Modern Warfare? Or Recycled Cash Cow?
It’s pretty obvious in today’s world what games sell and what games don’t. If a game is about to release its 8th installment while simultaniously passing it off as their 3rd installment, then, odds are you’ve already heard of it. Given the number of sales, you’re probably also a player of one of these games to which I’m referring. Pretty much, the two big contendors that we gamers get to choose from when it comes to modern day military shooters are Call of Duty and Battlefield. But are some of the later installments even worth buying?
(If you got beef with my opinon, feel free to post a comment down below. I welcome different outlooks and I love criticism but be warned, the gloves are coming off.)
I don’t want to stand on a soap box but this is my article, so I’m going to go out and say it anyways; I’m amazed Call of Duty still makes the number of sales that they do. The last COD game I enjoyed playing was the original Modern Warfare. I honestly think the guys at Infinity Ward and Activision got it right on the money when they took this leap out of thier comfort zone of WWII shooters. They brought an action packed single player campaign, along with an engulfing and expansive multiplayer experience. I think on my original Xbox gamer tag, I had almost two months worth of game time online….There’s a reason I’m in the Air Force and not a ground packing Soldier overseas 10 months out of the year (God bless you soldiers and marines). It was decently ballanced and wasn’t riddled with glitches and corner campers. I even bought their DLC map pack. Remember, the game was so good, throwing down another 15 of your hard earned dollars seemed like a viable option considering how much you play the game. I want to go on record and just say that half of that map pack royally blew. China Town and Creek were crap. But Broadcast and Killhouse were both amazing. Unfortunately you could only play Killhouse in team tactical. Anyway, with each installment, I’ve become more and more jaded with the COD franchise and thier creators out at Infinity Ward.
I stood in line for 2 damn hours when MW2 was coming out. I lost hours of sleep which lead to what seemed to be “never-ending” twelve hour shifts at work. And for a while, I actually liked this game. The only thing I couldn’t grasp was how I could go from being a “God” with the original Modern Warfare, to an “easy target” on MW2. My game type in the original was hardcore search and destroy. I played religiously with the same group of guys and when we all started playing MW2, we all found ourselves asking the same question: “What on earth happened?”
I ended up trading MW2 back for the original. Believe it or not, some guy right behind me at GameStop was doing the exact same thing, which lead to a 20 minute discusion between the two of us and the three employees at the store. I didn’t even bother with World at War when it came out. I didn’t want to time travel back to shitty and inaccurate weapons. Not to mention I was greatly disppointed with MW2. I don’t understand how the guys at IW couldn’t have foreseen what would happen to thier game.
First off, there were so many glitches popping up in those two months I owned the game, I was certain my Xbox contracted a digital STD. Such as the care package glitch. If you ran around with the smoke grenade equiped, you could speed knife people up and down the level. Secondly, allowing players to obtain 21 kill death streaks would only promote camping which would, in turn, piss many people off and change the way the game is played. Sure, you could put a heartbeat sensor on your gun, which would take you out of the Modern era and place you in the middle of the “Aliens” era, but seriously? Then you’d get those little bastards who use the heart beat sensors as well as the stealth perk. The stealth perk, when exploited/abused like a US govt. relief program, would allow you to be virtually untraceable, even with IR sensors. It was bull crap. And the icing on the damn cake? 25 or whatever kill streak for a tactical nuke? C’mon! Let’s award the asshole who sat in the corner using the load out I previously describe with a friggin’ nuke that immediately ends the game, usually in the dick’s favor.
I still liked the campaign on MW2, but it wasn’t enough to hold onto the game. Not even the Special Ops mode could have saved it for me. Don’t even get me started on Black Ops. I’ve dubbed it “Crap Ops.” That’s one failure that IW can’t claim but my point still remains. Could Activision get any more milk from this cow? I’d think humanity would have caught on and at least started questioning why they’re shelling out 15 dollars every couple of months for a few more crappy online levels and some more zombie modes to play.
