It's no secret that the gaming community is starting to get, or rather has been for a while, tired of Call of Duty. The most obvious example I can give is the horrid Metacritic score it has (currently sitting at 3.2) [http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3], and I trust you've seen the CoD hate elsewhere for yourself. Even if you enjoy the series, you have to concede that there are reasons to hate Call of Duty. They are all so minutely different from each other that people are not unjustified in calling it a copypasta, or posting satirical reviews praising how great a map pack it is (couldn't find the original review, but here's this [http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/11/08/mw3-user-reviews-generally-unfavourable/]); and by no means do the games deserve to be raking in as much as they do. The franchise on a whole sends the wrong message to developers, because the numbers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/3281-The-Numbers] show that games like Call of Duty sell, to the point where one of Call of Duty's biggest competitor is Call of Duty. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_3][footnote]Why yes, I do employ some hyperbole.[/footnote] When mediocrity becomes the safe bet, the industry suffers. So, yes, I do think Call of Duty should stop.
However, that's not to say it has to leave a bitter taste in our mouths on the way out. I do think that Call of Duty can redeem itself first: It has to become something more than just the franchise that introduced us to Call of Duty 4 over and over. It has to contribute something that actually has substance to it: And for it to be CoD's saving grace, it must be something we could call a CoD game.
I propose that Infinity Ward's next Call of Duty game pick up Atomic Game's Six Days in Fallujah. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Days_in_Fallujah]
For those of you unfamiliar, Six Days in Fallujah was a game about the Second Battle of Fallujah, a conflict described by the military as "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968," and was supposed to act as a sort of documentary of the events that transpired. The developers worked with the Marines who fought in Fallujah (and in fact, upon their request) to make the game, and Konami was set to publish. But then controversy reared it's ugly head [http://www.1up.com/news/days-fallujah-stirring-controversy] and Konami pulled out. [http://gamepolitics.com/2009/04/27/troubled-controversy-konami-drops-six-days-fallujah]
The game is now without a publisher, which is a damn shame. This was video gaming's chance to tackle something topical, but when the heat was on (and let's face it, most of the heat came simply from the fact that it was a game as opposed to a book or a movie), everybody bailed and Atomic was left hanging. And here is where Infinity Ward comes in.
The game itself is mostly done, which is great, because Call of Duty devs are used to working off a finished product [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty_4:_Modern_Warfare]; they would just have to make a few adjustments, such as making the game first person, or (if they find it completely necessary) adding a multiplayer.
It's also perfect because IW has been on a controversy high. Not only do they have the fortitude to withstand controversy[footnote]This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NMnnMRWJ-0] did not stop MW2 from making a billion and some odd dollars.[/footnote], they seem to get off on it. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyMJWmZoSk] The child's death didn't explode as much as No Russian, because it was clearly a desperate grab for attention. If IW wants to taste real controversy, what better way is there than reviving a game that got everyone so pissy it was shut down?
Any thoughts, qualms, complaints or threats?
However, that's not to say it has to leave a bitter taste in our mouths on the way out. I do think that Call of Duty can redeem itself first: It has to become something more than just the franchise that introduced us to Call of Duty 4 over and over. It has to contribute something that actually has substance to it: And for it to be CoD's saving grace, it must be something we could call a CoD game.
I propose that Infinity Ward's next Call of Duty game pick up Atomic Game's Six Days in Fallujah. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Days_in_Fallujah]
For those of you unfamiliar, Six Days in Fallujah was a game about the Second Battle of Fallujah, a conflict described by the military as "some of the heaviest urban combat U.S. Marines have been involved in since the Battle of Huế City in Vietnam in 1968," and was supposed to act as a sort of documentary of the events that transpired. The developers worked with the Marines who fought in Fallujah (and in fact, upon their request) to make the game, and Konami was set to publish. But then controversy reared it's ugly head [http://www.1up.com/news/days-fallujah-stirring-controversy] and Konami pulled out. [http://gamepolitics.com/2009/04/27/troubled-controversy-konami-drops-six-days-fallujah]
The game is now without a publisher, which is a damn shame. This was video gaming's chance to tackle something topical, but when the heat was on (and let's face it, most of the heat came simply from the fact that it was a game as opposed to a book or a movie), everybody bailed and Atomic was left hanging. And here is where Infinity Ward comes in.
The game itself is mostly done, which is great, because Call of Duty devs are used to working off a finished product [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty_4:_Modern_Warfare]; they would just have to make a few adjustments, such as making the game first person, or (if they find it completely necessary) adding a multiplayer.
It's also perfect because IW has been on a controversy high. Not only do they have the fortitude to withstand controversy[footnote]This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NMnnMRWJ-0] did not stop MW2 from making a billion and some odd dollars.[/footnote], they seem to get off on it. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyMJWmZoSk] The child's death didn't explode as much as No Russian, because it was clearly a desperate grab for attention. If IW wants to taste real controversy, what better way is there than reviving a game that got everyone so pissy it was shut down?
Any thoughts, qualms, complaints or threats?
