Would you play CoD if the roles were reversed?

[mad825]

Mixed feelings really, Command and Conquer 3 did something like this when you played the terrorists. In a call of duty setting, I could never be a Chinese or a Arab/Persian but I could probably be a Nazi SS deathhead or a russian spetznas and keep a clear mind.

C&C: Generals? GLA? The NOD are not too dissimilar.

For COD, it wouldn't go well simple because the single player campaign is so dried cut to be very mediocre there simply isn't any room. Usually it requires an structured gameplay or story for this type of game which COD delivers neither and which might end up being a battlefeild clone.

 

[CounterReproductive]

How bout we drop america all together . How about a fictional war between australia and Great britain ? We could have naval battles , air battles , and kangeroo boxing . I'm tired of the U.S periode . And where the fuck is Canada in all this?

Canada was invaded by North korea last year, the place is big and remote, nobody has noticed yet eh :d

 

[Riddle78]

No. Because it's still,at it's core,an entry in a stagnant genre that by definition cannot change due to it being the MODERN military shooter. I gave up on modern military shooters after Modern Warfare 2. I'll wait patiently for the genre to die,and something new,or maybe old,to take it's place. And then I will hope that it's better than the modern military shooter,and pray that it'll be able to evolve to meet new demographics and the demands of the ever-fickle audience.

Because,seriously. I am SICK AND TIRED of seeing the M-16/C6. Show me something that flies on the wings of fancy. Something to tickle my imagination,and makes me say "Sweet jesus,that's a fun gun!" Something like the Skaarj RazorJack from Unreal.

 

[TAdamson]

I don't think COD campaigns would be made any more interesting by going down the "Russia, fuck yeah" route, or the "China, fuck yeah" one.

America isn't the problem, it's the fuck yeah attitude that's keeping the genre down.

I dunno, the change of perspective during Call of Duty 2 Soviet Campaign was pretty good.

And I thought that the first Modern Warfare campaign was interesting. First time getting away from fight NAZIs and The Empire of Japan was great.

I've always thought that someone should have the guts to make a COD style campaign from the perspective of a German Heer Soldier. A Waffen-SS soldier might be pushing it but it'd be interesting to fight with Rommel against Patton and the Rats of Tobruk. Or be one of the MG42 gunners on Omaha beach (Maybe to much for some but no worse than gunning down civilians in an airport.).

Verity. It's great. The first Medal of Honor was great because I'd never heard the report of an M1 Garand before.

The first Modern Warfare was great because it felt like I was playing a bad Tom Clancy thriller.

So why not play Modern China, or Modern Russia, or the Taliban.

Or how about a fucking Australian or two? Or a Canadian? Or even a Kiwi? We've got hard as fuck SAS operatives too y'know.

 

[Darren716]

I probably wouldn't since I won't buy a COD game based on single player I play it based on the multiplayer. And besides the COD games aren't as 'Merica loving as everyone thinks since the main heroes ar British, the Americans Are portrayed as a group of dumb asses when they declare war on a middle eastern nation in the first game, and the main antagonist of the second game was the leader of the entire US military.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

We've already been handed shy little glimpses of the Russian 'perspective', be it first-person in World At War or a little more twisted in Black Ops.

People seem to stop short of bringing us the full glory of Stalin's misanthropic carousel of suffering and death and plain insanity. After all, it would be quite a horror show.

I've played the fistful of Iranian/Hezbollah/crap perspective 'games' or 'interactive experiences' that saw the light of, well, day. Didn't exactly help me see their point of view better, all it did was turn me into a fervent opponent of the Iranian beardymen regime and the current Hamas-run hellhole that is the stump of Palestine. Anyone that paints the Israelis the bad guys seems to have selected easy mode for history 101.

When I was younger, I opposed ye evil jews occupying Palestinian land... because, after all, that was what we were taught at school. Eventually, I figured out that if you go back in time just a wee bit more than the selective looking glass of textbooks allowed, it was Muslims that conquered, maimed, murdered, raped and occupied. It's an old and rather stupid game, and I've come to the conclusion that most propaganda on the Palestinian side is slanted, skewed, distorted and oftentimes rather unsavoury, well before and after Farfour the Mickey Mouse clone from hell that taught kids to hate jews and blow themselves up in the name of honour and he-who-shalt-not-be-named.

