Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Has the Fast Movement We’ve Been Waiting For

Movement has always been a hot topic in Call of Duty. Arguments about slide cancel, tactical sprint, infinite sprint, awkward or smooth mantling, and more dominating the community. Modern Warfare 3 has a lot to live up to and a lot to improve upon from previous titles. Based on the footage from the October 5 CoD NEXT, it seems like things are looking up. Fast movement seems to be back in MW3.

Modern Warfare 3: Gotta’ Go Fast

This series should always be about the fluidity of motion. It’s not just in the flow of the maps but also in how you navigate them. It plays out in how you use the environment to your advantage and outplay your opponent. In MW3, it looks like all of that is here, plus a bag of chips.

One of the complaints I and many in the CoD community have had about previous titles is how slow and sometimes clunky the movement has been. Mantling has been slow. Traversing the map has taken too long. And even when you’re playing out of your mind, there’s only been so much you can do in a firefight. Well, beyond getting your shots on target first.

In Modern Warfare 3, some of those issues seem resolved. Mantling is incredibly fast and doesn’t interrupt the flow of movement. You can fire your gun as you clamber up and onto things. Even getting onto higher ledges lacks the clunkiness of previous titles. Weapon downtime is also at a minimum, as it looks like you can get back into ADS or Tac-Stance almost instantaneously.

New to MW3 Movement: The Tac-Stance

Tac-Stance itself is a new and interesting addition to MW3 combat. Described as something between hipfire and ADS, you’ll use your weapon in a canted still, allowing you to move quickly through tight spaces without sacrificing quite as much accuracy as you would if you were going purely from the hip.

Slide Canceling and Reload Cancels are Back

Slide canceling returns in full force, and the developers made it clear that its return is all about ensuring combat stays active. Sliding, they said, historically got players stuck in a long animation. Making the decision to slide was a conscious choice. By adding slide cancels — and reload cancels — back in Modern Warfare 3 ensures that the pace of combat never slows.

Hopefully, the pace of Modern Warfare 3 can capture some of the speed of the older games. Stay tuned for more as we get closer to the release of MW3 on November 10 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.