Call of Duty, why the hate

[Fragony]

Let's face it, they are not all the same, every new COD game adds new mechanics and changes the rules. They are all packed with content, a short but high-Hollywood campaign, which you can play coop, tight multiplayer with excellent maps and excellently designed weapons, and crazy things like zombies. Thesis, some hate it just because a lot of people like it, like the resentment when their favorite niche-rockband 'goes mainstream' after they score a hit. I don't really like the COD-games either but they are met with outright hate and that puzzles me because as they are extremily well-designed games with tons of content and effort put into them. Too big to like? Has something been taken from them?

[I of the Storm]

I suspect there are various reasons: 1) the one you cite: let's all hate what the majority likes (which is an assumption), 2) because of the 'Murica-centered patriotism that has been abundant in a lot of COD titles afaik, 3) COD is what kids play and I'm a grown-up. I'm sure more would come to mind if I could be bothered to think more about it.

But anyway, I have fond memories of the first COD+expansions. I think I stopped playing the franchise after MW2, due to lack of interest, and stopped playing MP-shooters due to becoming too slow. Age takes it's toll on the hand-eye-coordination...

[Hooahguy]

I think it has more to do with the fact that they churn out a new game every year. Its a high price tag for not that much change year after year. Maybe this one will be different but I doubt it.

[Fragony]

I think it has more to do with the fact that they churn out a new game every year. Its a high price tag for not that much change year after year. Maybe this one will be different but I doubt it.

But you get a lot,COD-games are really generous. They aren't my thing, neither are the excellent Gears of War games, but they are undiniably expertly crafted games. I just wonder why people outright hate these games while they could just dislike them. I think their popularity is trespassing emo-territory

[easytarget]

There are so many reasons to hate COD it's tiresome to even bother attempting to list them all. The best I can say about COD is it's not really all that unique in the fact it's utter crap, a good 90% of everything made by the game industry is crap. So take comfort in the knowledge COD is not being singled out, least not by me anyway.

I'm pleasantly surprised in any given year if I find even one game I consider pretty good, and quite happy with the prospect of finding what I consider a real masterpiece of a game every say 5 years or so.

[Beskar]

It is basically a death match game, virtually no SP or Co-OP, and it is reskinned turd shovelled out every year. The "differences" are because there are more than one company on the CoD gravy train, and they do alternative years for releasing their version of the game. If you follow the same company basis, the similarities are obvious.

Only people who play it a lot are generally those who have a social network who play the game, and they all buy it, and feeling forced into the new one, because everyone else in their network has it. I hear the arguments such as "it is just a reskin, the new one isn't so great, going back to the old.." then next day, they are back in the new one as no one is on the old one, especially not their COD friends.

COD has limited replayability for me, and I know a few who are obsessive about it and tried to 'convert' me repeatably with fail.

Thing, is, because of the years of polish, there are some actually good features in a game itself, but the dislike is directed against the franchise for simply rehashing/polishing these concepts and overcharging people every year for the new one.

[easytarget]

I'm still waiting for the sequel to Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, easily the best objective based MP I've ever seen. TF2 was a good time as well, initially anyway, until the hats and 50 weapon variations ruined the balance.

We wore out DM style MP early on in Quake, which is why we switched to CTF and LMCTF in order to make it interesting. It is really completely impossible for me to understand how 20 years later anyone could still find anything remotely engaging about DM in any MP game.

[Fragony]

Deathmatch is the only thing I am interested in in a fps really, I really dislike objective-based modes

[Husar]

As for Call of Duty, I can list the reasons I don't like it a lot, but note that I only had MW1 on PS3 and MW2 on PC:

- too similar every year
- weird scale, you have platoons that call carpet bombings on cities etc.
- cheesy weapons such as the dual Glock 18 in MW2, where twitch and spray beats any kind of tactics
- reduction of any realism it may have had in favor of "fun" weapons and faster, twitchier gameplay, not everybody's cup of tea
- trying hard to be "cool", like a lot of "gaming" hardware does too, red dragon design and the likes were cool when I was 12, I'm 30 now... I basically can't identify myself with people who think nicknames like "=/666~EV1L~666\=" are "cool".
- yes, I'm just too slow for the MP unless I can also win with tactics, never touched Doom 3 or Unreal Tournament either
- small map packs for 30 bucks that are quasi-obligatory...

[easytarget]

Deathmatch is the only thing I am interested in in a fps really, I really dislike objective-based modes

What can I say, I was bored with that 20 years ago.

[Fragony]

Teams can be, I loved team-deathmatch in Rogue Spear, because of the incredibly welldesigned maps games were very straightforward and over in a minute max. Games like the Battlefield-series completily fall apart imho, no satisfying teamplay to be found. It COULD be awesome if everybody knows what they are doing but that's a very rare treat

[Csargo]

I'm still waiting for the sequel to Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, easily the best objective based MP I've ever seen.

It's been so long since I've played it, but it was definitely my favorite fps MP game. I had so much fun in that game, and spent a lot of time playing it. Really wish they would make a sequel that would be amazing, I'd play that for ages.

[easytarget]

Yeah, that one was really quite brilliant imho. Objective based with a series of them somehow forced both teams to work as a team, which as we all know is a really rare experience in pub MP. When the server was loaded with a team balancing script to keep things even it was a thing of beauty.

[Greyblades]

I'm still waiting for the sequel to Darkest of Days.

[easytarget]

Sarcasm translates poorly on the internet, but I'll admit my detector is going off, because we've just jumped from an MP discussion to mention of an SP only game savaged in reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/darkest-of-days

[Husar]

Sarcasm translates poorly on the internet, but I'll admit my detector is going off, because we've just jumped from an MP discussion to mention of an SP only game savaged in reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/darkest-of-days

51% still means it's not even half bad.

