For the last few years, Call Of Duty‘s multiplayer mode has been the center of attention for players of this first-person shooter series.
But for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC), it’s actually the story-driven campaign that deserves your attention.
And no, I’m not just saying that because I don’t play well with others…
As part of the newly released Season 3 content for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Call Of Duty: Warzone, and Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile, Activision, Sledgehammer Games, and Legendary Pictures have announced that the game will include some fun add-ons connected to the new monster movie Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, including skins with abilities for the two stars (and two co-stars that I won’t spoil for people who haven’t seen this monster mash).
At an event held last week at the offices of IMAX — during which people got to see the Season 3 trailers, play Modern Warfare III on an IMAX screen, and then see the movie — I had the chance to speak to Sledgehammer Games’ Senior Development Directors Adam Iscove and Michael Liu, who oversee the Multiplayer team and the Live Operations Team, respectfully, about this monstrous collaboration.
For the first time since the series began fifteen years ago, the new Call Of Duty does not have a story-driven single-player campaign. And yet, the good people at Treyach who made Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) have repeatedly said that it still has something for people who prefer to play solo.
As one of those people, I decided to put their assertion to the test, and found that while you can play this on your own, it may not be for very long.
Since the Call Of Duty games moved from World War II to modern times with 2007’s Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, I’ve been hoping that this first-person shooter series would go full-on science fiction (as opposed to the cyberpunk but still near future sci-fi of Call Of Duty: Black Ops III). Well, that time has finally come, and that game is…Titanfall 2. But it’s also Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC), which takes this series’ patented fluid controls, frantic firefights, explosively cinematic action, and addictive multiplayer where no Call Of Duty has gone before.
Funko have announced that they’ll release POP! toys of characters from the Call Of Duty games this November.
With the last three installments being set in the not-so-distant future (Modern Warfare 3), the not-so-distant future (Black Ops II), and, yes, the not-so-distant future (Ghosts), the Call Of Duty series was starting to get itself into a rut. But by setting Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC) far enough in the future to add some sci-fi into the mix, while still keeping this series’ tenets intact, designers Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios (who made the PS3 and 360 editions), and Raven Software (multiplayer) have injected a little but still much-needed newness into this first-person shooter series.
For Call Of Duty Ghosts (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, WiiU, PC), Activision hired writer/director Stephen Gaghan — who penned Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 movie Traffic and both wrote and directed 2005’s Syriana — to help with the campaign’s story. With the game done and out the door, I spoke to Mr. Gaghan about how he got the gig, how he feels about the way stories are told in games, and how he feels about the game’s critically-maligned ending. As a result…
WARNING: THIS INTERVIEW HAS SPOILERS ABOUT CALL OF DUTY GHOSTS.
In many ways, Call Of Duty: Ghost — which Activision is releasing on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, WiiU, and PC — isn’t just a new game, it’s also a new beginning, as it’s the first non-sequel in this series since 2008’s World At War.
It was with this in mind that I spoke to Infinity Ward’s Mark Rubin, the game’s Executive Producer, at a recent event where journalists were given an opportunity to play the game so we could review it for our respective outlets (look for mine in an upcoming issue of @gamer). As a result…
WARNING: THIS INTERVIEW HAS SPOILERS ABOUT CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS.
Considering how competition is such a big part of video games, it’s hardly surprising that there are rivalries between different games as well. But few rivalries are as feisty as the one between Battlefield and Call of Duty.
Unless, of course, you’re writer Jesse Stern, who co-wrote 2007’s Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 but most recently worked on Battlefield 4.
But while some might see this as a betrayal, or as revenge — especially since he’s also helping the ex-C.O.D. people at Respawn with their upcoming game, Titanfall — Stern actually doesn’t see it that way.