What Makes a COD Campaign SO AWESOME or SO BAD?!

Since the original Call of Duty hit shelves in 2003, the series has gone through several phases, starting humbly in World War II, before milking it dry and moving into a modern setting before milking that dry and moving into the future and beyond, finally returning. back to its roots and, more recently, revisiting the setting and namesake that launched this franchise to mainstream popularity, I love it, I hate it, or I loved it and now I hate it. Call of Duty is here to stay. I'm always amazed at how consistently popular the franchise has become. its annual release and with 16 major installments, well the road has had some bumps, it may be difficult for young people to imagine this, but I remember when Call of Duty

campaign

s were something that most people who bought the game actually played after having entered. depth and reviewed almost every title in the series besides these, I thought it was the perfect time to look at the Call of Duty

campaign

s as a whole and reflect on

what

has made some of them so amazing, others so bad and just a couple so mediocre, but

what

? are the most memorable call of duty missions and why what story and cast of characters resonated the most with people what

makes

a great call of duty campaign well, let's get out of vorkuta, get those pt ships out and let's all get right into it, but first we jump directly to the topic frag pro shooter is the sponsor of today's video this free mobile shooter has more than 30 million players destroy the two enemy bunkers access the tower destroy that and celebrate your hard-earned victory collect up to 80 characters different, each with a specific role and a playing style that emphasizes defense or attack.

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I've read comments from people saying they liked the ghost campaign or thought about sting operations. 3 had a great story, I find it hard to believe, but I still can't judge if you love fighting in the sands of Normandy defending Burger Town until your last breath or signing up with Atlas Corporation, we can practically split the value of a campaign in two. basic categories story and gameplay sometimes the greatness of single player can be completely independent of the quality of the multiplayer sometimes an overall bad campaign can surprise you with one or two exceptional missions, on the other hand a great campaign can sometimes be plagued with a couple horrendous levels, so let's take a look at some notable examples of level design, sandbox, etc.

To determine when Call of Duty has knocked it out of the park and when it's taken a big loser, the more cod campaigns, the more you'll lose. The more I play, the more I realize how similar they can be, which is great for fans who want a familiar experience and for newcomers to the franchise, but for a salty old sea dog like Act Man, I need something innovative , maybe the campaigns have done it. It became so repetitive, that's why Treyarch didn't even bother with Black Ops 4. Welcome to Black Ops 4, kid, wait until you see, okay, everyone's gone now.

Cod has always strived to please everyone and I at least recognize that my experience has shaped my expectations, which often doesn't align with what the developers are looking for to create Modern Warfare 2019 changed things quite a bit, but the cod formula has been pretty standard for a long time, you've got your set pieces, your linear on-rails paths, turret sections, stealth missions in At some point, a guy will shout RPGs, you'll shoot a helicopter or two out of the sky. The main character that you may or may not have cared about will be killed in the mandatory defense mission.

Quick time events, we've seen it all before. With so many games, the amount of new things Cod can do is limited, but it's when Call of Duty moves away from the tropes and clichés we're so familiar with that I find the biggest enjoyment is that Modern Warfare 2019 must be praised simply. for daring to have the The player can do things besides shoot constantly. It arguably has the most gameplay variety in the series, but let's start with what every Call of Duty developer fears above all else. New dog models. The most overlooked feature in cod campaigns is the dog models you can actually.

I don't have an immersive or innovative story without them having high-resolution scans of a real seal team. Linearity vs. open-ended for the classic shooters of yesteryear, games like Duke Nukem Doom Half-Life and even evolved combat often had puzzle-like level design. There was a lot of downtime after a battle while you searched for that hidden switch that opened the next area, but as games in the fps genre began to become more common and popular, shooters also became more strictly linear. Linearity in Cod was important because it allowed players to enjoy the experience at the pace set by the developers.

It's impossible to get lost in some of these levels and therefore technically everyone can complete a cod campaign, but that doesn't mean everyone can enjoy it despite always maintaining an m rating. and apparently being made for people over 17, the series tends to employ aspects of the game design that a small child might discover and to be honest, the series killed the linear horse years ago, oh wow, another vehicle section on rails with all the interaction of a connecting game because I'm stuck on a single path that isn't half as fun or complex as a damn Star Fox 64 mission, that's not good, what is this?

A large group of enemies marching towards me. I'd better turn face down and wait. Let them pass uh oh, this scene doesn't have any interactive elements, add a quick time event, you can usually summarize the level design since here you are at the point and follow this single path that you can't get lost in until you reach the point . b you will always have point a and point b, but I can't tell you how refreshing it is to have a level where point b can be accessed in five different ways. Let's look at some examples of the best missions out there.