So now, MW3 is on a lot of people’s radar and the question for me is, am I honestly considering picking this damn game up? So far, I’ve justified it on the fact that I do enjoy the single player, and the new “horde” like take on special ops is intriguing. I mean, their presentation at E3 was pretty impressive. However, any facts about the game’s main selling point, the multiplayer, is still under lock and key. If any information is released, please let me know. I haven’t really cared enough to keep tabs on it on a weekly basis like I do with other titles. But honestly, I don’t expect the multiplayer experience to get any better when there’s so much room for it to be so much more painful than its predecessors.
Like I said, maybe I’m just jaded, but I haven’t seen much innovation with the franchise since the original MW. Not to mention; I think it’s selfish of the company to release map packs, add ons and things like the new “elite” feature every couple of months to the tune of 15 dollars. They charge so much for some re-made maps, and still somehow don’t have the money or the want to provide dedicated servers for their loyal players? That just seems like a poor business model to me.
If you haven’t gathered yet, I’m pretty much a devout Battlefield player. I like it for the massive levels, the vehicle warfare and how the tactical and strategic gameplay is based around team work. Battlfield promotes team work! I can’t tell you how many times I was at the top of the ranks for the team/game and yet we still got our asses handed to us because half of my team couldn’t break 700 points. In COD, you can get half the kills for your team within the first five minutes of the round and go brush your teeth and you’d still probably win. Thats not to say I compare BF to COD, ’cause you can’t. They’re both military first person shooters but COD is on the arcade side and BF is on the tactical side. (I won’t say it’s “realistic” because I’ve never known an RPG round to go straight for more than 20 feet.)
A lot of people are hoping that BF3 will outsell MW3 in the upcoming months but I honestly don’t hope for that.
I’ve noticed that ever since the stunning and lenghty trailers for BF3 have been released, there has been an influx of dim-witted, low ranking, “run and gun” shooters in my squads on Bad Company 2. I can only come to the conclusion that this is due to the fact that COD players have caught onto the stagnant stench of COD and want to get a handle on the Battlefield franchise before the new game is released in October. In which case, I’m glad gamers are expanding thier horizons, but I’m also deeply annoyed because it’s obvious these new players have the same old habbits from 5 years of FPS brainwashing that COD has done to them. But there is a remedy:
This lays down the basics to help you be an asset to your squad on the Battlefiel instead of just cannon fodder. Itis dated and no where does it contain information on the upcoming BF3, but it does lay down the basic premise of how to play the game and not suck. In my next installment, I’ll go over some of the CONFIRMED new aspects you’ll be able to use and exploit in BF3 this coming October.
Is it October yet?! DAMMIT!
By the way, thanks to the released of Batman Arkham City, Rage and BF3, October has now become my favorite month of the year! Not only do you get to dress up like an asshole, scare kids and carve pumkins, but this year we have 3 awesome games coming out to drain our wallets and give us plenty of reasons to sit on the couch for numerous hours and not feel guilty about it.
All and all, Call of Duty and Battlefield need to stay competitors. Mainly because the more redundant COD gets with each new game release, the more inovation the next BF game will more than likely become. So I guess this is going to be my last COD game I ever purchase. I’ve said this before, but this time it’s in writing. After MW3 is released, I will not buy another COD game again. ‘Cause like I said before, I don’t see it getting any better when there is so much room for it to be a lot worse.
Thanks for stopping ,gamers. Which title release are you more excited about? MW3 or BF3?
28 Jul 2011, 5:41 pm
COD or BF that is the question. I have played BF and Cod from there first installments. COD a simulation i wouldn’t call it that. More like an arcade shooter. COD is for the masses. Its an easy game to pick up and play. the normal COD player is not a smart team player. Most of the time they just aimlessly run around the map and get shot up or camp in the same corner. The COd community is full of shit talking assholes who think there good at the game. BF ppl are in your squad for the most part and try and work together. But Cod you still use the same game engine and physics engine… Recycled shit. The only thing the COD crew gets right is game content. They put so much in the game that it makes you keep coming back to unlock something else. ok ok thats cool but they still lack the ground braking game play that we are all looking for. WILL MW3 have that? Well i hope they change something in there game because to me its looking like that same game with new lvl and guns. Well Bf what have you done in you history to today. hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm. Well let me say that the first BF they put in vehicles! OK so what they do with BF2. Bigger lvls new game engine and they changed it to current times. OK they made BF 2142 what was the deal with that? they took it to the year 2142 . Walkers and flying bases! Was so sick! Dice Then came out with the bad company. New game engine and physics. They put in the first real destructible environment.” Red Faction was First but only to ps2 abilities.” So they took there frostbite engine to work because they see what they have. BF BC2 came out with a new lvl of destruction and improved game play. So BF3 just out right went balls to the wall. Frostbite 2 looks smoother than ever. The destructible environment detail has been taken to the next lvl. This makes you wonder how they have upgraded the physics in the game. We wont know till it comes out.
