BLOPS – NoobTubeTV

COD Is Dead

Call of Duty was my go-to game during the Modern Warfare Trilogy. From the campaign to the multiplayer it was at its best between 2007 and 2011. While I agree that there were decent titles released by Treyarch in the time between these releases, MW was my favorite experience altogether. CodMeme

By the time Activision (the publisher and owner of the Call of Duty series) decided to part ways (unceremoniously fire) the main brains behind the Modern Warfare trilogy it had become obvious that two things were happening. Call of Duty was still growing at an incredible rate and Activision was going to milk/destroy the game for every drop of money they could get. codisdead

Now that we are firmly into the new generation of consoles (PS4 and XBox One) it is easy to see what their strategy has become. Cosmetic changes to weapons, loot boxes, and everything else that can be made into a micro-transaction in order to milk every last dime out of your bedazzled wallet.

The days of playing some of the coolest games with your friends are long gone. Sure, you can still party up with your buds and wreck some lobbies if you want. However, a lot of the focus has turned to two things – replicating the success of Fortnite, PUBG, & the concept of ‘Battle Royale’ in general and pandering to the streaming crowd on YouTube and Twitch.

Black Ops 4 won’t have a typical campaign, which isn’t something COD has really focused on since MW (sorry, but Black Ops 3 was one of the most insulting campaigns from a story perspective, maybe ever… until I played Infinite Warfare, anyway). It feels like Activision’s new motto is ‘Call of Duty, we know you’ll buy it anyway…’.

While Battlefield 5 will be including their own type of Battle Royale, I must say EA DICE has impressed me with their move to not only open accessibility by simply including playable female characters but they have also announced that they will not have a season pass or maps that you have to purchase separately. You can still option your way to buying bedazzled gear, but it isn’t being forced on you like COD.

It seems to me that Call of Duty has decided that they don’t need a rather large group of gamers. While I have fond memories of the old titles and the MW Trilogy in particular I must say that at this point the feeling of not wanting eachother is mutual.

COD IS DEAD

Prepping For Black Ops 2? – Dust Off The Original Black Ops

Getting your eyes and fingers ready for an anticipated game doesn’t entail taking a long break from gaming. If you are looking forward to games like Black Ops 2 you should start putting in some practice time with the predecessor. In this case, you should take the opportunity to start playing some of the original Black Ops.

There are a few reasons for this approach –

Developers Usually Make Games ‘Handle’ Like Old Ones – Treyarch is the developer in charge of Black Ops 2 (as they were with the original Black Ops). Playing Modern Warfare 3 will still help you quite a bit with Call of Duty’s speed and presentation. However, you will notice that Black Ops has many nuances that make it rather difficult to shift between Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer) and the titles developed by Treyarch. You will notice guns aim and even carry differently – pop in each game and start looking for those slight differences that could make a big difference in your ability to play Black Ops 2 more effectively on November 13.

Get Used To Game Speed – The difference in game speed between Treyarch and Infinity Ward is also something that is very slight, but it is something to take into consideration none-the-less. You will notice that sprinting speed and even the aiming of weapons can be just a few fractions of a second different from one game to another.

Snipers…Be Warned – Treyarch is rumored to be removing aim-assist (at least from Sniper Rifles). This will hopefully get rid of ‘quick-scoping’ as well as making sniping a more skillful art than some sort of carnival weapon. Sniping is a major point of contention for a lot of first person shooter gamers. However, when it comes to the difference between sniping in Treyarch and Infinity Ward games – it is one of the most vast differences in gun-play.

Zombies – They are coming back and lets be honest… half of the people that say they play Call of Duty: Black Ops at this point play it simply for the zombies. Start getting your braaaaaains ready folks – Black Ops 2 is less than two months away!

Call of Duty Still Going Strong – Are You Surprised? Should You Wish Otherwise?

Call of Duty will never die if people keep playing it. The bottom line of any business is whether or not their product is selling or being used enough to keep them in business. In the case of the Call of Duty series, there is no doubt that the game is among the favorites of Xbox 360 gamers.

In Major Nelson’s recent update about the most played games on Xbox Live you will see four Call of Duty titles on the list of the Top 20. Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops (as people prep to play Black Ops 2), Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare are among the titles listed (which also includes the likes of Battlefield 3, FIFA 12, Minecraft, Madden NFL 12 and Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. This list shouldn’t tell you that games are necessarily ‘good‘ but that they are among the most popular to be played online.

The Call of Duty series is one that is being driven into the ground by its current publisher, Activision. Activision is notorious for taking titles to the point where people are just sick of them (see Guitar Hero). It isn’t that their games are bad or even that they aren’t fun. It is the fact that people get burnt out on spending $60+ on new games and add-ons every year. Guitar Hero (GH) even had a point where the guitars weren’t even compatible with every other game under the GH label. It was really a pathetic turn for the worst from a company that is becoming more and more synonymous with being more money hungry and brash rather than being a good developer of gaming goodness.

We don’t know what would happen if Call of Duty were to take a hiatus or even get to the point where it had simply played itself out; yet, we still look forward to the day when the series isn’t on the release list for November. There are some games that could use a break and Call of Duty is one of them.