It has typically been a common criticism of First Person Shooters in the last few years that the campaigns seem cheesy and unimaginative.
I find this interesting because this criticism was not so common during the days when AAA FPSs were mostly set in WW2, and re hashing a well documented historical event is not the pinnacle of creativity.
Medal of Honor thrived when it was set in WW2 and CoD campaigns also thrived and got good reviews.
Since the transition to modern day scenarios, Medal of Honor, Battlefield, and CoD have all received particularly stinging reviews concerning the campaign portions of their games despite them coming up with stories that haven't actually occurred, nor are not set directly in modern day conflicts. There was no call of duty where you invade Fallujah or Baghdad in the context of simulating the Iraq or Afghan wars.
CoD MW got great reviews and I think the campaign did too, but that may have been becuase it was so refreshingly not WW2
What is also interesting is these games have moved away from having you be a grunt among grunts, to being SEALS, SAS, JTF2, etc. Even Battlefield Bad Company has you part of a "rag tag" super squad...
In summation, since dropping WW2 as a setting, AAA campaigns have received much more criticism despite the fact that they are much more original than re-telling different aspects of WW2.
Why do you think we are less forgiving of modern campaigns, is it because there is no emotional connection like we are taught to have to WW2? Has the move away from having the player be a grunt among grunts taken away from the experience? Or does it lend credibility to the player's character having abnormal abilities?
*Disclaimer* Despite the fact that Call of Duty and MoH referred to the Afghan and Iraq conflicts, there were no campaigns involving real battles like Op Medusa, etc.
Disclaimer 2* Also, The CoD series while some parts take part in middle east, it uses the context of a war between Russia and USA, then South America and USA.
*Disclaimer 3 - MoH abandoned having the player be a common grunt and moved to SOF units operating, therefore avoiding the real war part as well
I find this interesting because this criticism was not so common during the days when AAA FPSs were mostly set in WW2, and re hashing a well documented historical event is not the pinnacle of creativity.
Medal of Honor thrived when it was set in WW2 and CoD campaigns also thrived and got good reviews.
Since the transition to modern day scenarios, Medal of Honor, Battlefield, and CoD have all received particularly stinging reviews concerning the campaign portions of their games despite them coming up with stories that haven't actually occurred, nor are not set directly in modern day conflicts. There was no call of duty where you invade Fallujah or Baghdad in the context of simulating the Iraq or Afghan wars.
CoD MW got great reviews and I think the campaign did too, but that may have been becuase it was so refreshingly not WW2
What is also interesting is these games have moved away from having you be a grunt among grunts, to being SEALS, SAS, JTF2, etc. Even Battlefield Bad Company has you part of a "rag tag" super squad...
In summation, since dropping WW2 as a setting, AAA campaigns have received much more criticism despite the fact that they are much more original than re-telling different aspects of WW2.
Why do you think we are less forgiving of modern campaigns, is it because there is no emotional connection like we are taught to have to WW2? Has the move away from having the player be a grunt among grunts taken away from the experience? Or does it lend credibility to the player's character having abnormal abilities?
*Disclaimer* Despite the fact that Call of Duty and MoH referred to the Afghan and Iraq conflicts, there were no campaigns involving real battles like Op Medusa, etc.
Disclaimer 2* Also, The CoD series while some parts take part in middle east, it uses the context of a war between Russia and USA, then South America and USA.
*Disclaimer 3 - MoH abandoned having the player be a common grunt and moved to SOF units operating, therefore avoiding the real war part as well