Problems and Solutions for the Call of Duty Franchise

I let it slip in my Halo: Reach article that I think Modern Warfare 2 is "essentially a broken multiplayer experience." So I wanted to use this post to explain what I meant by that statement and list some ways for Activision and Infinity Ward to improve upon the mistakes they have already made.

Before I start with the defects of the online multiplayer, let me first define what I mean by broken. I believe a broken game is a game that can be effectively played in a manner that was not intended, via glitches or game design,  while being overly frustrating for other players. It doesn't mean the game is unplayable. I got on Modern Warfare 2 last night for the first time in a few weeks and had a good time, so I'm not saying the game isn't fun or gratifying. Unfortunately, my experience has been this is the exception rather than the rule. If you play Call of Duty all the time and absolutely love everything about it, the more power to you. I have just found that personally, I am tired of all the online shenanigans.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was one of the biggest launches in video game history. The success of Call of Duty 4 coupled with how many people were tired of World at War created a perfect storm for a successful launch. But it didn't take long for players to discover and exploit a few issues with the game. For those who are not familiar with how Call of Duty functions online, here is a crash course. Players are allowed to create a set number of custom classes to play. They get to decide what primary and secondary guns they want from set lists. They can choose three perks they want for the class such as Stopping Power (extra bullet damage), Sleight of Hand (faster reloading) and Steady Aim (increased hip-fire accuracy). And lastly, they can select what killstreak rewards they can get. For example, if the player kills three enemies in a row without dying, they are rewarded with a UAV to reveal their opponents location on the map, or if they get seven straight kills they can call in a Harrier fighter plane to hover above the map shooting your enemies.

In previous Call of Duty games the killstreaks were set at three, five and seven kills, which every player was free to use. Modern Warfare 2 introduced customizable killstreaks from three to a game ending tactical nuke for twenty-five straight kills. Every player gets to select three streaks out of a total of fifteen different rewards. While this seems like a logical next step for the franchise, it has created a horrible breeding of campers. Those are the people who don't want to risk dying because they can get an AC-130 with just one more kill. So they opt to sit in an area where they can wait for an unsuspecting player to walk in front of them for a kill. I mean, why risk dying? Part of the bigger problem is the maps are littered with great houses and corners to camp in, which makes sitting on your haunches all the easier, let alone a better strategy than moving around. Simply put, camping works. In fact, it works so well that in some games people are reluctant to move around the map at all, period.



Now, I don't camp for the simple reason that sitting in one spot waiting for other people isn't fun for me. It's lame, it's boring and frankly, I'd rather lose rushing the opposing team than win by camping. But if you truly like to camp- you set up your claymores and are screaming at how cool it is to hole up in one spot just like a real sniper while giggling about how awesome it is waiting for other players to round a corner so you can drop them like flies- then be my guest. I'd also like to meet you Mr. Man-who-is-clearly-not-real-because-there-is-no-way-that-you-can-actually-find-this-shit-fun. People do it, because it works. Because that's how you win games.

But camping isn't the only problem that is plaguing the online experience. Thankfully, some of the glitches have been patched. I'm talking about toning down the Model 1887 Akimbo's, the Javelin glitch, the care package glitch, and some of the glitched lobbies allowing players basically free experience. Currently the most problematic issue is the effectiveness of the perk Danger Close (increase explosive damage) coupled with a RPG and/or the grenade launcher or "noob tube" attachment available for most assault rifles. The combination of the perks Marathon (infinite sprint), Lightweight (faster movement speed) and Commando (increased knifing distance) is also an overly effective class for straight knifing people all game. I thought this was "Modern Warfare." Last time I checked, governments weren't issuing knives instead of guns. Anyway, both of these are very frustrating to play against due to their devastating effectiveness in the right hands. But my problem with these set ups is simple; it makes playing this game not fun. I play video games because they are fun. So when I've been killed by a crazy knife lunge for the umpteenth time, I stop having fun, and I'll start playing another game.



Now I could talk about how the assault rifles are overpowered because they don't have hardly any recoil, or why it is insane that painkiller gives players three times the health, or how you are invincible while in your knife lunge or falling into last and final stand, but I'd rather think about fixing the problem. Activision is committed to churning out a new Call of Duty title every year. Which means previous titles are unlikely to get the necessary upkeep to keep them running effectively. Plus, with many Infinity Ward employees jumping ship, I can't imagine they are in a good position to concentrate on that anyway. They need to be careful, however, because with an angry community this next Call of Duty game needs to be done right. Another failure, and many players who are fond of the series might make their way over to another game coming out at around that time by the name of Halo: Reach. And Bungie has a habit of listening to their community and making adjustments to their games.

To smooth things over until then, I think Infinity Ward and Activision should create a playlist in Modern Warfare 2 which is perk free and killstreak free. Or perhaps standardize killstreaks to a three, five, seven setup of previous games. I know that the Call of Duty franchise is built on their perk and killstreak system, but by taking out a lot of the variables that are causing problems, it could be a quick fix that should make some of their frustrated players happy. I'm not saying get rid of any playlists, just create one where shooting your gun and playing actively is what works best. If killstreaks is why people camp, drop those. If certain perks are causing problems, drop perks. Then, if the game was built correctly, everything should balance out.



But in regards to Black Ops, the new Call of Duty title coming out in November, I think game developer Treyarch should change killstreaks so they are cumulative. Since killstreaks start over when you die, people camp to preserve their life. But if killstreaks didn't reset then you would be encouraging players to go out and kill as many people as possible, not worrying as much about dying. You could structure a radar detection at certain intervals so you wouldn't just get a bunch at the very beginning of the match and none at the end, but by encouraging killing, it should do away with a lot of the problems Modern Warfare 2 has developed. Creating maps that are fun to play and not conducive to camping wouldn't hurt either, but that is much easier said than done.

If I was an Infinity Ward or Activision employee I would want to make sure one of the biggest hits in modern gaming wasn't the downfall of the series. Skipping a year to polish a good game and making it a great game seems like a better plan than scrapping a year old product to make room for a new game with new mistakes. All games have problems, but how developers and publishers deal with their games aftermarket should carry some high importance.



Special Thanks to klm5986, Machinima and isaacisaac010 for their videos.