It’s only fitting that the first game I hunker down with on a next generation console is a Call of Duty game. Since 2006, I’ve logged in a lot (and I mean a lot!) of hours playing Call of Duty on the Xbox 360. Friday night used to be “the night” we would all get together online, party chat and blast away to some CoD multiplayer. Some of my best gaming memories are from those nights. While some of my others buddies would be out getting ‘blottoed’ at the bar, I preferred being “the geek” at home with my crappy headset on and just having a great time. In recent years however those play sessions seem to be fewer and far between. Call it franchise fatigue or maybe we are just getting a little bored of the same old. Whatever the case may be, not all the Friday night regulars are into it as much as we used to be. Could Call of Duty Ghosts turn things around and rejuvenate gamers who have drifted away from the franchise? Read on to find out.
If you read my Xbox 360 Ghosts review from last week (HERE) you will see how I touched on some of that negativity that has followed the franchise over the past few years. Lately it is the franchise people love to hate. I can’t recall a game or franchise that has polarized gamers like Call of Duty has. Perhaps it is due to the record breaking sales or maybe gamers just detest how we see a new CoD game every year. Many seem fixated with pointing out every little flaw. It’s actually quite ridiculous. Well, it appears some of those naysayers may be getting their way this year as sales appear to be dipping and overall review scores seem down. This however should not deter you from Ghosts. It’s a damn good game and one that plays silky smooth on the Xbox One. Yes it is still “Call of Duty” with those low latency controls and that 60-frames per second benchmark. Yet it is a rock solid to game to own on your shiny new Xbox One console.
As good as Ghosts feels and plays on the Xbox One, the same cannot be said for the single player story itself. When Ghosts was announced just before E3 much was made of your relationship with Riley the dog. You would fight for him and he would fight for you. At least that is what they told us and to some extent that is true. Yet I had this image of Will Smith with his dog in the movie ‘I am Legend’. I expected one of those ‘a man and his dog’ type scenarios. Heck I was preparing myself for the dog to die and some cinematic moment where I would have to press pause and wipe away a tear or two. I didn’t get that in Ghosts. There was really no bond with the damn dog and in the end I am left wondering why Riley was ever included. There was also some hoopla over Activision enlisting the talent of Stephen Gaghan who won an academy award from his work on the movie “Traffic”. Needless to say, I expected a riveting storyline. One that is exhilarating and powerful. I expected a little more character development and I didn’t get that. I didn’t get that at all.
The story you do get however is rather predictable and is one we have seen in some shape or another in many other shooters. In summary, there has been a mass event where America is crippled and its military forces have been decimated and the government is in disarray. A group known as the “Federation” emerges as a dominant superpower and they are the ones behind the attacks. As a player in the game you are the underdog and you and your group of ‘Ghosts’ are fighting back against superior forces. Along the way, there are some significant twists and turns but in a nutshell that is the games story. Yes, I recognize I am leaving out the game’s main “bad guy” or not explaining some of the events leading up to why he is the game’s main “bad guy” but I can’t really get into it without spoiling it.
The single player experience will take you anywhere from 6 to 7 hours to complete. Some have reported it only takes 4-hours but holy hell you would really have to sprint your way through the levels to pull that off. It took me a little longer in hardened mode but regardless the short single player campaign still remains an issue for me. I understand there is only so much space on one disk when you have a robust multiplayer mode, extinction mode, squad modes and a 6-hour single player. Yet, still 6-hours? As the ESPN NFL Countdown dudes say: “C’mon Man!” Six hours is far too short in this day in age especially when you consider the development team would have fancy new next generation hardware to work with. Next year, I am expecting some significant improvements when it comes to the length of the single player.
I know I sound like one of those doomsayers up to this point; however, there is still plenty of ‘awesomeness’ in the game’s single player mode. Throughout the campaign you can expect a great deal of chaotic moments where you are running from cover to cover trying to avoid the bullets whizzing by your noggin. This is standard CoD stuff but remains enjoyable and satisfying. Infinity Ward did a nice job mixing up the combat and giving us some varied gameplay. You will be doing such things as firing laser pointed rockets; manning turret guns; controlling Riley the dog; repelling down a skyscraper, controlling tanks, piloting a military chopper, and avoiding great white sharks. There is combat that takes place underwater, on top of a futuristic train and even shooting sequences in space. Yes in space! There is also a collectible element to the game where you can find 18-Rorke files scattered throughout the experience. Needless to say I was impressed with the amount of variety in the single player campaign. Sure you still feel like the game is guiding you along from one epic set piece to the next, yet I still give full marks to Executive Producer Mark Rubin and company for mixing up the gameplay and keeping us guessing from one mission to the next.
