Launching the final chapter to the greatest moustache gaming has seen in a month like Movember was nothing short of the icing on the cake for me. I know, I know, we're well into Decembeard now – I got lost hiking across Tamriel, please forgive me. Soup strainers don't come much better than that of Captain John Price, protagonist of the Modern Warfare franchise. Even with Infinity Ward's publically-warred legal matters with ex-employees and spearheads of the franchise, Jason West and Vincent Zampella, they've managed to pull what's left of the team together to take the series out with a bang.

Picking up proceedings shortly after the desperate final minutes of Modern Warfare 2, the opening cinematic gets us up to speed on Soap's condition, as the whirlwind intro is – as always – Hollywood quality in terms of pacing and production.

However, right when you think it'd be appropriate to be deployed alongside Price to aid the ailing Soap – one of the game's primary protagonists – except you're thrown in to serve as Delta Force operatives on the frontlines of New York City to repel a Russian invasion as World War III rages on; it was a bit of a jerk around, but after a couple of introductory 'here's your context' missions defending the 'Big Apple', you jet set to India; Yuri's safe house he hinted at in the final heart-pounding second of Modern Warfare 2.

The four hours that follows is comprised of your storytelling standards that have been a constant throughout Activison's cash-hog franchise. You'll see characters die – some necessary, others not so much – and you'll hear your fair share of the corniest Hollywood blockbuster scriptwriting to grace the gaming medium; but that's what sets Modern Warfare apart from more grounded rivals like Medal of Honor and Battlefield.

The disjointed, not-too-distant future plot that has unravelled over the years might seem a bit surreal in the grand scheme of things, but Infinity Ward's unwillingness to keep within the mould of realistic, gritty war games is one of their most memorable traits. You won't find many games with set pieces as monstrous as those in Modern Warfare 3 – spiralling helicopter rides, raining down mortars on a shanty town and wild car chases to secure high-priority targets provide some of the more thrilling moments in capping off what has been a short-lived, yet wild, ride.

That isn't to say there aren't flashes of brilliant story-telling. One of the twists about midway through caught me off guard and I left me fairly chuffed at how Infinity Ward had managed to entangle old and new faces alike within the same sordid web with some crafty revelations.

For fans who do find themselves engaged by the loosely-spun plot of Modern Warfare, the ending is one that'll both satisfy and disappoint. It's abrupt, but leaves nothing up in the air. When multiplayer is off the table, Modern Warfare 3 dances circles around Battlefield 3; it even pulls off the quick-time event finale with more flair without pulling any punches.

If you're one who prefers playing with others, you've got cooperative and multiplayer modes to sate those desires.

'Spec Ops' returns from Modern Warfare 2 as the constant tango between it and Treyarch's 'Nazi Zombies' mode continues from iteration to iteration. Though fewer missions are on offer on this occasion, they're still pretty meaty and offer great replay value as you'll strive to achieve all of the earnable 48 stars; as opposed to Modern Warfare 2's 69.

The big inclusion this year is the 'Spec Ops Survival' mode; it's billed as a comparative rival to 'Nazi Zombies', being a wave-defense mode, though it isn't quite. Unlike 'Zombies', enemy spawns are dynamic depending on the strategic location of the player, making for a more volatile experience. It has a currency system that allows players to earn cash through kills, streaks and so on to unlock upgrades and purchase ammo, air support and a wide array of goodies to disperse of the looming horde. It is fun enough when playing solo, but it's obviously best experienced in co-op with a bud.

Unlike yours truly, a large percentage of buyers will be making their purchase based on the promise of one mode and one only; I speak, of course, of multiplayer.

'If it ain't broke don't fix it' must be a popular mantra down at Infinity Ward house as they haven't done a heap to disrupt the core mechanics of the Modern Warfare online experience with this third iteration. This is both good and bad. Good because well, it is already a great game when all is said and done and the small changes do enough to make it appear superficially fresh. Bad because it's still essentially the game we've played twice over already and when you've got Battlefield 3 waiting in the wings, that's a dangerous way to play.

The new 'Point Streak' system is kind of a mixed bag, it's different but it exacerbates the problem I have harboured for the longest time. If a guy is heads and tails better than the rest, why give him an AC-130 to further unbalance the game and enhance his domination? It's been a bit broken for some time, if you ask me, but it goes a stride further in the wrong direction here.

My final gripe stems from something mostly out of Infinity Ward's control; the players themselves. If you want to play a game full of juvenile, offensive and brash degenerates, then nine times out of ten, this is the place to be. I'm not saying these kinds of morons don't exist on other competitive games – they do – but to have such a concentrated mob of them is just a flat out deterrent. Don't even get me started on the quick-scoping idiots that ruin every game I've joined.

For what is essentially a continuous five-hour explosion, Modern Warfare 3 isn't at all a bad looking game. It's quick, polished and has all the cheap thrills one would expect from the franchise. The guns look the part while the explosions and monster set pieces offer some wonderful eye candy in a series designed to inspire awe. Though, I do believe I probably said something quite similar when I reviewed Modern Warfare 2 a couple of years back. Even though it runs on a newer engine, nothing looks all that different – not that it had to, it's always been a bit of a looker.

Playing Modern Warfare 3 in my Turtle Beach X41's is certainly one of the aural pleasures of the year, perhaps a close second behind games like Battlefield and the oh-so visceral Gears 3. Even though Hans Zimmer doesn't deliver the chilling score like he did in the predecessor, Brian Tyler does well to fill the gap while a familiar cast of voice-talent churns out some pretty so-so dialogue in a pretty grand fashion. Billy Murray's last hoorah as John Price was tour de force for me, as I bought into Price's desperation to put an end to Makarov before it was too late. Other notable actors, like William Fichtner and Timothy Olyphant pinch-hit as non-playable characters within Delta Force who you'll fight alongside as Frost; they don't disappoint.

If one thing let me down on the audio side of proceedings, it was that the guns just didn't pack the punch I had hoped, sounding tinny and rather hollow – especially when wearing my fat surround sound cans. Other than that, though, the game is unwavering in terms of sound design.