Call Of Duty and why we keep going back to it...

[MiracleOfSound]

Some of you might remember my MW2 thread a few months ago where I poked a little fun at all the reasons people rage about it.

There is no other series that makes people so angry yet keeps them coming back for more, and I've been thinking about the reasons why this happens. I myself am guilty of it... I don't know how many times I've said 'I'm never playing COD again!' in anger and then gone back a week later.

As far as I can see, there are 2 or 3 major reasons why, in my opinion, COD is so damn addictive:

1. The controls are the best on the market

There is no other shooter that feels as good to play as COD. The aiming and shooting are accurate, fluid, responsive and satisfying. You can, with some skill, pull off some real precision long shots or crazy spinning multikills.

How to win at MW2​

The main reason the game feels so good to control is because...

2.The game engine is amazing

Because it runs at 60 frames per second, as opposed to the norm of 30, the game feels much more fluid and immersive than other shooters. Our eyes are fooled by a smooth, high framerate far more than they are by high resolution wall textures or weather effects.

It makes us feel right there in the middle of the action.... when I play games that are in many ways more balanced and better designed all round, such as Bad Company 2 or Halo 3, I just don't feel as physically involved in the game, the experience is not as visceral and immediate.

Can anyone tell me another game that makes you feel more a part of the action that COD?

If it's out there, I haven't played it.

3. It's purrty

Let's be honest, many of us are suckers for pretty visuals. MW2's bright, colourful maps and customisable guns with insane levels of detail on them are a joy for the eyes. The graphics are just the right side of realism, they look physically real but are bright, varied and silly enough to keep you from getting environmental ennui.

Jaw droppingly good looking... ​

Anyone who went through the Carnival map for the first time and wasn't wowed by the merry go rounds or amusement rides needs to get their eyes checked. Same for Bailout, Terminal and Afghan... they might be horrible maps to play but goddamn do they look pretty.

4. The levelling and stats are like heroin

The levelling, unlocking and customisation keep us coming back for more. How many times have we endured evenings of pain and rage just to get that sick looking Urban camouflage for our AK-47? How many times have we convinced ourselves that how bad-ass it looks all red and white makes up the 1500 times we got noob tubed trying to get those headshots?

'Man, this was so worth that hole in the wall and broken controller!'​

The K stat (while being the worst thing ever to happen to gaming in my opinion) exploits the most compulsive, competitive urges we nerdy types tend to develop in these arenas. 'Just one more game... I'll break even again and not be negative...'

Personally I hate the K stat and think if there were a public gametype or playlist where it is not counted, we would all have more fun with COD, even on our bad nights.

Hell... some people might even cap some flags in Domination. Imagine that...!

5. That one match

You know the one... the one game a night you get an insanely good score and spend the rest of the evening trying unsuccessfully to repeat... it is crack.

6. Private Lobbies

MW2 + 5 buddies + private lobby = possibly the most fun multiplayer game ever made

So share with us, COD addicts. Tell us why it keeps you coming back, the things you love about it and what makes you put up with the bullshit and keep playing your favorite shooter.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I keep going back because there's nothing else to play. I don't own every game on the market, and Call of Duty is the one I fall back on.

 

[Iffat Nur]

Wait, are we talking about the entire series, or just MW2?
If the entire series, then its da zombies . and Mile High Club.
If just MW2, I must've forgot there was crack, because I only rented this game, and I never did again (November 2009-now)

 

[Frequen-Z]

I kept going back because I had a lot of friends who played it, it was more a social thing than anything else, which is why I stopped Prestiging, cos I realised I wasn't having fun aiming for levels, I just enjoyed having a laugh with mates, so saw no reason to keep making myself lose all the weapons and challenges.

I did eventually break free though. As soon as I got a PC that could handle TF2, I switched my Xbox off and never looked back.

 

[snowman6251]

I used to play COD a shit load. Then I bought TF2. Barely touched it since. Its much more fun not having to constantly worry about K/D and killstreaks and actually working towards a goal other than "kill 25 people without dying".

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

I keep going back because CoD4 is the best game of this generation.

... oh you mean MW2? No, that game blows. If I want to get noob tubed and Commando knifed over and over and over again, I may go back to MW2 though.

