Sometime during the campaign of Modern Warfare 2 I started wondering if Call of Duty was growing stale. Each title is still an exceptionally high quality release, particularly when compared against the average product release these days (e.g. games based on movies). But how many times can we run from objective to objective, popping in and out of cover to oust enemy soldiers that, for the most part, always act the same?
At a minimum, the Call of Duty franchise needs some refreshment. In my mind, Modern Warfare 3 was a bit of a let down. I'm uncomfortable saying that, because I really believe MW3 is a superb game with excellent gameplay and production quality. But it is, for the most part, just more of MW2.
I skipped Black Ops a few years ago in an attempt to avoid Call of Duty burnout. However, I'm interested in Black Ops 2 so I picked up both titles a few weeks ago (one simply cannot jump into the middle of a series, right?) and started in on Black Ops.
Black Ops tells its story almost exactly like Battlefield 3 (note: Black Ops came out first). The main character is held captive by the authorities until he tells his entire story - each level in the game is a flashback-style event - and eventually breaks out and saves the world from a deadly plot.
Even so, Black Ops is a good game. The fit and finish is not quite as nice as the Modern Warfare series, but the gameplay is sharp and satisfying. But it still feels rather stale to me, an avid player of the Call of Duty franchise. It's so similar to the other games that they are sometimes difficult to tell apart. One wonders what can be done to change up the franchise enough that the next game feels new and fresh. Is it possible at all? Or is this style of first-person shooter just tapped out?
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