Tag Archives: Infinity Ward
The Death of ‘Call of Duty’
The Call of Duty franchise of games has been around for quite some time. While the buzz around Modern Warfare 2 might seem like it’s the first some people have heard of the game, it’s actually the sixth game in the series! If we’re lucky, it might also be the last.
In case you haven’t been reading the gaming section of the news (OK, it doesn’t exist, but it totally should), Infinity Ward has just lost two of their head execs; Vince Zampella and Jason West. Activision supposedly originally let them go for “HR Violations and insubordination”, however when it finally made a statement regarding the firings, the company made no mention of it.
Modern Warfare 2 was the biggest launch of any form a media EVER. It’s one of the top FPS shooters of all time, and is critically lauded for (of all things in a shooter) its incredible writing. So why should I feel that it should be allowed to die? The answer is very simple: “Let’s end on a good note.”
In Activision’s official statement, it’s revealed that the next Call of Duty game will be developed by Treyarch Games. That isn’t exactly groundbreaking news, as it seems every odd numbered CoD is from them (and sucks). However what was also released was that Infinity Ward (the company that makes the good CoDs) was to hand over the reigns to Sledgehammer Game Studios to develop the next in the series . . . an “action-adventure genre” game.
Yeah. Not joking.
Industry insiders all agree that this is in line with the overall belief that Activision is planning to create a separate brand/company around the Call of Duty franchise in a similar manner to Blizzard Entertainment. Also on the radar is a new subscription based version of CoD.
So let me run a little scenario past you: You are the head of a development team that has created what many consider the crowning jewel in the FPS genre. Your game has broken every sales record for any media type worldwide. Your game is SO popular that despite loads of controversy over anything from shooting civilians to dropping your PC-based servers, people still love you and foaming over the next sequel like they have rabies or something.
One morning, you walk into a meeting with your fellow department head and are told that they want you to rework the very nature of the game to be a third-person, action-adventure game (remember that FPS stands for “First Person Shooter”). Not only that, but they’d really like it if you could do that and also make it cost $15 a month to play.
What would your response be? I could tell you mine. It’d be “insubordinate”, to say the least!
Now, I can’t claim to know exactly why these people were let go. ”HR Violation” could mean they were sacrificing woodland creatures on their desks. Or it could mean they were stealing people’s lunches from the break-room fridge. Anything goes, really.
What I do know is that publicly axing two of the heads of the team in one breath and telling the world they’re changing the focus of the game in the next is a bit like Activision punching someone’s sainted aunt. Twice.
MR SPARKLE COMMANDS YOU!!!
I never played any of the Call of Duty series until number 4, Advanced Warfare. As I’ve stated on here before, it was one of the best shooters I’ve ever played; the story was entertaining, the difficulty was perfect, and the graphics were superb.
With this in mind, I happily downloaded and installed the new public beta to Call of Duty: World at War. Right off the bat I could tell there was something wrong, as Infinity Ward had nothing to do with this game. On top of that is the little issue I have with games trying to mimic the titles of other games just for popularity sake.
Now, I don’t typically believe in reviewing a beta because I don’t think its fair to judge something that isn’t finished yet. I think I’m ok with this post, however, since it’s not a true review.
The beta was for multiplayer only, which is understandable, though I don’t typically play multiplayer myself. After declining to install PunkBuster (I hate bloatware) I was informed I would be blocked from numerous servers who were ‘PunkBuster Hosted’. I’ve got news for everyone out there; it’s 2008, there are easier ways to tell if someone is cheating than to install a separate resource hog to run in your systray.
The only server I could find was unoccupied, which suited me just fine. I was dropped into a ‘King of the Hill’ style match with only myself and a rifle and a set of flags to capture. The computer automatically assigned me to the Imperial Japanese Army and started screaming at me.
“GO GET FLAG! GO GET FLAG FOR HONOR! YOU HONOR EMPEROR AND HURRRRRR……”
CAPTURE FLAG AND BANISH IT TO THE LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!
I don’t actually know what the last word was that my phantom squad leader screamed. I’d like to think that sound was him getting a bayonet in the back, but since I was the only one there and I know that I sure didn’t do it, he must have just had a stroke or something.
I tested shooting at some things, I jumped off a small bridge, switched weapons and reloaded, and even tested the map feature to capture a flag. Just when I thought I couldn’t get anymore underwhelmed with the design of the game, there was Mr. Sparkle to shout at me again.
“YOU BRING HONOR TO YOUR FAMILY! GO GET OTHER FLAG! GO NOW!”
I felt like I was being ordered around by some cross between a South Park character and a klingon, and it really wasn’t the best game experience I could imagine having.
Evidentally, this was the only research Trearch did in learning Japanese.
Now, as I said before, I’m not normally into multiplayer shooters, but I’d imagine that some of the fun you are supposed to get is from listening to your squad mates and victims . . . not from crappy voice acting. Was I wrong there?
Thankfully, from what I understand, Infinity Ward has signed on to develop Call of Duty 6. I hope it’s every bit as good as 4 was.