 

[lee1287]

lack of money to buy new games. Lol, I'm bored if it now, got 10th prestige so it's really boring.

 

[Worgen]

ehh, I played alot of cod 4 but I feel no need for more of it, bad company 2 is more fun for my multi player shooting needs "theres a camper? BLOW UP THE BUILDING"

 

[MiracleOfSound]

In the end though, I just couldn't take the crazy amount of leeway it gives you on shots. I've aimed 2 feet away from a persons head in that and hit dead on. For someone used to playing games like ArmA II, where you have to hit right on the money, it just felt way too easy.

I get the opposite problem most of the time, my shots that are clearly on target refuse to register.

It is maddening... then I sometimes get a game where I am either near the host or am the host and it's almost as if I have cheat mode enabled, it makes it so much easier.

 

[tlozoot]

Truth. It's shame it's being milked as it is though.

 

[TerribleAssassin]

I used to play COD a shit load. Then I bought TF2. Barely touched it since. Its much more fun not having to constantly worry about K/D and killstreaks and actually working towards a goal other than "kill 25 people without dying".

Mines like that, but it was more

I bought Deus Ex and I thought, wow a game where you don't know how to master every gun off by heart...

 

[Thoric485]

That all is very true. But the lag is killing it for me. I'm always ~100ms behind the host and his clan buddies. I still play it but just with friends. When i play alone i only get frustrated.

 

[Vilcus]

My dad buys them for the Co-op, and I usually end up playing the Singleplayer if I get bored (took me 4 months after my dad bought the game for me to get around to even playing it, same with the first Modern Warfare). I gave up on it after the first Modern Warfare (not a bad game, just gets boring really fast), and I didn't give Black Ops a second glance.

The multiplayer isn't that exciting for me, it's just getting killstreaks and blowing up everyone else who got killed by a random explosion which stopped them from getting said killstreak. I personally have more fun playing Halo 3, mainly because a lot of my friends play it, and we always have fun in custom game modes. I admit CoD is pretty, but I've never been one for graphics, and I had more fun playing Super Mario 64 than I did playing Modern Warfare 2 (MW2 will always be Mech Warrior 2 for me).

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I agree wholeheartedly, especially about those damn upgrades (I've even had to become a sniper to get stuff for them, even though I'm an LMG man really). I prefer WaW online due to the maps and tanks, but MW2 is still great fun, and once you adapt to the annoyances it really is very, very fun. I still recommend getting 3 friends and playing splitscreen though.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

That all is very true. But the lag is killing it for me. I'm always ~100ms behind the host and his clan buddies. I still play it but just with friends. When i play alone i only get frustrated.

More truth right there. As I've said in another post, being near the host is an unbelievable advantage.

I went 29-2 on Vacant last night because I had host advantage and everyone seemed to take an age to even see me turning the corner, then went negative 3 games in a row straight afterwards where my bullets seemed to develop allergies to humans on thier way out of the gun.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I agree wholeheartedly, especially about those damn upgrades (I've even had to become a sniper to get stuff for them, even though I'm an LMG man really). I prefer WaW online due to the maps and tanks, but MW2 is still great fun, and once you adapt to the annoyances it really is very, very fun. I still recommend getting 3 friends and playing splitscreen though.

In private lobbies with 5 or 6 friends, MW2 is by far the most fun I've ever had with a multiplayer game.

 

[IamQ]

The only thing I can really agree on, is that the game plays at a really high framerate. The engine itself otherwise, is made out of mostly low resolution textures, and all grass, rain, smoke, fire and leaves, are 2d.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I agree wholeheartedly, especially about those damn upgrades (I've even had to become a sniper to get stuff for them, even though I'm an LMG man really). I prefer WaW online due to the maps and tanks, but MW2 is still great fun, and once you adapt to the annoyances it really is very, very fun. I still recommend getting 3 friends and playing splitscreen though.

In private lobbies with 5 or 6 friends, MW2 is by far the most fun I've ever had with a multiplayer game.

Indeed, 'tis fun.

But MW2 provides me with the best gaming experience I get, which is splitscreen on my mate's huge tv (and surround sound system!) over beers and pizza. It's simply awesome, especially as you can have classes offline too.