If we get a free refresher on current issues or history, I prefer it to be as crude and ugly and direct as humanly possible, as reality itself is well beyond anything any game intended to go to market could recreate. If you take into account that there's still someone writing an actual, fictional story, I think the COD series really doesn't deserve half the hatred it gets. I never felt much like "'Murica, f**k yeah!" and more like "Oh my God does this ever stop getting shittier and shittier and more depressing?". While the competitive online game component is oftentimes questioned and ridiculed, it's still pretty much one of the best team shooters since, what, Counterstrike? The same pretty much goes for all those short story mode single player experiences - over the top? Maybe, but there was hardly anything that hasn't happened already, could have happened during the Cold War or could happen in the current volatile times we live in. War sucks, but while you can fight to recall troops from war zones, you just cannot remove war from certain cultures, regions or mindsets. War, to some, is a way of life. Giving up on each of the conflicts currently going on means to condemn the less radical folks, and/or women, and/or Christians to certain doom and gloom and death. And that's a pretty shitty outlook, no matter how one would like to spin it.

I have little sympathy for the Talib way of seeing and understanding things, as it basically ditches the last, say, 1200 years of human development and intellectual evolution, including pretty much everything we've achieved in science or what is commonly referred to as 'enlightenment'. Hardcore or 'proper' Islam is a huge sip of the Dark Ages, and methinks we just can't have that, now, can we. So, why promote it? If defies the fistful of logic I am allowed to carry around.

So, would I play it? Maybe. Would I like it? Probably not. See, I am quite offended by the Assassin's Creed series painting the Templars the bad ones. That's plain not fair, it's wrong and it falsifies history significantly. So, the Assassin's Creed series ended for me somewhere late during the first title. I checked the other ones out, but I would never waste money on something that is guaranteed to piss me off big time.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

The ironic thing with these modern shooters, is that for the most part (bar a few levels and set pieces) you play as a small squad, or on your own, sneaking around trying to kill the enemy without any rules of engagement and before they realise you are there... (i'm talking across the board here, not necessarily just CoD and BF, however they have an element of this too!)

You also are against an enemy which is at least a battalion or corps size... even if they are meant to be an insurgency or terrorist group...

You also fight the most well, and inexplicably equipped insurgents there are around...

When you look at it, you are the one using guerilla tactics against those who are using possible doctrinal army tactics back at you... Isn't that role reversal enough?

I'll never forget playing the first modern Medal of Honour game, set in 'Afghanistan' and getting to the bit where you have to defend yourself in some ruined shed whilst waiting for extraction. There are seemingly endless amounts of enemies piling down the hill at you, and after you kill about 50 or so, you get to extract... although there are still more and more coming... You pretty much see half of the Taliban forces in Helmand[footnote]Exageration...[/footnote] in that short set-piece, who for some reason have nothing better to do than travel to a remote mountain and give a full on attack against 4 Americans... who they don't actually know who they are, and have realised are extremely dangerous... and at no time do they stop to think why those tactics should work! :S

 

[-Samurai-]

The fact that you don't play as an American the entire time(or even most of the time) in the majority of the games kinda makes this thread pointless.

 

[StormShaun]

I would like to play a shooter which stars the Australians...I mean Australians are nowhere to be seen in any FPSs.

I would like to see a game where Australia has to do some generic/unique FPS plot line but in the end they have to choose their ally/s and go against the other countries in the sequel.

I feel that there are no video games with Australia in it. D:

EDIT: Unless I didn't look hard enough and I am wrong. >.<

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

SNIP...

I think the idea of the thread is playing as the traditional 'enemies' in games... I liked the change of pace playing as soviets in CoD2 and the hilarious carefree attitude of the Polish tank guys in CoD3 too, but they were still the 'good' guys...

I think the problem with playing as traditional 'bad guys' is that they are, or are meant to be, the losing team... and who would want to play a game based on a historical war knowing that all their efforts are futile as you are going to lose anyway...?

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I would like to play a shooter which stars the Australians...I mean Australians are nowhere to be seen in any FPSs.