At the end of the day, is there is any difference between the Xbox 360’s single player and the Xbox One’s? Not really, in fact the only difference comes in the form of the visuals and I will get into those in a little more detail below.
Now that I have driven the single player experience into the ground, I will shift my attention to the multiplayer experience which gets the nod over the solo play. Once again, Infinity Ward manages to up the ante and deliver that stunning multiplayer experience that fans have all come to love about the franchise. The adversarial multiplayer is deeper than ever. Sure just as the single player goes so does the multiplayer as it still feels and largely plays like other Call of Duty games. Yet there are plenty of new additions that make the online experience as good as ever. Not to mention it feels much more balanced as well.
For starters I counted 14-maps out the box. Sure there are a couple of maps I would be happy to never see or play again but still 14-maps is superb. There is a good mix as well. You have some smaller ones where those proficient with shotguns will rack up some serious killstreaks and large ones where snipers will run amok. For instance, ‘Stonehaven’ takes place in the Scottish highlands where you are fighting amidst a ruined castle. In this map the snipers seemed to dominate, and being an assault rifle kind of guy I found my kill to death ratio suffered a tad here. ‘Strikezone’ was my favorite of the new maps and takes place in the concourse of a baseball stadium. This map is not only nice to look at but the action is frantic. It is not ‘Nuke Town’ chaotic but is fast paced and small which leads to some high kill counts. All in all, I found the maps were all pretty solid and I really enjoyed how there were no real similarities from one map to the next. Sure maybe a map or two may seem similar to other multiplayer maps from previous CoD games but really “C’mon man” who gives a rat’s ass if a couple of maps bare striking similarities to other maps in the series.
Okay, so the environments do not blow up as much as they could and a lot was made of the “dynamic map events” but the combat online feels very balanced and the spawn sites seem more random than ever. The addition of the knee slides is fantastic. Being able to shoot enemies while sliding on your knees and into cover adds another element of strategy. Likewise, being able to move fluidly over objects, while not losing momentum, is another little addition to the online combat that is welcomed. It makes for an online experience that feels a little more evolved than it has in the past.
I should mention with the Xbox One version of the game you can play with up to 18-players online in Ground War. In contrast you can only play with up to 12-players on the Xbox 360. So to get into some of those big multiplayer games the Xbox One Ghosts may be the way to go. Just recognize you likely won’t see as many players online as you would on the Xbox 360. In time however the numbers will rise.
In terms of the new multiplayer features, there are many so I am not going to put you to sleep by listing them all. Instead I will just go over some of the more significant ones that stood out for me when I was gunning down fellow journalists, developers, Activision PR folks and QA Testers at the review event in California where I got my hands on the game. Right off the hop I noticed the character customization has been revamped. You can now choose a female soldier. I can’t believe it has taken this long but finally we see a female soldier in a Call of Duty game; but it doesn’t end there as you can customize various weapon loadouts as well as the physical appearance of your soldier. In fact, there are over 20,000 possible combinations. It’s impressive to say the least and I cannot wait to see what kind of characters people will come up with when the game hits the masses. Another change is how you purchase and unlock weapons, attachments and equipment. As you play online and gain XP you earn points which can be used to unlock weapons, attachments and equipment. Once again, the game rewards you for leveling up. The more you play the more points you earn and the more goodies you can unlock. It is as simple as that but I am warning you it does take you longer to level up this time around.
The new Perk system is crazy deep this go-around. If you thought there was a lot of Perks to choose from last year you ain’t seen nothing yet. This year the Perks are assigned point values, with some of the more popular or effective Perks naturally costing more points. You are given eight points to use at your discretion. You can choose four Perks, each valued at two points apiece, or eight Perks, each valued at one point. You can even choose to go without your secondary weapon which opens up yet another perk. Like I mentioned, it is deep and you will be impressed with the amount of Perks you can choose from. The Perks have been divided up into categories which makes it a little easier to navigate but make no bones about it, you will be tinkering with the Perks for quite some time before you discover your ideal loadout.
In terms of game new modes, Grind and Cranked were two of my favourites; however, there are 7 new modes in all. Just like the movie ‘Crank’ with Jason Stratham, Cranked is all about killing and keeping your adrenalin pumping. It is a high intensity version of Team Deathmatch where once you get a kill you have 30 seconds to kill another player. As the clock ticks down, you are ‘Cranked’. In other words you are running at high speeds, throwing grenades at lightning speed and re-loading in a split second. If you don’t kill anyone within 30 seconds you explode and re-spawn back into the game as a normal player. It’s fun, it is hectic, and a great game for those who enjoy run and guns style gameplay. Campers need not apply in this mode that is for sure.