The Not-So-Linear Sentinel of Advanced Warfare is an incredible mission and an otherwise forgettable experience, while previous levels gave you mechanics and then tossed them aside. This is one in two cases where the player can fully use the sandbox without maneuvering restrictions. with the hook tagging enemies to monitor their positions and keeping an eye on drones, is it just me or would advanced warfare have been 10 times better if 80 percent of the missions were so open, while it may be a cardinal sin to say anything good about ghosts? I appreciate a good defense section and Clockwork has one of the few sections I really enjoyed in this game, where you can set up your defenses however you want, turrets, shockwaves, Claymore mines, it's an

awesome

place to fight while the guys They come from all sides, although Modern Warfare 2 does it better this way with state defense and loose ends, a much more dynamic location, versatility and options, how can the player approach any given situation?

That's what's really important, the new Modern Warfare is full of open level design and this Piccadilly shootout gives you the freedom to roam around and rescue civilians in any order you want. Almost the entire mission is open to you from the start, with the added risk of civilians being executed, which adds some extra tension. The same applies to embedded ones. You have to place charges in three different areas by stealth making noise, do it however you want, damn please, isn't it amazing how much fun it is when you give players freedom of choice and what objectives they tackle?

The second combat mission evolved to anything but the pinnacle of incredible. Non-linear design is in Black Ops 2. Where else would it be? Each optional mission gives you the ability to move troops. Take control of any of them at any time. The number of ways you can approach these levels is seemingly limitless. I have never had this kind of fun with Cod nor did I expect to experience it. There are even hidden caches of weapons you can find to upgrade your arsenal and that rewarded players for their exploration, something that Call of Duty routinely discourages with the large number of invisible barriers and you can't walk around that way Infinity War also dabbled in optional quests and I can't understate how refreshing it is to simply have the option to choose the next level.

Call of Duty has historically been much more focused on a safe one. dimensional level design, but when it experiments with non-linearity is when the franchise surprises you, that's when the developers are confident enough to let go of your hand and allow you to cross the street on your own, one last example. World War II is plagued by cod. for terrible and predictable writing, brain dead designs and it's probably the most disappointing game in the franchise for me, however there is one level that I will always remember. The liberation tasks consist of sneaking into a German base to plan explosives, but you also have these dialogue and choice options. the right one will grant you access, and honestly, it's a lot of fun exploring this Nazi base.

This was the first and only time I was really excited to play Cod World War II because of how different this mission was. It's great to be able to see the most unique levels in the Call of Duty games, even though the horse mechanics and old wounds are a bit iffy, jumping on that horse and running wherever you want was just amazing now, even if A level is mostly linear, simply opening up landscapes that offer multiple paths to the same goal can do wonders for immersion and fun. Blood and iron of the world. That war is a very basic vehicle level, not the best, but you have a lot of room to maneuver your tank, allowing you to see enemies from very far away and allowing engagements from all distances.

On the other hand, collateral damage in WWII cod is painfully claustrophobic and after playing this mission I felt like my intelligence was being questioned by a sledgehammer, but now let's focus on what Call of Duty is best known for, While linear layout is not inherently boring, the way it is handled is the deciding factor. Scripted sequences can become extremely powerful and engaging when done right, as seen in shock and awe at the nuclear explosion. The scene becomes more powerful simply by giving players control over how they crawl. That's immersive. The revelation thing in Black Ops 1 is essentially not a mission at all, but it is one of the best scripted sequences this franchise has ever seen because its main goal was to tell a story that could be seen in basically every mission in COD 4 and watch an amazing scripted sequence, but when it's done poorly, you'd rather spend 15 years in the gulag than sit in a tank doing nothing for one more minute.

The Clean House is the perfect example that you could make a short standalone type game based solely on this level's setting and layout, although the path and outcome are the same, each encounter is so unique, detailed and well thought out that It's chilling. It's not about shooting 8,000 guys in a row with a giant machine gun, but about shooting a handful of guys precisely in small spaces. The best level in cod history is quite a gimmick, putting you in the role of Captain Price as a stealthy sniper was a stark contrast to the louder, more bombastic missions that came before, but it's also surprising because you can play the whole thing without being detected.

Except for the helicopter, I always got annoyed with the stealth missions and then with the cods because they often abandoned the façade and ended up making noise halfway through. I felt cheated out of an experience I could have had, but all I did was stealth. Fans' dream: crawl under jeeps, shoot down other snipers, eliminate groups of enemies, see them, just shoot this at each other, sneak past armies of troops - if every linear level and every single player had this amount of polish and thought put into it, there would be a The only Bad Cod campaign that exists is more important the pacing and preparation of combat.

Inthroughout Gileadup, you have the advantage of secrecy and can take your time surveying the area. Pacing is one of the most underrated aspects of game design and it's definitely an area. this series needs to focus more on although i love modern warfare 2 with all my heart i can't stand to shoot down as soon as you jump off this ledge the infinite room flips the switch and bam! non-stop group of grenade spam shots of bad guys surrounding you In every direction waving their 1847s in the air, tons of buildings and windows to prove it, it's a nightmare, meanwhile, in dust against dust, Modern Warfare 3, the rhythm It's hard and fast, they give you a giant suit and you fight a lot of guys to destroy it, it creates this feeling.

