In the golden years of COD, multiplayer was fun, to the point, fast-paced, and slick. You felt like you were actually part of these huge, bombastic, and epic firefights where victory was the goal no matter the costs. Fast forward to 2017, and the world was graced with Fortnite. But it begs the question – Has Fortnite Ruined Call of Duty? Much like the map itself, it closed in on the competition almost immediately. What really helped make this title stand out was the intuitive gameplay. Some of these players making some of the most elaborate and outrageous structures is truly a sight to behold. With that being said, Fortnite also boasts the largest number of crossover characters of any game, possibly ever. Everyone from Spider-Man, Superman, Rick and Morty — it’s endless. It seemed to sideline other titles such as COD or Battlefield in popularity, so the developers were starting to worry. What if they fell off completely? Became a victim of total irrelevance?
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Who thought this was a good idea?
Source: Fornite
Well, you know the old saying — imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Starting with the Modern Warfare 2 remake, we could tell that things didn’t seem quite right. We went from playing as soldiers in WW2 and the Middle East to freaking Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg. This was a bizarre and tonal departure from the look and feel of previous titles. Was it a stupid idea? From a logical perspective, absolutely. From a financial one, evidently not. Every time I booted up a game, there would be at least three Minajs or Snoop Doggs at any given moment. I figured it was just maybe a bizarre misstep and that future games would correct this.
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An even dumber idea
Source: Call of Duty
How wrong I was. Fast forward to Black Ops 6 — now we’ve got Beavis and Butt-Head. We have literal cartoon characters running around in COD. I get that it’s supposed to take place in the 90s and the gimmick is to have all the best 90s operators available, but this just… Sure, TMNT and Terminator were dumb, but at least it sort of made sense. These are characters who are known for their combat capabilities. Beavis and Butt-Head are literally just dimwitted teenagers who wouldn’t know how to hold or operate any weapon of any kind.
Not even trying anymore
The sad thing is — yes, it did get worse.
We went from TMNT, to Terminator, to Beavis and Butt-Head. While completely preposterous, at least chronologically it makes sense. What is utterly baffling was the inclusion of Squid Game and American Dad, neither of which was made or took place in the 90s. This overreliance on guest characters has completely stripped the multiplayer of its sense of identity and feels like a total shell of itself. Call of Duty simply does not feel like Call of Duty. It feels like a cash grab so shallow it makes a rain puddle feel like the ocean. This has to stop — and I mean now.
Wipe the slate clean
So here’s why we can still almost feel hopeful: after the next entry, it is heavily rumored that the series will go back to the drawing board and reboot the franchise completely. That is probably the best thing that the series can do for itself.Here’s what we need: go back to basics — a dark and gritty setting, a polished and fresh design, and no operators. Bring back factions! Both the series and its fans deserve better. We need to let the series rest for a few years until they can come up with a solid, fresh idea and have it take its place on the mantle of the king of multiplayer — a mantle with no cartoon characters either.
Until then, stay frosty, everyone.
