If you were like me, you did not pre-order the Hardened Edition of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. I didn’t pay close enough attention that for an extra $20 you would get all downloadable content instead of having to buy each map pack individually like I had done with all previous installments of COD. By the time I did find out about this, all pre-order sales were over, and I refused to pay the outrageous prices on reseller sights such as eBay.
I quit pre-ordering years ago because I got tired of waiting in line at GameStop for my version of NCAA Football or Madden. It was fun the first few years when pre-ordering was new and you felt like if you didn’t that you wouldn’t get the game for weeks. Now a days each store gets way too many copies of big titles for launch dates. I can just walk into a store and purchase my game title on the launch date without any worries. This makes pre-ordering silly, except in this case.
I ended up purchasing the regular version of COD MW3 and played it for months knowing that the map pack season was approaching. I was left with a choice: pay for each map pack separately (in the long run it would run you around $60) or you can bite the bullet in one shot and pay $49.99 (plus tax) for all downloadable content by purchasing a Call of Duty ELITE Premium Membership (this always gets you the new content every month for Xbox 360 instead of waiting every 3 months).
Just the price difference alone should make this a no brainer, but some people won’t even think about these options much like I didn’t pay attention to the Hardened Edition.
There are other perks to purchasing an Elite Premium Membership. One of my favorites is the Elite app for my iPhone. It lets me see my career summary with up to the second K/D ratios, view details of recent matches, allows me to change my gun classes on my phone and it transfers to the game (insane), and lets me view all of my challenges that I still need to complete.
There is one more piece of valuable information before you go and purchase your membership. You can purchase it by going to the marketplace on Xbox 360 and you can purchase your membership as a digital download from a place like GameStop so when you check your leaderboard position, you’ll have an idea how great this gaming platform is.
I am recommending that you purchase the digital download because it will give you a code that you can redeem at the dashboard and it will not auto-renew at the end of the year. If you purchase it at the marketplace on Xbox 360, its default setting is to charge you the $49.99 again at the end of the year. Sure you can change that setting manually, but once again most people don’t pay attention to these details and get charged. This will ensure you will not forget and it saves you around ten bucks.
You get to keep all the map packs and downloaded extras at the end of the year, but your mobile app and app on the dashboard will not work unless you pony up more money. I consider renewing to be pointless because the new COD will be out by then, and I will be working on leveling up my prestige on a newer better game.
This should make your COD MW3 gaming experience for the rest of the year a good one. I know I will be watching out for the Hardened Edition for the next installment in the COD series. Happy gaming!