Additionally, Ghosts multiplayer includes a glut of new weapons, new strike packages and new field orders. These orders are randomized challenge drops in the map that award you with a Care Package when you complete the order. I never found myself attempting to pull off one of the challenges but in the end it is just another in a long line of new additions to the online game which remains the best in the business when it comes to online shooters on the Xbox 360.
If a ‘beefy’ multiplayer mode and single player mode wasn’t enough there is more. Ghosts includes a Squad Mode which is ideal for those new to the Call of Duty scene. In Squads your objective is to build your squad and compete in various game modes against AI-controlled opponents. What is cool about Squads is that you can earn XP and Squad Points that you can use in multiplayer. You can take your squad online against another squad or just practice against a team of bots. There is also a horde-like mode within squad where you are battling waves of enemies. If you find yourself getting your butt kicked online, take a step back and refine your skills in Squad Mode.
Ghosts also includes a new mode called “Extinction”. For those that enjoy Treyarch’s Zombies mode, this mode is for you. It is a four-player, co-op game mode that is all about survival and defending your base. As waves of menacing aliens come sprinting towards you your objective is to keep them off your nuke and work together to take them down by any means necessary. As you play, you will find items located throughout the map and there is a currency system where you will earn enough points to drop a sentry gun, activate an IMS or trigger an electric fence. Simply put this mode is a blast and loads of fun as well as a nice addition to a game that is already packed with content.
Putting the next-gen resolution debate aside, when it comes to the visuals in Ghosts on the Xbox One they simply look fantastic. The first thing I noticed was the improved lighting. Everything seems brighter, more detailed and much more colourful. It is a game that truly pops on the next generation system. It looks quite a bit more polished than its little brother version on the Xbox 360. Do not get me wrong, the 360 version looks pretty good but the Xbox One versions looks superior. The environments are so much more detailed. The higher fidelity makes for images that actually maintain their curvature even up close. In the jungle level you will really notice how the visuals steal the show. The lighting and shadow effects are stunning. Not to mention the particle effects are equally stellar. It’s a level of detail and immersion I have yet to experience on a console up until now.
The 3D character models also look a little more life-like. They have a super smooth look to them and seem to express a little emotion on their faces. Likewise, the streams and water effects are stunning. As is the explosions that give off plumes of smoke unlike I have seen before in a Call of Duty game. The frame rate was solid too. That is right, incredibly solid. I understand the PS4 version was having some issues with the frame rate but from my experiences with the Xbox One, I encountered no such issues. The draw distance is equally impressive. When you first arrive in “No Man’s Land”, just stop and look around – it’s gorgeous. Even Greenway Park looks exactly like a modern MLB stadium.
The Xbox One version of Ghosts really shines when the game takes you into space and under water. The space sequences especially looked fantastic on the Xbox One. Again, the colours and lighting effects are sharp. It is really something you just have to experience for yourself. Sure it is disappointing Ghosts is not 1080p on the Xbox One yet you really could have fooled me as I felt the game delivers in the graphics department.
Sound wise, Infinity Ward has done a nice job with the weapons. It appears as though the development team listened to the Call of Duty community by giving us some weapons that really pack a punch. At higher volumes these weapons will jolt you out of your chair. To me they sounded life like. Granted, I am not shooting a Honey Badger Assault Rifle or Vector CRB in my backyard; however, to me the guns sound great and stand as the most noticeable improvement when it comes to the games audio. In fact, the multiplayer audio does sound the best it’s ever sounded. Footsteps are incredibly clear and explosions will rock your subwoofer. Otherwise, everything else sounds more of the same which is not a bad thing as those big sweeping Hollywood-esque orchestra tunes manage to set the perfect mood. So does the over-the-top dialogue in the game.
If you had to pick up just one game on your brand new Xbox One this holiday season, Call of Duty Ghosts is a rock solid choice. By in large, it is the same game as it is on the Xbox 360; however, the more vibrant visuals and the ability to play up to 18-players online tips the scales in favor of the next generation version of the game. The single player campaign is short but the Multiplayer, Squad and Extinction Modes more than make up for any of Ghosts shortcomings. When we look back 5-years from now, Ghosts won’t be the best Call of Duty game on the Xbox One but we should be able to look back and consider it a damn good launch game.
