Summary
Over more than twenty years, Activision’s staple franchise,Call of Duty,has deployed players into numerous warzones, maps, and spaceships, constructing intricate campaigns and enjoyable multiplayer experiences that have become iconic in the FPS genre. Taking inspiration from predecessors that dominated video games in the 90s,Call of Dutyis easily one of the most recognizable games in the world.
RELATED:Every Game In The Call Of Duty Series Ranked On Campaign Length (& How Many Hours They Take)
Original creators, Infinity Ward crafted nine of the twenty main series entries, occasionally with the help of other studios such as Sledgehammer Games. There is no doubt that Infinity Ward is the finest of theCoDdevelopers, but forevery triumphant victory, there has also been an outing that received more mixed reviews.
Ghostsisone of the weakest entriesin theCall of Dutyfranchise, primarily because it offers very little innovation. Built from the same components asModern Warfare 3,Ghostsstrings together a series of mediocre maps and an uninspired campaign about the consequences of destruction in the Middle East.
It didn’t help that the multiplayer was a hollowed-out re-hash of more celebrated editions, andGhostssuffered immensely from huge maps that felt empty when playing in 6v6 game modes. Extinction Mode was a small gem among the average ofGhosts, but it wasn’t gripping enough to warrant appraisal of the game.
The unassuming average gamer might assume thatInfinite Warfareis the weakestCoDentry, given its extremely poor initial reception. Upon the game’s release, however, it wasn’t as bad as most people thought; the problem was that it was, overall, an incredibly average entry.
Infinite Warfareneeded to be better than average. Aspace-faring entrythat departed from the realism of previous entries and an intriguing antagonist in the form of Kit Harrington’s Salen Kotch should have welcomed a new era of futuristicCoDgames. Instead, it ended any chance of it being explored again.
The game that started it all. Infinity Ward’s 2003 debut has all the drawbacks and errors that gamers would expect of a two-decade-old game, but being the first entry, it still offered arigid framework for successorsto build upon.
Squad-based gameplay that revolutionized the FPS genre is a standout feature of the original entry and helped to set it apart fromMedal of Honorand other war-themed contemporaries. Although it’s gradually been outclassed by other entries in the series,Call of Dutyis still a great game.
It might be the weakest of the three originalModern Warfaregames, butModern Warfare 3is still one of the strongestCoDgames around. Itoffers a satisfying conclusionto the classicModern Warfarestory and, although lacking in innovation, does focus on what the series had done best up until that point.
RELATED:Best Call Of Duty Games By Sledgehammer Games, Ranked
Multiplayer was also remade, creating a more challenging experience that was an acquired taste forModern Warfare 2veterans. Combined with the campaign,Modern Warfare 3was a triumph for Infinity Ward, boosting the popularity ofCoDwhilst simultaneously delivering a satisfying video game.
Call of Duty 2took and improvedon virtually every element of the original game. A launch title for the Xbox 360,CoD 2introduced the legendary multiplayer mode that would become a beloved component of the series whilst adding new functions, such as the regenerating health system.
The multiplayer component’s importance cannot be underscored, however; it was a gigantic expansion of the relatively limited arrangement in the firstCall of Duty, and as a result, saw swarms of players joining and hosting in its 64-player maps.Call of Duty 2might not be the titanic multiplayer experience it once was, but many look back on it with fondness.
It might not hit the heights of the originalModern Warfare 2, but Infinity Ward’s 2022 reboot still offers many excellent features that veteranCall of Dutyfans will enjoy. The diversity of the missions, ranging from silent stealth activities toblockbuster-sized carnage, creates a modern entry that feels worthy of the name.
Modern Warfare 2’sWarzoneis also a strong addition to theCall of Dutymultiplayer roster, standing strongly aside from the main campaign. It might be a little bloated with microtransactions, butModern Warfare 2andWarzoneare both worthwhile games for anyCall of Dutyfan.
Whilst it was tentatively met upon the first announcement, Infinity Ward’s 2019 reboot of theModern Warfarefranchise proved to be a greatCall of Dutygame with more than enough content to warrant its creation.
RELATED:Call Of Duty Games With Underappreciated Single-Player Campaigns
The decision to ditch the season pass in favor of a more user-friendly ‘season’ system meant that Infinity Ward steered somewhat clear of the ill-received microtransactions that populate modern games. It might not hit the highs of the originalModern Warfarefranchise, butthe 2019 rebootdoes improve over some of the series' least popular mechanics.
Modern Warfare 2had serious expectations on launch. It had to build on and adapt elements from the critically acclaimed firstModern Warfaregame whilst also being able to stand alone as a worthy entry into the overarchingCall of Dutyseries. In both respects, it soared.
Multiplayer was expanded, the campaign was incredible, and new technology allowed incredible set-pieces to dominate the once close-quartered nature ofCall of Duty. There are flaws in the game, however, primarily relating to the game’s length and the infamous airport sequence, but overall,Modern Warfare 2isone of the greatest FPSgames in the modern era.
Simply put,Call of Duty 4is one of the best games of all time. It is easily the bestCall of Dutygame, surpassing the highs ofModern Warfare 2and theBlack Opsspin-off to create a refreshing take on thegradually declining historical FPSwar games of the early 2000s.
It might not have changed many features from previous games, but it didn’t need to;Modern Warfaresimply changed the setting and introduced an engaging story of speculative catastrophe to create one of the finest first-person shooters ever.
MORE:Games Set In World War 2 (That Aren’t Call of Duty: Vanguard)
