Call of Duty: Ghosts

[ratsoalbion]

With today's multiple leaks (Extinction co-op mode, multiplayer maps, modes and guns) and the prospect of shinier-looking next-gen versions I find myself drawn towards a COD title for the first time since MW2. I can see myself enjoying this as a more frenetic counterpart to BF4's gritty depth.

I know our Sean is a COD fan as well as sometime poster Moosegrinder, but probability says we must have some more Codsters on the forum.

Ghosts is (are?) a-coming next week, who's excited?

[AndyKurosaki]

Yeah I'm a fan of COD, since it got it's hooks into me in COD 4-MW1 and I went Prestige 10 on it. Sure, at times it can feel unbalanced, even bloody frustrating. And Battlefield is certainly a more tactical, indepth experience.But it's still an extremely fun online game I happily put loads of hours into.
I like the look of the new Cranked mode, where you have to kill someone in 30 seconds or you explode. And no doubt it'll have plenty of OCD-tastic "oh I only need a bit more XP to unlock some new gear" moments.

I'll certainly be waiting for the PS4 version and get that on launch day.

[chase210]

Can't believe this is out so soon, kept it quiet But yeah, PS4 version for me.

[NokkonWud]

Yeah, I'm getting it. Last one was Modern Warfare 3 for me and I haven't touched the MP. Briefly tried Black Ops (1) in MP and didn't like it and before that MW2 which massively disappointed me in MP as the maps just weren't as good as CoD4's, which I'm assuming is why we saw the DLC released for it feature those maps. Last one I really enjoyed in MP was WaW.

That said, I think enough time has passed that I'm genuinely looking forward to it. I'm getting the PS4 version due to a pre-order price, which remains to be seen whether it'll be honored, but if not I'm not sure whether I'll go with it on PS4 or Xbox One.

[Sean]

Yep, I've played all of them, since CoD4. I don't really like the Treyarch games, but, Black Ops 2 was certainly their best effort. Big fan of Infinity Ward's outings, though.

Still unsure whether I'm going to get this or Killzone. Killzone *looks* so, so much better, but, I'm almost positive Ghosts will be more robust online, both in just number of players, and post-release support.

But, all of Killzone's competitive DLC will be free. Man, I just don't know...

[AndyKurosaki]

I think Treyarch do I good job, Black Ops 2 online is fantastic. I prefer both Black Ops to Modern Warfare 2, I didn't get on with that at all, felt proper unbalanced. But then MW3 introduced Kill Confirmed, which is one of my favourite modes.

I'll certainly be getting Killzone (thanks to the Mega Bundle), but I imagine COD will get more of my time.

[AndyKurosaki]

Picked this up on PS3 for £15 after trading GTA V (finished campaign, bored with Online), seeing as it's also in Game's £40 trade up deal. The multiplayer setup has undergone a change, took me a little while to find out where customisation stuff is now.
Plan to go through the Campaign on my day off, for now i'll be hammering the online.

[chase210]

Its quite good. I'm enjoying it anyway.

[ratsoalbion]

A spot of cheeky recycling from Infinity Ward (spoiler warning):

[Flabyo]

Maybe they're just referencing Michael Bay? He does that all the time...

[MARK-146]

Just finished the campaign and I can't make my mind up if I enjoyed it or not, there was nothing that blew me a way, although there was some cool elements to it!(I know it sounds vague but I don't want to spoil it for others).
I've messed around with squad mode and it seems pretty neat, extinction I found brutally hard but I was playing it solo!

I hope I can get into the multiplayer as MW3 I put in an insane amount of time into it!

[mikeleddy83]

Just finished the campaign and I can't make my mind up if I enjoyed it or not, there was nothing that blew me a way, although there was some cool elements to it!(I know it sounds vague but I don't want to spoil it for others).
I've messed around with squad mode and it seems pretty neat, extinction I found brutally hard but I was playing it solo!

I hope I can get into the multiplayer as MW3 I put in an insane amount of time into it!

Spoiler: show

I think I know what you mean but did you feel a bit deflated when a solid looking new direction for the series just falls away after a few levels before merging into a slightly weaker Black Ops 2. It's also funny to see a level that looks entirely based around the BF4 E3 trailer. Regardless, I enjoyed it.. just a little less than I had expected.

[MARK-146]

Spoiler: show

I think I know what you mean but did you feel a bit deflated when a solid looking new direction for the series just falls away after a few levels before merging into a slightly weaker Black Ops 2. It's also funny to see a level that looks entirely based around the BF4 E3 trailer. Regardless, I enjoyed it.. just a little less than I had expected.

