For years growing up I've looked forward to the newest Call of Duty game strictly because it always had a storyline that you get get into, enjoy, and leave you wanting more. Because of this, when Call of Duty: Ghosts was revealed I got excited for a brand new storyline that honestly looked and sounded outstanding at its reveal. Release day came around and when I finally got my hands on a copy the first thing I dove into was Campaign, and I was thoroughly disappointed. Levels blew by so fast I never even got into the storyline. Things happen too quick with no build up at all. Even when the main character suffers a huge personal loss (keep in mind I'm trying to leave out spoilers) I felt nothing. The game simply continued, not even the main character or anyone else on his team even took a moment to shed a tear. When Soap died there was a good long dialogue about it and Price was clearly affected but this personal loss was completely unnoticed in the Ghosts story. When the Ghosts campaign was revealed the creators of the game said they were trying to make this the most emotional Call of Duty game yet. They obviously failed that goal.
This brings me to my second point, multiplayer. Infinity Ward has yet to displease me with their multiplayer experience and Ghosts is no exception. In my opinion the gameplay in online multiplayer is some of the best yet. I thoroughly enjoy the new character customization system and the new loadout systems. Killstreaks are no longer something that can completely alter the pace of the game. Don't get me wrong they still help out a lot but it takes a team effort of organized streaks to take full advantage of their effects. Squads is a great new game mode to try out new loadouts, test your skills without having to worry about players who are far out of your league, or even just to warm up. Furthermore, I find Extinction to be a great new "horde" style game mode that can function as a perfect rival for Treyarch's Zombies. Extinction provides you with a goal to achieve, but don't let me make you think that means your game will be over shortly and easily. This goal is extremely difficult to achieve, is not something that is done quickly, and takes skilled players to accomplish.
I give Call of Duty: Ghosts a 6 because I think they failed my expectations of the series. If I were to rate the multiplayer experiences alone this game would be without a doubt a 10. But, that is not what the overall game is meant for. The campaign was so poorly done, lazily thought out, and weakly written, that I don't see why they bothered to put it in the game. If this trend continues the creators might as well take out Campaign altogether and focus solely on the multiplayer experience. Bringing me to my question, in today's extremely connected online gaming world, is there a place for campaign? Does the story matter anymore? I leave that for the gamer population and the company's producing the games to decide. But in my opinion, games just aren't the same without a good campaign.