This is really an interesting development. More quakey I'm expecting,
with the extra jumps and speed. It's funny how successful franchises
always have a nostalgic starting point, COD4 Modern Warfare. The
original game that will feel slow to us now, but really intensified the
warfare experience back in that year. From the loud and impressive Dday
invasion from previous Call of Duty games to the current-day weapons
and whizzing bullets and impressive military-movie/hollywood black hawk
down feel, there was a kind of balance between the arcade and the
sim-like feel of being deployed in a glitzy for-screen military and war.
Not unlike how racing games try to strike a balance between arcade/sim,
with a focus on challenge and fun.
COD4
While real military
technologies and prototypes have been developed since then, their use
other than drones have seen limited public exposure and demonstration
except for things that feature them specifically like the future weapons
show. Recent military movies and hollywood movies like the expendables
didn't push our sensibilities and expectation of modern warfare, rather
copped the elements from the games this time, featuring AA12s, AC130,
Barrett rifle, favorite kill streaks and weapons of the modern warfare
series.
AC130
COD4 modern warfare really did a fair job of capturing
and upgrading the immersion of current warfare, demonstrating a wide
plethora of military experiences from extensive covert sniper missions,
to snowstorm battles. Though there are other areas that add to realism
and immersion other than intensity, intensity is the easiest thing to
see and promote, thus we have the bigger and better approach, along with
increased speed (and customizations).
Looking back at movies,
however, we see titles like The Hurt Locker, which gave us a different
dimension and insight into modern day warfare and how it could pique our
interest through other avenues like soldier to soldier relationships
and psychological aspects. We got glimpses of this from things like Bad
Company and Medal of Honor.
The Hurt Locker
Scenes from The Hurt Locker
Of course, it's profitable to cater
to more action and to the competitive scene too, so that's where COD
went, but who knows where and what the next military shooter will be
that really feels new, that shows a wide range of things we haven't seen
before not just from weapons to vehicles, but also team
command/relationship, intel acquisition and implementation, and field
resourcefulness.
Some of the great things about the original were
subtle things too, like the blood, blur, scopes, escalation, rewards
system, and tightness of control/movement, all of which may seem like a
basic given taken for granted by now.
COD4 Injured screenshot & Kill Streak Reward
I think the
control/movement was the defining factor for me though. So I'm excited
to see the results given that Respawn Entertainment, the original heads
of the original modern warfare, is giving a reason for competition with
their Titanfall innovations and improvements, though I have yet to try
it out for myself. Let's see what the near future holds.
Titanfall
in the meantime, I invite you to come over and check out some of my videos on my channel. Enjoy!
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