Call of Duty: Ghosts Review

To accommodate our readers, this review will be split in two, half for campaign, and the other for multiplayer, with individual scores for each, plus a combined overall score.

*The Generation Gap*
The game doesn't differ much between formats, all current Gen titles are nearly identical although there have been reports of frame rate issues on the PS3 for some unexplained reasons. The Wii U version is comparable to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions graphically which is a little disappointing considering the Wii U sits somewhere in between current Gen and Next Gen. One thing the Wii U does have over it's counterparts is the use of the touchscreen gamepad which makes selecting load outs and kill streaks streamlined and more precise while the addition of offscreen play will delight many partners who want to watch the cricket or latest episode of vampire diaries.

Campaign

The campaign follows two brothers after the USA has been reduced to ruins following an orbital attack. You can see that Infinity Ward tried to flesh out the characters but since you play one who never says anything, it's hard to see a bond there. Your father is a commander in what's left of The States military and unfortunately his character development begins and ends with "'Murica!" The whole point of the story is about a squad known only as the "Ghosts" who are supposedly the best of the best, but a few levels in they just give you membership.

The campaign is rather standard length compared to most Call of Duties but the tedium and overuse of recycled "shooting galleries" make it seem like it goes on forever. Speaking of recycled material, there is a part of the first game that literally copies the ending of Modern Warfare 2 exactly, save for the reskinning of the characters, It's clear that the series is starting to falter.

The main problem is it's blatant American patriotism and it's "Cinematic scenes" which are simply moments when control is taken away from the player. At first, the series campaign was amazing, all the way up to Black ops, but I feel that Activision got too comfortable and figured they would sell the game on the name alone. It's a shame because Call of Duty has so much potential, but it's wasted in Ghosts.

Finally, the game has been touted as a next generation Call of Duty, but really it's the same graphics engine as Black Ops 2 with enhanced lighting and fish that swim away when you go near them. That's... about... it...

There is a saving grace however...

Multiplayer

As mentioned earlier in the campaign section of this review, there is a bit of recycled material when it comes to Ghosts multiplayer. Many maps are rehashes such as a train yard from CoD 2 and the highway map off Modern Warfare 1. While it doesn't affect the review score as those maps are fun to play I cant help but feel gamers will be stung by DLC prices when they release fresh maps. The new maps however are a welcome treat, giving you open grasslands surrounding a derelict castle, or a jungle surrounding a prison. There are no longer many claustrophobic hallways that encourage "gremlins" as Infinity ward have favoured a lot of open maps encouraging medium to long range engagement. Multiplayer, is tight and fast as in previous titles but the new small touches are what makes this game feel a bit better. 

Examples of this are things like the overhauled customization of your character, making you look more unique and giving players something more to work towards. Weapons are no longer locked by your character level either, instead they are all unlockable from the start using currency you earn as you tear through the ranks. Smg's are no longer instant kill death machines as all weapons have been balanced more which also makes your sidearm a viable primary weapon. The perk system has been expanded to make your character suit you better. Want to sprint while reloading? Done! Want to start with maximum ammo? Done! The amount of options for your character is at least double, if not triple than what previous Call of Duty titles have offered. 

Kill streak rewards are no longer ridiculously overpowered and you can even call in your own guard dog who will bark if an enemy is nearby and attempt to avenge your death if necessary. All these small changes are what makes me want to invest more time online in this title.

Another thing worth mentioning is player count has dropped to 12 players (6 a side) which I know has upset some reviewers. This can make the maps seem a little empty at times but all in all I feel this is a good thing. The result is a more tactical game where players tend to stick together and work as a team instead of the usual lone wolf affair. All in all Ghosts offers the best multiplayer experience in the series, delivering the best bits of all the cod games, at the expense of originality.

A new entry into Multiplayer is the Left for Dead inspired "Extinction" mode, which sees players battling aliens COD Zombies style, while progressing through a sort of mini campaign. The matches I played were a blast and I really enjoyed leveling up a separate character in different ways to play different roles such as a tank, DPS, or support class.

Final Thoughts

Writing this review has been tough. I bet reading it you would think two separate people wrote it. Bottom line is I like Call of Duty Ghosts, but the campaign really brought it down. I hope Activision take on board the player feedback (which has largely been negative) and turn Call of Duty back into the AAA franchise it deserves to be. It will be interesting to see how next years installment turns out as it will be solely focused on next gen. Until then we are stuck somewhere in between, a fantastic multiplayer title, marred by the worst campaign in the series.

So Whats it like?

Campaign is like watching a Michael Bay movie
Multiplayer is like Vanilla Cod mixed with Modern Warfare 1.

I give it 6.5/10 as a game overall,
but 8/10 for Multiplayer alone.

******A lot of gamers have asked me if reviewers get paid to give games like this a good score... While Activision did fly a lot of game journalists to a reviewers event to review the game, most of these journalists are very professional and since my score reflects what they gave (with a few exceptions), it's safe to say they aren't paid to give good scores.*******

I will say this though... This reviewer paid for Ghosts with his own money, and had to review this game on his own time.