weapons in most missions so you can both choose something to your liking. Some missions have both of you on the ground working together, while others have specific roles for each person. An example of this is where one person is on the ground making his way through a compound while the second is protecting him with sentry guns. You can choose who does what in the game setup, so these missions offer replayability to try out the other role.

The Spec Ops missions are so good that it's a shame there are only 16 missions of them, and 2 of these are training missions. There are also 16 survival missions you can play co-operatively. Apparently there are more Spec Ops missions coming out in future downloadable content packs, which would be great, because the next thing I have to talk about is value.

I will admit that my brother and I enjoyed the Spec Ops missions in Modern Warfare 2 so much that we bought this game just for the Spec Ops missions again. However, at the moment, it's still a fair bit of money to outlay for the short Spec Ops experience. If you are the type that will also play the campaign in singleplayer, or like to get into competitive deathmatch to get smashed by a 12 year old boy screaming at you about how much you suck, it makes it easier to justify the cost. I will add that it still pains me to give money to a company that really doesn't care about our community at all.

Scoring this game was hard because the game needs a community-made fixer to even work in Eyefinity, and the co-op component of the game is so short. Also, the separation issue with no notification when you get some lag is downright frustrating. But to counter that, the Spec Ops are once again simply fantastic when everything is working properly. The fixer is so good you wouldn't even know it was so flawed to begin with in Eyefinity.

Based on the fact that despite all it's flaws I keep on going back for more, I scored this co-op gaming experience an 8 out of 10. It should be on your list of co-op gaming experiences to try; if not now, then when it's on sale. Thanks for watching and happy gaming.