Since I saw a video recently where a respected game reviewer from a German magazine talked about how CoD is often scolded for things Battlefield does just as well, I thought maybe another reason people love to hate CoD is because it seems more generic, it is closer to Doom or Quake with military skins. It has smaller levels, no vehicles and so on. Battlefield on the other hand has controllable air, land and sea vehicles, larger maps, different infantry gameplay as well and so on. It's just an idea but I always thought that makes it look less generic because few games have managed to successfully copy that formula whereas the Quake-type shooter gameplay is easier to copy and can be found in other games as well. I'm aware that the level design, jumping etc. are completely different, what I mean is that people in CoD jump more often to evade shots, the engagement distances are probably smaller on average and quick twitch mouse aim probably has a much higher importance and so on. At least that is my impression from my limited experience with both games.

[easytarget]

Yep, think you're definitely on to something with the proximity thing. COD ends up map design wise as too close quarters making the engagement a spastic DM experience. Like I said above, I was bored with DM only MP 20 years ago, and it's not something that ages well in my view. Back when Quake 2 released everyone I knew pretty much immediately stopped playing DM and picked up LMCTF, at least with CTF there was an objective which lent itself to strategy and tactics, neither of which exist in DM or team DM for that matter.

Battlefield maps being much larger coupled with at least some semblance of objectives again at least allows something to happen besides just bunny hopping around the map killing people. That said, I still find the objective piece of it so rudimentary compared to ET it's still quickly tiresome. I played a good bit of Bad Company, but everything since that for me has looked like such a rinse repeat I didn't bother picking them up.

[Fragony]

You can't jump in COD..

[Husar]

You can't jump in COD..

Please forgive me, it's been a while since I last played one. Maybe it was ducking, people duck and stand up five times per second to make it harder to shoot them or so. Or maybe I'm confusing it with another game, but the point stands that it is closer to deathmatch/twitch shooters than e.g. Battlefield is, or would you say no to that?

[Fragony]

Hard to say no to that, but that just happens to be how I like fps-multipayer, I miss the likes such as Quake where it's all about reflexes. There are plenty objective-based gamemodes in COD as well that are very well designed but it's just not my thing. IMHO the Rainbow-Six series untill the third are the only ones who nailed really needing your teammates.

[easytarget]

You can't jump in COD..

haha, it's a turn of phrase dude, but it's still precious that's what you focused on to respond to

[easytarget]

Hard to say no to that, but that just happens to be how I like fps-multipayer, I miss the likes such as Quake where it's all about reflexes. There are plenty objective-based gamemodes in COD as well that are very well designed but it's just not my thing. IMHO the Rainbow-Six series untill the third are the only ones who nailed really needing your teammates.

Then pick up the current Doom, it's gone back to that sort of thing, and at least from what I'm reading about the SP portion, and what I've seen of footage, done a rather good job of it in fact.

As for twitchy games, have you taken a look at Battleborn or Overwatch?

Btw, I'm not trying to talk you out of what you like, this thread started on why the hate for COD, so you pretty much invited the responses, if you still get kicks out of a play-style many view as boring even before we got out of the 90's so be it, go find those style games and have at it. But don't be perplexed why a lot of gamers have moved on a long time ago and now view what you still consider entertaining as something worthy of ridicule due to its simplicity and repetitive release structure that looks like nothing more than an annual cash grab.

[Fragony]

Of course I invited the responses, that's why I started the thread. I don't even really like COD But somereally despise it while it isn't a BAD game, can't shake the feeling that it has tresspassed sacred ground somewhere and the natives are angry. I wouldn't call it a money grab by the way, you aren't being cheated all COD-games are packed with content.

Can't wait for Doom by they way, will have to buy a new ps4 my old one died, but I will

[Greyblades]

Sarcasm translates poorly on the internet, but I'll admit my detector is going off, because we've just jumped from an MP discussion to mention of an SP only game savaged in reviews: http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/darkest-of-days

The game was a poor shooter, true, but never before or since has a game put me in the shoes of an american civil war soldier marching to his death in the cornfields of antietam.

The feeling of desperation as you stare across a narrow path at the lines of enemy soldiers as they release a volley of fire into the men in front and along side you, scrambling to reload your musket while hoping to hell you the man across from you doesnt ready his first, before fixing bayonets and charging into a bloody melee with hundreds of my fellow men, it will always hold a special place in my heart for giving me such a rare experience.

A true diamond but in a lot of rough.

[Fragony]

And the new Doom is a shining gem. I have only played it at at a friend but it's exactly what it should be, a frantic big gorefest with great visuals and horrible creatures to shoot at. Not so sure about the finishing-moves it is cool to look at and they are hilariouslly violent but it kinda messes with the pace imho but that's a imho. This sure is the Doom game Doom3 was not, need a new ps4 it died on me.

edit:already said that scuzi

[easytarget]

The finishing move forces the player to get in close and engage occasionally to replenish health and supply ammo, so it does serve a game play purpose, to push the player into the fray now and again.

And I think you're right, this was the next Doom everyone was hoping to see, at least as far as the SP portion if concerned.

I look forward to picking it up on sale!

[Fragony]

It probably won't be on sale very soon, it's worth picking up right now imho as there is nothing like it at the moment. It's all kinda glorious,

[easytarget]

Yeah, I know there's nothing out there like it, and I do want it, but I'm going to roll the dice on the summer sale, see if I get any love there.

I've got a couple things that will take up all of my time over most of the summer, Warhammer releases tomm, and No Man's sky is less than a month out....

[Fragony]

Worth waiting for that I guess, the multiplayer nothing special, single-player is though. I can borrow it from a friend in theory but I think I will need a chainsaw