Call of Duty is a franchise that needs no introduction, even if that doesn't mean it's universally loved. In fact, one might go so far as to say it's a bit infamous: over time Call of Duty has grown to represent everything that is wrong with big-budget, AAA video game production in the modern era. The franchise has been heavily criticized for its annual release schedule, monetization practices, and inconsistent tone, among other things, though it still retains its astounding relevance even after Black Ops 7 insufficient performance.
Whether any specific criticisms Call of Duty whether they are accurate is of course a matter of opinion, but most long-time players can generally agree that IP identity has changed quite a bit. From her boots on the ground historical fiction roots in 2003 to her foray into science fiction and back, Call of Duty has gone through enough changes to make your head spin. A big part of that is the series' notorious annual release schedule: with a few notable exceptions, each year saw a new Call of Duty input. With so many releases, one would expect the standard of quality to fluctuate widely, but I'd say the series has really declined over the last two decades and lost a lot of what made it special.
20 years of success – the greatest Call of Duty game ever
Call of Duty is celebrating more than 20 years of success, so which of their games deserves the top spot as the greatest in the entire series?
Why Call of Duty has changed so much, and why it's for the worse
When Infinity Ward released the first one Call of Duty in 2003 it was highly praised for being a more comprehensive and ambitious depiction of 20th century warfare in gaming, a subgenre it had previously dominated Medal of Honor. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who would call it the best Call of Dutybut it was definitely a landmark release at the time and went a long way to cementing the IP as a gaming giant.
Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.
Start
Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.
Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)
The franchise seemed to grow exponentially after that. While CoD 2 and CoD 3 keep the WW2 premise from the first game, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare would be the release that would define the brand to this day. Its setting in a modern setting was a resounding success and encouraged Call of Duty continue experimenting in the same vein. This is what later led to futuristic settings Black Ops games, Infinite Warfare, Advanced Warfareand so on.
For many fans, this slide into weirder, more speculative storytelling is what marked the decline Call of Dutybut that was more a symptom than a cause. As multiplayer became the focus of the franchise and immersive storytelling took a backseat, and as Activision continued to push for annual releases, it was necessary to borrow mechanics from the likes of Titanfall and PUBGgradually eroding Call of Duty identity by derivation and repetition. That's why the series struggled to recapture its original charm, even as it returned to a WWII setting with games like Vanguard. In other words, the series has spread itself too thin creatively, its core concepts so thoroughly mined as to be almost unrecognizable.
Can Call of Duty return to its glory days?
Even if Call of Duty was at the turn of the 20th century and early 2010, followed an annual release schedule; I don't necessarily think this is the root of the series' problems, though it does add to them. Rather, I think the main problem with modernity Call of Duty there is a distinct lack of passion and originality – a soul, if you will – that needs to be rediscovered.
This is of course a very difficult problem to quantify, but going back to the basics might be a good start. In the early 2000s Call of Duty he tried to excel by being inventive and exciting; these days, he seems to just give his viewers what they expect. While the games return to specific core elements such as grounded gameplay and dedicated single-player campaigns, this feels more like a response to criticism than the result of creative inspiration. Call of Duty it may be a real live service now, but that shouldn't mean it just goes into maintenance mode.
