The Rise of Call of Duty
From a good game to a must have, Call of Duty has risen through gamers wanted lists each year. But is it’s crown set to slip?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 broke records upon its launch. It sold 6.5 million copies in the UK and US, breaking the record they held twice consecutively. It took just 16 days for it to break the $1 billion mark. But when did the Call of Duty franchise get so popular? Its popularity has been its own downfall recently, with a cybercriminal disguising a Trojan horse as a software patch to steal users information.
The first instalment of the series debuted in 2003 and made a small splash with critics taking note of a new FPS in a sea of war games. A lengthy wait, by CoD terms, for its sophomore attempt, it again gained praise from critics; many focusing on the sound and graphics. The third was also applauded, but again without being raved about.
Things seemed to change when Modern Warfare hit consoles in 2007. It made critics and players alike sit up and take notice. It offered gamers a deep campaign mode together with an enthralling multiplayer mode – a winning combination.
The next release was World at War which continues to divide opinion. While the game was good, it returned to the World War II battlefield; fans wanted a sequel to Modern Warfare. They got their wish in 2009 as the CoD series picked up where they left off; and ran with the ball all the way down to the endzone. It was then that CoD became a must have game.
Critics and gamers lapped it up even more than its predecessor. Although there were some murmurings of CoD continuing to use the same formula. CoD then took another trip back in history, this time focusing on the Cold War. The game received mostly positive reviews, but bugs did hold it back somewhat.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
MW3 had huge hype behind it. It was back and better for most. But there were still lingering complaints of the same formula, the same game except repackaged. That’s where some fans turned to the dark side – Battlefield.
It seems CoD will have to refresh its ideas for the next instalment; or can it continue with the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ saying? So they’ve done a Third World War, what’s next? A 4th? Perhaps fighting with aliens? Earth vs. mutants?
Meanwhile, Black Ops II is expected to hit the shelves later this year. It seems developers Treyarch are experimenting and changing it up a little. It will be set in the future much like MW3, but this time 2025. Here, a new Cold War has broken out. It has also been suggested that it will be the first time where gamers can dictate the storyline.
Do you think CoD has lost its way? What’s next for CoD? Tell me in the comments section below.