I would like to see a game where Australia has to do some generic/unique FPS plot line but in the end they have to choose their ally/s and go against the other countries in the sequel.

I feel that there are no video games with Australia in it. D:

EDIT: Unless I didn't look hard enough and I am wrong. >.<

You don't play as him, but his badass driving skills in CoD:MW2 save your arse!

Also, isn't the TF in the new Medal of Honour completely multinational too?

 

[wings012]

The Modern Warfare series ultimately had Brit heroes, as much as people like to call CoD out on fuck yeah America. Being from Malaysia, I really couldn't care much of who's perspective I am playing from as long as its fun and done well.

Though I actually like playing as Russians. There's something about them. Their charming accents, or their sense of camaraderie. The Russian segments in CoD2 were some of the best moments ever. The escape from Vorkuta in Black Ops was also pretty magnificent. I also quite liked the Russian parts of World at War.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

snip

Yes, oh god yes, would I.
As an Englishman, I am sick and tired of having to play as an American. A game focused solely on the British forces would be good, but at the same time it'd be great to play as the other end.
The Spetsnaz are a truly terrifying force so it'd be great to play them, and playing as a guerilla fighter would be extremely interesting, constantly being on the backfoot in terms of equipment would make for some great opportunities for tactical choices.
Hell I'd play games were you had to fight the British, in fact you know what would suit me just fine right now? A game with NO Americans. Yeah, that'd be sweet. You'd get to use different equipment instead of the same old mash-up of U.S. gear and prototypes, wouldn't have to hear any American accents...

but most of the big game companies are based in the U.S. and the whole "FUCK YEAH, 'MURRICA" thing sells really well.

SNIP...

I think the idea of the thread is playing as the traditional 'enemies' in games... I liked the change of pace playing as soviets in CoD2 and the hilarious carefree attitude of the Polish tank guys in CoD3 too, but they were still the 'good' guys...

I think the problem with playing as traditional 'bad guys' is that they are, or are meant to be, the losing team... and who would want to play a game based on a historical war knowing that all their efforts are futile as you are going to lose anyway...?

There's real potential for a great story there. Picture it, young German lad, joined the military to avoid being sent to a labour camp or whatever, forced to do horrific things, having to watch his homeland turn into a battleground as his comrades are massacred and his cities are levelled. It'd be amazing. If a good writer got hold of that... let me go clean myself up.

 

[StormShaun]

You don't play as him, but his badass driving skills in CoD:MW2 save your arse!

Also, isn't the TF in the new Medal of Honour completely multinational too?

That man...NPC is a bloody hero. HE saved all our asses...he deserves his own game!

Also yeah the new Medal of Honor does have different spec ops teams in multiplayer but I wish there was an aussie FPS based around Australia.

 

[Rastien]

I believe the majority of people play COD for the multilayer so i don't think weather you're guy sounds Russian or English makes a little difference

 

[MetalMagpie]

How bout we drop america all together . How about a fictional war between australia and Great britain ? We could have naval battles , air battles , and kangeroo boxing . I'm tired of the U.S periode .

That's an awesome idea. And there'd be a legitimate excuse to have battles all over the world as we're so frickin' far apart!

 

[daniel the immortal]

unless they break away from the boring gameplay and the predicable story line, no.

 

[TAdamson]

SNIP...

I think the idea of the thread is playing as the traditional 'enemies' in games... I liked the change of pace playing as soviets in CoD2 and the hilarious carefree attitude of the Polish tank guys in CoD3 too, but they were still the 'good' guys...

I think the problem with playing as traditional 'bad guys' is that they are, or are meant to be, the losing team... and who would want to play a game based on a historical war knowing that all their efforts are futile as you are going to lose anyway...?

I dunno. Halo Reach did this pretty well.

And you die rather pointlessly (Or even just for plot progression) at the end of Modern Warfare missions.

And the Pole you describe probably don't regard WW2 as a "win" as much as you might think.

