Call of Duty is the most mocked and ridiculed franchise in the gaming industry today. It's constantly criticized for never improving it's mechanics, making barely any new changes, and for being flooded to the brim with children in it's online multiplayer component. Believe it or not though, there have been some very quality games in the series (Black Ops, Modern Warfare 2, etc.).
Call of Duty: Ghosts is not one of those games...
The central campaign revolves around a world superpower named the Federation. They essentially destroy the US and turn it into ruins. The group you play as is the Ghosts, soldiers who believe in restoring US's power. There honestly isn't much to say about the single player. If you have ever completed a Call of Duty campaign, you'll know the typical twists and turns that happen through it's Michael Bay-esq story. It's nothing unique or game changing for it. In fact, it does it a disservice. So much more effort could've been put into the thing that people play Call of Duty for - the online.
It's honestly surprising the development team hasn't ditched stories yet to just make a fully fledged multiplayer game, since it's multiplayer is the reason it sold millions.
The online component of Ghosts is no more different than Black Ops 2 or Modern Warfare 3. Everything seems familiar, to leveling up and getting killstreaks, to the kids hiding in corners and being unsporting. In fact, Call of Duty: Ghosts has even less than it's parents. There are far less killstreak options and weapons, and you no longer level up to unlock these weapons; instead you buy them with Squad Points, which you earn from doing well in a match.
One right step Ghosts did make is the new Search and Rescue mode, which is Search and Destroy, but with a twist. Instead of not spawning back in until the next round, your teammates can pick up your fallen dogtags and bring you back into the match. It can get really intense when you are the last alive and you are rushing to save a nearby teammate. Unfortunately, this seems to be the only new mode that was a blast. Other modes like Blitz and Hunted just feel like lazy tacked-on modes with no real staying power.
All in all, Call of Duty: Ghosts is a fair game in some respects. It's exactly what you are expecting if you are a CoD fan, but you'll often feel cheated with your purchase of the game. The franchise is reaching the point that sports games have reached:
When you run out of things to add; remove things.
PROS:
- Easier to pick up compared to Black Ops II
- Feels more competitive than ever with the new Clans mode
- Search and Rescue is a welcome addition to multiplayer's many modes
CONS:
- Campaign feels short, droll, and unnecessary
- Feels incredibly copy-and-pasted
- Not having to level up to unlock weapons gives no real motivation to level up
- New game modes like Blitz and Hunted feel very lazy
- Extinction feels very tacked on, just to compete with Black Ops' Zombies mode