This generation of gamers has bared witness to the impressive evolution of the Call of Duty franchise from a well-crafted World War II shooter to the multiplayer goliath that continues to break record sales every year.
With a new generation of gaming consoles on the horizon, CoD fans have been itching for a glimpse at the next phase of Call of Duty gameplay. Everyone is well-aware of the massive expectations fans have for the upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts, and while we still don’t know many of the details about multiplayer, the recent live event gave us a preview of what fans can expect from Infinity Ward’s new single-player campaign.
The event was quite short, lasting a brief half hour in which two campaign levels were presented. The first of which, titled “Into the Deep,” took players underwater in a mission that was very similar to the stealth-based missions from previous games. Ever since the astounding Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare mission “All Ghillied Up,” Infinity Ward has tried several times to recapture the tension and clever gameplay the has made the level so memorable among the CoD fanbase, and it’s seems that has carried over into Ghosts as well.
The second level showed off the game’s canine companion, Riley. Throughout various missions, players will be able to take control of the dog, armed with a vest-mounted camera, and partake in more stealth-based missions. Players will scout ahead, marking enemies and swiftly attacking them in cooperation with your human counterpart. Infinity Ward seems very focused on the dog and its connection to the characters in-game, but fan reaction has been fairly negative regarding its inclusion. Unfortunately, the level shown didn’t highlight exactly why the player should feel any connection to Riley, nor did it present players with an example of ground-breaking gameplay.
The final presentation was arguably the best and worst at the same time. The Call of Duty booth at E3 is set up with a huge panoramic screen meant to show off the massive environments and next-generation graphics we can expect to see in Ghosts. When presented to the viewers at home, however, views the video demonstration in a limited letterbox display that made it very hard to appreciate what Infinity Ward is working on.
While Call of Duty: Ghosts is bound to be another blockbuster hit, fans are becoming quite concerned over the lack of depth to the single-player campaign, a problem which has plagued the series since Modern Warfare 4. Once again, levels are full of scripted events that lead players down a linear path with almost no room for exploration, and little has been done to draw players to the story. Another concern is the lack of improvement to the game engine, which was supposedly running on next-gen technology. While the graphics were certainly bright and colorful, the game looked as if it could easily run on Xbox 360 and PS3, showing almost no improvement besides the ability to display more moving objects on screen at one time.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is only a few months away, so we’re sure to see some multiplayer information surfacing soon. Until then, ScienceFiction.com will have any updates as they come. Check out the full half-hour presentation below:
