When the Xbox 360 and PlayStation released back in 2005 and 2006 there was one series that was present at both launches. That series was Call of Duty: Call of Duty 2 for 360 and Call of Duty 3 for PlayStation 3.
With this generation of consoles launching seven or eight years later, the situation is no different. Call of Duty: Ghosts is available as a launch title for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It's become an industry norm that launch titles available to a respective platform are usually mediocre at best. Ghosts is one of the better games available at launch, but at the same time, the series is starting to feel a bit stale.
Like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 3, America is under attack and it's up to an elite group of soldiers called the Ghosts to save the day. The story from the get-go is fairly predictable and after having played so many COD titles, I had a sense of how the game was going to end.
I look at the campaign as being two parts that feel like the exact opposite of one another. The first half of the campaign is quite engaging, introduces some cool new elements and has you mesmerized with next-gen graphics. The second half feels too familiar and the story becomes predictable. The first half of the game makes great use of the new companion dog Riley who is a German Sheppard that can sniff out and attack enemies. Unfortunately Riley pretty much disappears after the first half of the game and the series reverts back to its old ways. Go from Point A to B kill scores of enemies, jump into a vehicle and repeat. Last year's Black Ops II game offered some new features in the way of having multiple pathways and branching storylines, but unfortunately none of this is present in Ghosts. The campaign feels like a step back for the series.
Extinction replaces the beloved Spec Ops as the new cooperative mode. Extinction is similar in some respects to Treyarch's Zombies mode where you and several other players battle hordes of aliens. There's some fun to be had, but it does not do an adequate job of replacing the classic Spec Ops mode. Spec Ops worked because there were so many different situations the game would throw you and another player in, whereas Extinction's gameplay isn't as well varied.Multiplayer is back in Ghosts and better than ever. Ghosts features several new modes including Grind, Search and Rescue, Cranked and Blitz. Grind and Search and Rescue offer a subtle twist to the existing Kill Confirmed match type. In Grind you need to deposit enemy dog tags at a series of banks scattered throughout the map. Search and Rescue is a round based match type where capturing an enemies dog tags after killing them knocks them out of the round, while picking up a teammates tags revives them. Both modes are a great addition and encourage team work to be successful.
Cranked is a new team based mode where killstreaks will increase your characters movement and reloading speed. The only catch is that between kills you have a set amount of time to kill another player otherwise you blow up and die. Cranked is fun, but it just seems so much better suited to a free for all mode than a team based one. Blitz is Call of Duty's take on American Football. Each time has a goal and you score points by entering the opposing team's goal. There's always a fine line you want to draw when playing blitz as you needed to have some defensive presence while also being aggressive to score points. Blitz was probably my favourite new modes.
Another new addition to the multiplayer is the Squads Mode. Squads is the absolutely perfect for novice players or people who are sick of little kids screaming on the other end of the microphone. In Squads you can create several other soldiers and outfit them with any weapons and perks you deem fit and basically build your own squad. The cool thing is that you can then challenge other peoples squads online. What really makes Squads stand out is that your AI controlled soldiers behave quite similarly to human players. I never felt like I was playing the single player campaign when playing squads.
The perk system has undergone changes as well. As you play through the online game, you earn points which can then be spent on perks. It's completely up to you on which perks you want to spend your points on. In addition to that, Ghosts offers larger freedom on customizing your characters experience.
The visuals are a definite step up on the PS3 version. Everything looks much more colourful and livelier. I remember my time with the PS3 version was spent looking at drab colours and textures. As the years go on and the developers get a better sense of what the PlayStation 4 is capable of, Call of Duty is only going to get prettier.
Out of all the next gen games I have played thus far, Ghosts is probably one of the stand out titles. After glowing over Black Ops II, Ghosts in some ways feels like a step back for the series. Ghosts does little to stray from its usual formula, but if your okay with that, then COD Ghosts will keep you entertained for quite a while.
- Sidd Masand
Follow @jokeman23
The Good:
- Visuals are a noticeable step up on the PS3 version
- Multiplayer still plays great
- Squads is great for novice players
- Character customization
The Bad:
- Forgettable campaign
- No Spec Ops Mode
Overall: 8.0/10
