Thats right, CoD is loved; if only by 12 year olds and people who have been with the series since the start.
(or people who started playing CoD a few weeks ago)
*shrug*
CoD as a series
Now, right off the bat I'm going to say that Call of Duty isn't exactly a bad series. I remember switching off on deaths with my older brother in the original Call of Duty back when PC games beat the shit out of most console titles (mods, mother f*ckers). And I've played every CoD since then (not bought, mind you; god no). I've personally found the series to be alright; just alright. I don't go out and buy the yearly Call of Duty like most angsty, explosive-compulsive kids but CoD usually adds enough new every few years to keep me interested (see: Zombies).
Story
The problem I've always had with the Call of Duty story is that I usually like my games to not play the same every time. This is why I have a hankering for open world games and RPGs. Wherein Call of Duty the only choice you have to make is, "which gun do I use to kill the x amount of guys in the next room". This isn't a breaking point for any game, if it were a lot of games/gaming companies would be f*cked. But it usually limits my single player experience to 1 maybe 2 playthroughs. To me most all the CoD "story" modes are "meh". Not the worst but far from the best; and Black Ops was simply horrific ("would you like some more rail with your shooter?").
Multiplayer
I'm sure somebody would type some very angry words if I didn't mention the multiplayer so why don't we take a look at that? Call of Duty actually had (and still has) very excellent multiplayer (if you have a working mute button). Each level offers new weapons and abilities and the maps are usually large and varied enough to stay fun. ($15 for 3 new maps? I'll pass) But does Call of Duty have the best multiplayer? It's up to the individual but my own opinion says probably not. If you're in just for the multiplayer Team Fortress 2 probably takes the gold for being the most balanced but not every one finds TF2 to be their cup of tea. Battlefield has been stepping up to CoD multiplayer standards in the last several years but thats another matter of opinion of which you prefer more. Halo is, well, Halo and I think its in its own little Haloy bubble in the horizon mostly because it isn't as "realistic" as some gamers prefer. (I prefer Halo's game variants to other games myself but thats for another thread.)
Zombies
Last of all, Call of Duty has been infected with the plague that many recent games have been following. In that they think they also need to add zombies to their games as well. What? It sells. By now CoD has actually made Zombies a fun "add" to their recent games. Unfortuantly, Zombies is usually the only part of CoD (especially Blops) that I can get into. But does CoD have the best zombies? Absolutely not, you'd be better off with L4D or Dead Rising or any of the countless other games that felt like they needed to incorperate zombies into them.
(TL;DR)
Is Call of Duty as a series really worth all the devoted love and attention it gets?
Probably not. But so long as constant explosions and gunfire fills their games I'm sure 12 year olds all over will wet their pants with glee. Which actually makes me kind of sad because I remember a time when Call of Duty was more about stable, historically sound gameplay that didn't have to rely on pandering to ADD children to market more copies than god. But is CoD as a whole enjoyable? Yes it is.
Are the Call of Duty games "good games"?
Sure they are. But if you were looking for the game with an amazingly satisfing or broud story you've come to the wrong place. Zombies definately add the the experience while staying completely unnecessary.
But does Call of Duty have a good multiplayer? *cough* rhetorical *cough*
Of course it does but so does Halo, BF:BC2, AC:B, TF2 and your mom.