CoD really isn't about winning. It's about the ridiculous set pieces. And you can have some interesting set piece where you lose. You could bookend it with "Good Guy" missions if you like but different scenery during a story is nice

 

[hooblabla6262]

No, CoD has far too many other problems then racism.
First of all the games level design is awful. you walk a corridor that could not be any straighter only to be tunneled to the next fighting-stop, where you sit in cover and shoot at scripted targets like in a shooting gallery, with the exception that you reward is just another tunnel and another shooting-gallery. People who like the campaign are possibly distracted by some eyecandy-setpieces, but I don't care for that... at all.
Second, it is the way war is portrayed in these games and that won't change no matter what kind of soldier you play as, because it has got nothing to do with the nationality. this is something that must have broken a long time ago in the brains of the developers. Some cell up in there that usually tells people "hey, war is not fun and games, it is where people die or worse..." must be removed or damaged in order for anyone to be able to think of so much terrible stuff and make a game of it. There is no other explanation... even though I am scared of all those people loving those games to death :/.
Third it is the gameplay. Aside from the theme this game could be made for small children. Crosshairs fill the complete screen making is near impossible not to it anything, there is hand-holding right through the game till the last level, enemies never truly become a threat... and so on... There is this well done video showing what is wrong with CoD aside from the whole "war is great"-thing they have going on due to their braindamage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZtBCpo0eU

So would I?
No, because the complete concept of the game is downright terrible in a horrible way. So terrible in fact, that I can't even wrap my head around the game far enough to reach the racism.

I can't say anything about your first point. If you don't like linear games, that's on you.

As for your second point. I never played the earlier COD games, but the more recent ones do a good job at showing the horrors of war. I'll admit that some players are in it to win it, but the developers seem to have a far more meaningful message than "war is awesome".

And your third point kind of makes it seem like your only experience with modern shooters is the video you posted (and not a video I would call "well done").
That's like watching Scary Movie, and telling me it's the same thing as Scream.

 

[Okulossos]

I can't say anything about your first point. If you don't like linear games, that's on you.

There are "linear games" and then there is CoD which is far, FAR worse than just linear... It is just terrible Mapdesign, there is no excuse for that. They could actually remove the movement keys, because they don't really add anything to the gameplay... As I said, CoD is just a shooting gallery with some eyecandy to satisfy those who can be blinded by flashing colourful thingys...

As for your second point. I never played the earlier COD games, but the more recent ones do a good job at showing the horrors of war. I'll admit that some players are in it to win it, but the developers seem to have a far more meaningful message than "war is awesome".

Well, sorry to disappoint you, but what you call a "meaningful message" is again just flashy design. There is nothing even remotely related to something close to a true depth in these games. This is what I like to refer to as "Hollywood warfare". It acts like it has depth, but it is all cheesy drama once you take a closer look. In reality CoD does not show "the horrors of war" it displays them, it uses them as a selling point, to "shock" the audience into buying the game. Remember how "no Russians" was used to push the game into the media? Remember how they went on to build the next "shock effect" to sell the next game? People buy the games for that experience and not to learn about how war feels. using war as a basis for a game is in itself kind of strange but that is a different story.
Saying that CoD showed the horrors of war is like stating that Saw is showing how torture works. Saw was not made to make you see the terror it was made to let you enjoy terror.

And your third point kind of makes it seem like your only experience with modern shooters is the video you posted (and not a video I would call "well done").
That's like watching Scary Movie, and telling me it's the same thing as Scream.

Well, first of all the video is very well done and displays exactly what is wrong with shooters today.
And no, I have played a lot of shooters and enjoyed quite a few of them, I have even played almost every CoD game just to find out why people like it... I never found out why and I had a hard time to finish each of the games in SP. MP was even more boring, but that is not part of the question here. It is a game for newbies, for people how don't like to play games, but rather to what games. It is for people who like James Bond with some US-Marine-"UUHAA"-flavor, thus it is not for me and I am honestly scared of the people who dig such games, especially when I thing about all those US-Soldiers who have been pulled from the streets, but in some high-tech war-machine and placed on the battlefield. I still remember an interview after the first attacks on Afghanistan back then, where a pilot was asked how he felt about it. his answer was "it was like a football game"... Excuse me, but kind of strange association is that? and Now the most popular game on the market is telling everybody that war is exactly that: like a football game.