Thanks to Activision’sCall of Dutyfranchise, players can enjoy impressive action-packed stories of soldiers and special operatives saving the world with awesome weapons. Moreover, the game’s enjoyable multiplayer mode made it one of the best FPS franchises to ever come to a gamer’s arsenal of titles. Additionally, with aModern Warfareremake, the battle royaleWarzone, and phone-basedMobile, the hit action franchise has established a presence in almost all of gaming.
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Granted,Call of Dutyremains heavily popular in the FPS scene. However, fans almost always know aCall of Dutygame when they see one. After all, considering the franchise’s almost-yearly release, it seems its games do share common elements. However, what elements do mostCall of Dutygames share?
10Throw In The Shade
Granted, modernCall of Dutygames made a ton of improvement over their aesthetic and design choice. However, fans knowCall of Dutyhas always been fond of browns, grays, and otherwise neutral tones for much of their visuals. As such, much of the games tend to feel “sandy” and “dusty,” especially during explosions and other action set-pieces.
Unfortunately, some FPS newcomers do tend to look atCall of Duty’s aesthetic choice as a bit “dull” in comparison to other titles. As Of course, this perception becomes contrasting to the series' FPS action staple.
9Two Points Make A Line
Unfortunately,Call of Dutyhas already become notorious for extremely linear campaigns. Players most likely know that all missions need them to go from Point A to Point B, trigger a cutscene, and proceed to the next level. Moreover, most of these levels have action set pieces, as well as scripted instances of exactly what happens and where opponents will come from.
Additionally, most levels force players to take a particular path and “blocking” other paths they see, especially in open areas. Granted, when done right, a lot ofCall of Dutylevels ended up pacing perfectly. When paired with the right cutscenes, a lot of levels end up becoming heart-wrenching and impactful. Unfortunately, most other levels end up just forcing a player through a straight path of enemies to kill.
8Action Set Pieces Galore
In speaking of set pieces, a lot ofCall of Dutycampaigns contain staple level designs that long-time fans will likely expect from each entry. For instance, players know they’re inCall of Dutyif they have an on-rails shooter level set inside a vehicle. Sometimes, wave after wave of enemies will rush towards the player. And in other instances, non-combat levels force players to participate in quick-time events.
Again, most recentCall of Dutyentries tried to spice things up when it comes to level design. As a result, fans of the franchise ended up having certain levels tied close to their hearts. For instance,Modern Warfare’s “All Ghillied Up” had Lt. John Price utilizes stealth mechanics to navigate an open base to assassinate a target. In the same game, “Clean House” sets players on a mission to clear a townhouse filled with both opponents and hostages, with players free to choose the route they’ll take.
7Everyone Is Macho Spec-Ops
Why is it that, whenever gamers get FPS titles, they always star some form of spec-ops operative? Granted,Call of Dutyneeds their characters to be specialized individuals to justify the action set pieces and awesome arsenals. And of course, only hardcore members of this secret rogue team within a mysterious section of an unknown organization working for a supposedly-defunct military project can conduct this high-stakes mission.
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Of course, much of the above falls under exaggeration. Regardless, unlike other military-themed games,Call of Dutydoesn’t hesitate to go over-the-top with theirportrayal of memorable soldiers and protagonistsas games progress. And sometimes, these over-the-top action sequences do result in memorable stories.
6Compelling Missions
Of course,Call of Dutyhas quite the reputation for telling captivating stories. Critics can say what they will about the over-the-top action. However, someCall of Dutygames got to shine thanks tocompelling cutscenes and missionsthat just capture the storytelling-shooter mechanic the games aim for.
For instance, “Suffer With Me” inBlack Ops 2culminated with a sniper shot that resulted in one of the most agonizing story sequences at the end of an otherwise-ordinary level. Moreover, blood-pumping missions such asAdvanced Warfare’s “Terminus” andBlack Ops 1’s “Vorkuta” would have players lean towards their seats in anticipation.
5Welcome Plot Armor
Another notableCall of Dutyelement would be its weird health system. Outside the first few games in the franchise,Call of Dutyrelies on a “blur” mechanic to denote various instances in the gameplay environment. For instance, players experience shellshock — where everything gets slow — after explosions, which does add a bit of realism.
However, why can players instantly recover from wounds just by hiding or taking cover? It’s such a sharp contrast to what “leads” to this mechanic, where players don’t rely on health bars and instead the entire game shows blisters of red and blurriness as players gravitate to lethal levels of damage. Of course,this quirky mechanicdoes help players stay longer in fights asCall of Dutyis an action franchise.
4Quirky Knives, Accessories
All FPS titles are guilty ofmaking weapons and accessories a bit too powerfulfor the sake of fun. However, as a long-time brand,Call of Dutydoes have its unique share of quirky guns and accessory mechanics unique to the franchise.
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For instance, unlike ballistic shields in games likeRainbow Six, riot shields in real life won’t last long against bullets unlike their portrayal inCall of Duty.On another note, how come players can heal from lethal damage by being in cover but can be one-hit with a knife?
3Killstreaks
Another quirky mechanic inCall of Dutywould be Killstreaks in multiplayer matches. In essence, players receive numerous benefits the more players they kill in a streak. Three kills let them tap into a UAV drone, revealing enemy positions. Meanwhile, five kills give them an Airstrike to bomb certain targets. Lastly, seven kills allow players to deploy an actual Helicopter to wreak havoc against opponents.
Killstreaks serve as a nice way to get playersinto performing better in matches. However, they do seem funny in the context of real-life battles. For instance, does this mean soldiers have to count their kills in order to get support? And how come higher-ups give support to the winning side? Wouldn’t the losing side deploy their reinforcements?
2And Then, Zombies
What other military-themed FPS title has an entire game mode for zombies? Interestingly, the now-iconic Zombies Mode inCall of Dutydidn’t come in until later in 20018, inWorld at War.Developers inserted a random zombies mini-game in the title that they didn’t expect to be a massive hit. As such, modern titles moving forwardnow feature mapsand content exclusively for this mode.
This mode serves as a nice change of pace away from the campaign and multiplayer modes ofCall of Duty. After all, sometimes all players need is a good session of just killing through hordes of zombies to protect their base.
1The Numbers, Mason
Quirky and ironically iconic moments remain something to look forward to forCall of Dutyfans. Funnily enough, some weird mechanics, encounters, or cutscenes in the game can become a pop culture phenomenon by accident. And unlike other games,Call of Dutygot to give the world some of the funniest memes out there.
For instance, “Revelations” inBlack Ops 1finally revealed to players"what the numbers meant,“spawning the popular meme. Moreover,Advanced Warfare’s iconic funeral scene had the “Press F to pay respects” mechanic also become a funny communication phenomenon for both fans and non-fans alike.
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