Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 NPCs will react differently depending on whether you "go in loud or in stealth mode"

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Modern Warfare 3's new "open combat missions" will feature narrative tweaks depending on how you approach them

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

One of the most immersion-breaking things about video games compared to movies and TV shows is the fact that friendly NPCs rarely react to your input as player outside pre-programmed interactions. For example, aiming a shotgun at your non-player companion (as one does) and watching them maintain composure and appear perfectly calm, creeping you out a little. Well, it sounds like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will change that with its recently revealed "open combat missions." Sledgehammer Games has now revealed that NPCs will react differently depending how you approach these new missions.

Speaking to The Guardian, game writer Shelby Carleton explained how Modern Warfare 3's narrative will shift in subtle ways in reaction to your playstyle. 

"We had to tailor the narrative to make sense with all of those different situations and have the characters still respond as themselves," she said. "So if you're playing as Price and [teammate] Ghost is there with you, he is going to be able to support you whether you choose to go in loud or in stealth mode, and he's going to say and do things tailored to those situations."

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I'm curious to see how this will work, whether it's loosely equivalent to the startled reaction you sometimes get when firing a weapon toward a friendly NPC in a modern game, or if it's more advanced than that.

These new mission types are a first for the Call of Duty series, offering a whole bunch of different ways to tackle them as opposed to the usual, more linear cinematic missions from the main campaign. You'll be able to approach them stealthily or go in guns blazing, using a loadout or equipping gear as you go, and going on foot, parachuting in, using bodies of water to swim to objectives, using vehicles to get around and attack, and employing Killstreaks and interactive items.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will launch on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on November 10.

Alongside the new campaign mission type, Modern Warfare 3 will feature "the largest Zombies offering to date."

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.