There’s no denying that, sat next toBattlefield 3, this year’sCall of Dutyentry looks a little unimpressive. Nevertheless, co-developer Sledgehammer Games has defended the game’s aging engine in no uncertain terms.

“I’ve worked on a lot of engines over my lifetime and spent a lot of time putting graphics in to them and this thing is Porsche,” said general manager Glen Schofield. “And what I mean by that is that it’s stream-lined, everything in it is perfectly freaking clean. You can tell it’s been worked on for years. It’s easy to upgrade.

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“If you putModern Warfare 2next toModern Warfare 3you would see a huge difference. Look at all the character models, look at all the gun models, look at the reflections, look at the water. There is so much that we’ve added, so when someone says ‘cut and paste’, I don’t even want to talk to them because they don’t know. They just don’t know. They have no idea.”

According to Schofield,Modern Warfare 3will feature larger levels that go vertically, with higher fidelity and more textures. It’s not a Frostbite-powered behemoth, however, and some gamers are going to exclusively judge the game based on that. Frankly, I don’t care about the graphics so long as Captain Price’s mustache still looks completely badass.

The opening area of the Whisper mission, in a small grove.

Sledgehammer dismisses Call of Duty engine critics[CVG]

The Divide in the Cosmodrome, where the Guardian was resurrected.

A holofoil Ribbontail, as seen in collections.

The Phoneutria Fera hand cannon, inspired by the Season of the Haunted armor set. It has a unique, galactic glow.

Three Fuses appear in a match of Apex Legends' Wild Card mode.

Mad Maggie opens a supply bin and an item with a symbol indicating infinite ammo appears.

Legends slide through a zipline in King’s Canyon in Apex Legends.

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The Yeartide Apex tex Mechanica SMG with a Holofoil glow.