Yes I know what you mean about feeling deflated, I was really looking forward to playing it and it left me with quite an empty feeling, hence I couldn't decide if I enjoyed or not. Black Ops2 had me feeling the same, didn't like the 'horse' mission or the tower defence bit, thought multi was pretty solid but never grabbed me like MW3!

[AndyKurosaki]

So far I'd say the online isn't quite as good as Black Ops 2. Can't definitely say for sure yet, as I put months into BO2 online, so I can't fairly compare them yet. But I'm not feeling the "this is amazing" vibe I had with that from the start. It's not that Ghosts is bad, something just doesn't feel right yet though.
Can't say I like the new setup, finding the challenges/xp boosts took a little while. The Squad Point system isn't great either, and a bit confusing. It let me buy one Perk, even though I can't use it till level 25. So why let me unlock it now then? Weird.

Played the first Campaign mission, seems decent enough.

[Todinho]

Sorry I dont even play Call of Duty but I just had to share this :

[AndyKurosaki]

Put a few more hours into online, I definitely prefer Black Ops 2. The days of Treyarch being the "B" team are officially over. I find myself unable to get more than 3 kills in a row before dying, had the same problem with MW3. Of course choosing the Support role means your streak doesn't reset when you die. But it does make me feel that, even with Hardline, there's a lot of Killstreaks I'll never reach. Black Ops 2 I could manage 5/6 kills more often than not.
I don't like the Squad Points way of unlocking things at all, most items take at least 7/8 points to unlock. The whole "you've unlocked lots of new things" feeling is gone now. True, that drip feed of new stuff eventually slowed down by level 30 or so. Here it feels that way from the start.

Mode-wise, I miss the one from BO2 where everyone starts with the same pistol, then each kill gave you a better weapon until you won with a ballistic knife kill. Was a lot of fun that mode. As was the one where every 30 seconds everyone got given the same weapon. They were Treyarchs modes, so I can undertand Ghosts not having them. But then BO2 had Kill Confirmed which started in MW3.
Not a fan of the new Infected mode either. Didn't like it in Halo, don't like it here.

While the fun is still there,it's so far my least favourite of the series. That could well change 20/30 hours down the line. But that's my initial thought anyway.

[ratsoalbion]

Thanks for the update Andy, great stuff.
VG247's Dave Cook agrees with you according to this article: http://www.vg247.com/2013/11/07/call-of ... w-opinion/

I have to say, though it bums me out, my initial enthusiasm to return to CoD with Ghosts has all but dissipated thanks to the lukewarm response to the game.

Ah well, realistically I wouldn't have had time for it anyway, not as well as BF4 which is now to be my main FPS focus. The multiplayer component anyway, because the single player is apparently even less interesting than BF3's (which I thought was very weak).

[Electric Crocosaurus]

I missed out Black Ops 2 last year due to series fatigue, but I have to admit that the reviews have generated a bit of interest due to some of the things I've been reading about the single player. I'll probably give Ghosts a miss though, as I'm not planning to make the jump to next-gen till next year and I can't bring myself to play what I know will be an inferior console version.

[AndyKurosaki]

Personally I think Black Ops 2 is the second best entry, under COD 4 of course. I put several months into it and absolutely loved it. It's a small touch, but I miss the "create your own emblem" feature. I'm artistically awful, and at best managed a big red heart with SARAH across it. And you mostly online saw cocks, tits, cocks, arses, cocks etc (although one text one that simply said Call Scott on 078666555 he is gay" made me laugh). But every now and then you'd see something amazing. A Decepticon logo, or a Thundercats one. Wolverine from X-Men.
Ghosts gives you a few pre-made badges, the rest you unlock through challenges. Not the same really.

Another thing that annoys me about Squad Points, it let's you waste points unlocking stuff you can't actually use till you rank up anyway. I bought one perk, only to see I couldn't equip it until level 25. So why let me unlock it before then? And why have one of the more useful perks, Hardline (get killstreaks with one less kill than normal) be locked out until rank 30? Swear that was 10 or so in BO2, really helps make Killstreaks more achievable.

I'll be playing through the Campaign soon. It can't be any worse than Battlefield 4's, which I'm 5 missions in and finding it pretty unremarkable. Not even Omar from The Wire can save it.

[MARK-146]

Double XP weekend for anyone whos bothered, starts 18.00 tonight, finishes 18.00 on Monday!