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2011-battlefield-3/714884
So MW3 its your move what you going to do?
PS. MW3 a knife kill should not be given to someone it should be earned!
01 Aug 2011, 6:54 pm
I agree, the last awesome CoD was CoD4 MW. I have Black Ops and I don’t enjoy it as much as I did with CoD4. I have hopes that MW3 will be great because IW said they would base it on CoD4, also because of the TON of articles like this on the web I hope that they read them when looking for feedback and make a great and unique game. CoD has given me something that Battlefield, sadly, never could: awesome split screen multiplayer, with free-for-all, customization, fast and agile gameplay and even bots in Black Ops. I like online gaming (in which no doubt Battlefield excels), but i like better split screen multiplayer (maybe too old school for some) the lag-less, competitive, social gaming is pure bliss. Since the days of Goldeneye 64, Perfect Dark, and Smash Bros Melee I knew the pinnacle of gaming. Those games required skill and were not team based, just as CoD requires skill, only it’s a different kind of skill: you need good reflexes, fast thinking, map and situational awareness and good strategy to kill non skilled CoD players that rely on camping and killstreaks and counter the current metagame, it’s just the lone wolf kind of skill. The problem is, as I see it, that people don’t realize CoD is best played on free-for-all. I also assure you that if there weren’t so many kids playing it, it would be far better. Battlefield can’t give me that split screen tournament arena feel. I have 2 brothers, 3 controllers (game developers must be puzzled by the fact that you can connect more than 1 controller on consoles!) and high hopes for MW3. Battlefield will be for when i find myself alone. On a sidenote: there’s a rumor that Timesplitters 4 is in development, for those who know what I’m talking about.
02 Aug 2011, 8:08 am
Although I agree with Luzny, I do like your outlook on the topic. I forgot how many times I played split screen on COD4 with friends. It did take me back to the days of Golden Eye and Perfect Dark. There was a lot of fun had on the N64 because of those games and a lot of hours spent squinting at my corner of the screen in an intense 4 player split screen tournament. I wouldn’t of had it any other way. I agree with there being too many kids on the COD servers. Which is another reason why I like BF squad talk. That way you don’t have to deal with too many annoyances at once not to mention smack talk from the other team. I found myself from time to time actually sending messages to people I was going up against for either being able to keep up with me kill for kill or made it a challenge to take them down. I think the one thing the guys at Infinity Ward need to rethink are the kill streaks. I don’t know what or how they should do it but I think that its getting too ridiculous but we’ll see.
04 Aug 2011, 12:07 am
you say you hate the new COD games and at the end of the article you say you’re still getting MW3…. kind of dumb if you ask me. The game takes no skill dude… go play tactical games like Socom and yes BF3. There’s too many GOOD games coming this year to be playing a piece of shit like COD. Uncharted 3 anyone? Twisted Metal? God of War Orgins? MGS HD Collection? Assassin’s Creed? RAGE? I could go on.. but that list would NEVER include MW3. Stop paying activision to play with a bunch of 5 year olds that camp all game…
04 Aug 2011, 6:53 pm
Well if it makes you feel any better, MW3 is not on my pre-order list. I plan to pry it away from a friend of mine for a chance to see if I should even bother; at least try out the single player. I agree though that there are way too many good games coming out to throw down another 60 bucks on a game I probably won’t be impressed by. Rage, BF3, Batman:AC, Skyrim are all on my pre-order list. I’m going to be broke by the time this year ends.