Call Of Duty: Ghosts
Overview -
Activision and about three separate development studios are back at it again, reinvigorating your addiction, and looking to build on a half decade of shooter eminence. With three 'Modern Warfares' and two 'Black Ops' out of the way, 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' has been billed as an all-new storyline and setting, featuring an apocalyptic landscape, against-the-odds numbers and everyone's favorite new mascot, the 'Call of Duty' Dog. Along with the traditional story campaign and meat-and-potatoes multiplayer, are some interesting new modes like Extinction and Squads. Of course, with so much new content, there is a danger of alienating the fan base, but if past installments are any indication, that danger is something of a nonfactor. Out for every platform under the sun, 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' has a lot of goals to accomplish and a ravenous audience to appease.
Video Review
Having reviewed the Xbox 360 version of the game, one might expect this section of the review to be more predictable than ever. And yet, 'Ghosts' makes some odd alterations to the engine that, frankly, seem designed with next-gen in mind. While environments seem a bit more colorful, those colors are all muted in a way that can only be described as off-putting. While some multiplayer maps take full advantage of the visual twist - Stonehaven is a gorgeous and totally unexpected Scottish vista that actually had me a bit distracted – most of the time you feel like you're in a poor recreation of very old painting.
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The same can be said for the single player mode, through Extinction, once again, is a breath of fresh air. With a paranoid and tense atmosphere, the eruptive blood splatter off the aliens and misty stretches of curved pathways really sell the setup in spite of the b movie scifi trappings.
Audio Review
For the first time in a while 'Call of Duty' has really amped up its audio game. The guns are thunderous in a way that encourages you to keep pulling that trigger. I found myself sticking with certain weapons for far longer than I should because I enjoyed the echoing boom of its discharge. Though 'Battlefield' still reigns supreme here, 'Ghosts' amplifies the audio atmosphere of gunfights and warfare to a thickness that's fairly engrossing.
The voice acting, headlined by 'Superman Returns' Brandon Routh and 'Avatar's' Stephen Lang, is admirable but is lost amid the ridiculous plot and overtly masculine dialogue. Oddly enough, the same could be said for the score.
The 'Call of Duty' franchise is firmly entrenched in a rut, and attempting to find fresh aspects requires a fine-tooth comb. While it can be remarkable to find where some creativity has shown through, it's difficult to escape one conclusion. All of the development might and resources that is poured into each new version reflects a group of highly-skilled, creatively hampered individuals who spend two years at a time playing with dials and adjusting statistics in order to justify delivering the same game over and over again. At $60 a pop, the distinction in a subtitle, like going from 'Modern Warfare' to 'Ghosts' for the non-Call of Duty Elite means just one thing: this one starts with a 'G'. Multiplayer changes are clinical and direct, encouraging the hardest of the hardcore to play hard and score mad kills on all the noobs, while the word newcomer has no place in such an uninviting place. The classic recipe still works. It's still enthralling in spurts, but seems as unchanging as any past glory. The single player retains its status as placeholder trailer-maker, while Extinction is a gem buried under bulletin points that could have come from any of the recent 'Call of Duty' installments.
