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With a new Call of Duty game releasing by the end of the year, Game Rant lists five possible ways that Infinity Ward can make the game a hit with both fans and critics.
Nothing is certain but death, taxes, and a new Call of Duty game releasing every year. Since 2005’s Call of Duty 2 , a new main entry in the series has released every single year without fail. Despite this grueling annual release schedule, Activision has managed to keep franchise fatigue at bay by having three different development studios – Sledgehammer Games, Treyarch, and Infinity Ward– each work on games in the series at once. This gives each title a two to three year development cycle that results in polished, fully-featured work, even if some find the games a tad redundant.
This year, it’s Infinity Ward’s turn to step up to the plate. Once the premiere studio behind the franchise, the departure of key talent resulted in Infinity Ward producing the lowest-ratedgame to date, Call of Duty: Ghosts . Following that blunder, Infinity Ward should be out to prove itself, and we have come up with five possible ways the company could do just that and deliver a stellar Call of Duty experience yet again.
1. Abandon Last-Gen
It’s now been three years since the launch of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, meaning it’s time for developers to stop supporting last-generation technology. After all, games tend to be held back in some ways in order for the titles to be ported to the last-generation systems, and we would like to see Infinity Ward take full advantage of the current-generation hardware.
Furthermore, gamers that still have yet to leave their last-generation consoles behind are getting inferior versions of the games anyway. Take, for example, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 . Black Ops 3 on last-gen didn’t have a campaign mode, which meant it offered far less content than its current-generation counterpar.
2. Historical or Modern Setting
If the Battalion 1944 Kickstarter successis any indication, it appears as though there is a large group of FPS fans that are itching to return to World War II. And if not World War II, perhaps a number of other historical conflicts could be explored in Infinity Ward’s upcoming Call of Duty game, so fans aren’t stuck with playing yet another futuristic FPS. Alternatively, the company could return to what made the franchise a mega hit to begin with, and deliver Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to the masses.
Of course, going with a historical or modern setting would mean that Infinity Ward probably wouldn’t be able to follow up on the plot of Call of Duty: Ghosts , but considering the fact that Ghosts remains the lowest-rated core Call of Duty game, we doubt that too many people would be upset about it. Moreover, there’s already been rumors that point to the next Call of Duty being named Bloodlines , which seems to imply that giving up on Ghosts 2 has been on the agenda for awhile now.
3. Improved Split-Screen Support
To its credit, the Call of Duty series has consistently featured split-screen since Call of Duty 2 released on the Xbox 360 back in 2005. However, the most recent entry in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 , actually took a step back in terms of split-screen functionalityby adding two large black bars on either side of the screen, and shrinking the in-game text to the point that it is virtually unreadable in split-screen – even on large television sets. Local multiplayer fans would likely appreciate it if Infinity Ward offered split-screen support for the studio’s next Call of Duty game that fixed Black Ops 3 ‘s missteps.
4. Return of Spec-Ops Co-Op Missions
In Modern Warfare 2 , Spec Ops co-op missions were bite-sized challenges that pushed the skills of Call of Duty players to the limit. These were quick, fun, and challenging diversions that gave players something to do besides indulge in the campaign and multiplayer. In later entries, Spec Ops devolved into a standard horde mode, but it may please fans if Infinity Ward brought Spec Ops back in its original form for this year’s Call of Duty title.
5. Zombies
Even though Treyarch started the zombie Call of Duty craze with World at War , the studio no longer has a monopoly on the popular game mode. Sledgehammer Games offered a twist on it with ‘s Exo Zombiesin 2014, and it would be interesting to see how Infinity Ward approaches Zombies mode.
Of course, these suggestions would be in addition to the usual action-packed campaign and an updated version of the franchise’s iconic multiplayer. Perhaps if Infinity Ward does just that and also takes these suggestions to heart, the company will be able to produce a Call of Duty game on the same level as the classic, critically-acclaimed titles it once created.
What do you want to see in this year’s Call of Duty game? Do you agree with our suggestions, or would you rather see other things take priority in the game’s development? Do you have confidence that Infinity Ward will be able to deliver a more well-received Call of Duty game this time around? Sound off in the comments below and leave us your thoughts on 2016’s Call of Duty game.
The next Call of Duty game is scheduled to release this year for unspecified platforms.