Summary
TheCall of Dutyfranchise has been using nostalgia as a marketing tactic for a good few years now. Activision knows just how belovedthe originalModern WarfareandBlack Opsseriesare, and it knows that fans will drop the cash if it means they get to experience that strong hit of nostalgia that comes from playing a classic map that’s been remastered, or seeing fan-favorite characters brought back for the modern age. That being said,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3might be taking things a step too far.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3isn’t just leaning heavily on nostalgia, it’s relying on it completely. Rather than have any original 6v6 maps of its own,Modern Warfare 3will launch with 16 remastered maps, all coming fromthe original 2009MW2. While this move is already being praised by long-time fans, those maps have the strong possibility of getting pretty repetitive once the nostalgia wears off. Regardless, ifCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3wants to weaponize nostalgia, then it should make the most of it, going all-in and giving fans a classic feature they’ve been wanting for years: custom emblems.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Should Bring Back Nostalgic Customization
Introduced all the way back in 2010 withCall of Duty: Black Ops, the Emblem Editor let players create their very own custom emblems, which could then be applied to their Calling Card, and their weapons. This original version of the Emblem Editor was fairly simple, giving players access to 12 layers of images, and giving them just a handful of tools to resize, crop, and rotate each image. That said,Black Ops' Emblem Editordid still give players almost 500 individual emblem images to choose from, giving players plenty of creative freedom right out of the gate.
But the most fondly remembered version of the Emblem Editor was found inCall of Duty: Black Ops 2. For the sequel, Treyarch really went all out, upping the number of layers from 12 to 32. More advanced editing tools were also given, along with the ability to store multiple emblems at once for future use. This Emblem Editor would go on to be used in almosteveryCall of Dutyentryup untilInfinite Warfare, but it hasn’t been seen since. IfCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3is leaning this heavily into nostalgia already, then there’s no reason why it shouldn’t just take things one tiny step further and finally bring back the fan-favorite Emblem Editor feature.
But that’s not the only customization featureCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3should bring back. In 2015,Call of Duty: Black Ops 3introduced a new customization feature called the Paintshop. Functioning almost identically to the Emblem Editor,Black Ops 3’s Paintshop allowed players to create their very own custom weapon paint jobs. With 64 layers at their disposal, players could go absolutely wild creating the most intricate weapon camos imaginable, and the ability to apply the camo to three separate sides of the weapon added a whole extra layer of customization. This featured only appeared once more in the franchise withCall of Duty: WW2, but withModern Warfare 3also being developed by Sledgehammer, there’s a possibility that the Paintshop could make a return.
Over the last few years,Call of Duty’s various developers have really tried to emphasize each game’s high level of customization, withModern Warfare’s Gunsmithbeing marketed as a revolutionary next step for the series. While the Gunsmith is a great system that allows for some much-needed practical customization that actually affects gameplay, many fans are still longing for customization options that are purely cosmetic. IfCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3wants to really utilize nostalgia effectively, then it should add in an Emblem Editor and Paintshop.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3releases November 10 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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