The Future of the Call of Duty Franchise

There are literally millions of people around the world that play Call of Duty. It is the most popular shooter franchise on any platform, and it seems like it continues to attract fans.

I started playing Call of Duty when Call of Duty 4 was released. It was a revolutionary game as it introduced things not previously seen in other first person shooters. The story was amazing, which is hard to say for most games these days. Multiplayer featured a leveling up system, unlockable weapons, challenges, and fast paced addictive gameplay that no other game could offer. It wasn't a perfect game, but it was so close.

Now we fast forward to today, with the current title of Call of Duty Black Ops and the previous installment of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (let's not forget World at War, which came after Call of Duty 4). Each game has introduced some cool new features: host migration, new gametypes, titles/emblems/playercards, customizable sights, new camos, new perks, etc. But why does the series feel stale? It's a combination of two things: the fact they push these games out every year and that each one after Call of Duty 4 has not done anything revolutionary. It is basically the same thing with some relatively minor new features.

I own Call of Duty 4, World at War, Modern Warfare 2, and Black Ops. I feel as if the series is losing its touch. What Activision seems to want is to push these games out as quick as possible. Not for customer satisfaction and fan enjoyment, but just for the reason to hype up the launch of the game and attract as many new people as possible with the big named franchise. It has gone from a fantastic game that was Call of Duty 4 to a name of a popular series that doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Why do you buy them then? You might be asking this question. For a while I was still holding on to a small amount of hope thinking the next one will surpass Call of Duty 4, but it never happened.

And now there are rumors of Modern Warfare 3, the next title which is supposedly scheduled for release this fall. I would be very surprised if this was NOT true. They have been consistent in releasing them every year around the same time. Why would it be different all of a sudden?

I bought Call of Duty 4 shortly after release, got World at War as a present. I bought Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops on launch (day of release). I went to the midnight releases for both. I can say for certain I will not be buying Modern Warfare 3 on launch, if at all. I have been way too disappointed over the last two titles to get my hopes up for the next one. Whichever developer is making the next title, they need to change the genre again. They need to release a game that sets the bar so high that future games have to use MW3 as a reference point of what to do.

To conclude, I will discuss a few reasons why the newest titles have not met my expectations (among many others' expectations as well).

Perks: Modern Warfare 2 had several perk combinations that were way too overpowered. It was obvious and nothing was done about it on the developer's end (One Man Army, Danger Close, Noob tubes and Marathon, Lightweight, Commando). Also, the absence of stopping power and juggernaut in Black Ops, while helping to create a balance, made people play a lot slower. Ghost is used everywhere, and no perk in the same slot can compete against what ghost can bring. In last titles, UAV Jammer/Cold Blooded was in the same slot as Stopping Power and Juggernaut, which made people make a decision: do I give up extra health, and extra bullet damage, to remain hidden from radar? Even in MW2 with the absence of Juggernaut, Stopping Power was in the same slot. The player had to decide if they wanted to lose bullet damage to remain hidden. Black Ops is not the case. No health or damage conflicts are there. There is truly no penalty for using Ghost. I could go on but I think the point is made.

Map Design: Call of Duty 4 map design was perfect. There was only one map I did not like. The lack of multiple vertical levels helped keep the action constant and fast paced. Later titles introduced larger maps with multiple vertical levels, more hiding places, buildings, and so on. This made the action slow down.

Gametpes: while new gametypes have been introduced, there are no new concepts. Demolition is a mix between Sabotage and Search and Destroy. Capture the Flag is one of the oldest game types in the genre. It is also ruined from perks like marathon and lightweight, especially in Modern Warfare 2. When I think of CTF, everyone should have the same running ability to provide a fair playing field.

Theater Mode: theater mode is a fantastic concept. It's an amazing idea that was poorly implemented. On the PS3, whenever you render a clip, the audio is so choppy it might as well not be present. This was never fixed. Also, the 30 second limit on uploads, while understandable from a networking point of view and the amount of traffic that would be sent, really limits what can be uploaded and I wish it was longer or unlimited.

Nothing New: like I stated previously, while new features have been added, nothing has truly changed the series (for the better that is).

While my hopes are not high, I'm hoping the next title delivers something extraordinary. One can only wait and see, but if the next installment in the Call of Duty franchise does not have that "wow" factor, it's likely more fans will abandon ship and leave the series for good.