It's not just the intensity of having things to shoot that

makes

a shooting game fun, but the preparation for those encounters. If you don't know what I'm talking about, play Bioshock World That War nails this in the first level. You are in the jungle about to be executed, rescued, it's time to destroy this place and then you will infiltrate the Japanese bases and they will use every tactic in the book to take you by surprise. The Japanese and the World at War fight completely unlike any other faction in the franchise that relies on gorilla tactics and stealth to take you down just when you think it's going to be a dialogue section that looks like a temple or something.

Oh, is this another dialogue section? No, of course, no, how about we're okay now, where is it? The plot headed by the warring bonsai continuously surprises the player with these encounters even though they are fully scripted and linear, now I want to talk about linear missions that are more in service of the story, but first let's take a look at when the Linear design does the game's story no favors. It kicks off the whole Modern Warfare 2 conflict by showing a gruesome massacre, but the gameplay, yeah, it's a big turd in the bathroom, they couldn't have made you walk any faster, dude, there must be like five million cops on the way? speeding this up a bit being forced to walk at a snail's pace is probably one of the most frustrating things about video games in general and then we have D-Day and cod in WWII oh yeah we haven't seen anything like this since The first few days after a promising start, the mission heads into the trenches, but instead of having a single network of paths as you would expect from trenches in World War II, the developers simply place you on a single path surrounded by invisible barriers. most advanced warfare is ruined by its restrictive design.

Imagine the possibilities of unique level design with the magnetic gloves and grappling hook that allows players to scale buildings. No, bro, our audience is too stupid to figure that out on their own, just tell them when to do it. Use it and leave it at that, there is a mission later that gives you a giant playground to play on. Why are Call of Duty developers so afraid of this type of design? Come to think of it, many sequences written into later games didn't improve the storytelling. nor do they offer interesting gameplay but they are almost always there, there are too many to list but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about but Black Cats does it well.

A seemingly simple on-rails section is made more dynamic by having the player rotate. to different weapons on the plane at will depending on where the ships are, so I hope I've given you a wide variety of examples for you to look at When I think of my favorite Call of Duty missions, the ones that come to mind really have an effect only. level design, interesting tricks or have excellent storytelling in a linear environment, not every level has to be a set path or a huge maze, it's about striking the right balance between attractive written sequences and freedom of choice, variety of operations covert 2.

It did better with Modern Warfare 2019 right behind and it's no wonder why those two are my favorite campaigns in this series, while the level design and sandbox are more important from a video game perspective to move on to. Next level, you need a big butt. soundtrack and theme to amplify the experience and really burn it into people's memories an absent or mediocre soundtrack can bore you to death, who could forget trying to find karma in the club while skrillex was playing in the background, which then became complemented by chaotic dodging shots in slow motion? -gosh, that beat was funky vendetta starts off with the bleakest and most depressing pieces of music in all of Cod and highlights the horrifying acts the third reich has committed.

I could listen to General Shepherd give his speeches on the same day different like it was a damn podcast and when you listen to the triumphant music of the Russians and the world at war, how can you not become a communist? Even World War II had a couple of great tracks with the main theme being heroically patriotic. I find that if I don't remember anything about the soundtrack, the campaign itself is usually pretty forgettable. Modern war games Black Ops 1 and 2 World At War have phenomenal soundtracks that solidify the style of those games and that's what music is supposed to do to capture the tone and create a memorable sequence of events.

You might be thinking why a mission like Vorkuda is so much more engaging and fun than a mission like Black Ops 3 way beyond the game design, it all comes down to the story and the characters, how they are written, what the chemistry is between them , why do they fight? against what is the objective in black ops 3 you have your thumb up your ass the entire game on the trail of this hendrix guy you barely know anything about because he killed some people and god it sucks you don't really feel it Invested in this story of revenge because the protagonist is very separated from her and has no personal interest in her.

Compare it to Black Ops 2's revenge story and your first encounter with Menendez creates a personal connection between you and him now, when you watch. Vorkuta oh my goodness, is this a mission packed with content? Every journey begins with a single step. This is step one. You have to follow the seven steps to freedom. Level. Have you escaped from a Russian prison? Teaming up with other inmates to start a revolution by skewering the winged ones. beasts stealing weapons while reznov gives impassioned speeches about brotherhood and unity there is a thrilling chase sequence good god black ops 1 needs to have a film adaptation at all times reznov plays a pivotal role and is always there to help you know the characters need to be relatable and have humanity, these games are about war, so we also need compelling motivations for the factions and people involved in that wargrove, these men must die, for example, while the idea of ​​a federation of South American countries that rise up to take over North America is interesting.

I have no idea why they did that in Ghosts or why Hades hates technology, who knows who cares, without any kind of compelling motivation. Our villains have no depth. A great supporting character or villain can elevate the story to new heights. Makarov is such a badass in modern warfare 3. what happens here today will change the world forever, he always seems to be one step ahead, he is always able to outwit his opponents and when his backstory unfolds it reveals that he was responsible for the nuclear bomb and the cod 4, ties everything together. The trilogy as a whole makes it much more satisfying to see him hanged taking a page from Marty O'Donnell.

Emotional equity is important. The time and love we have devoted to the characters over a series of games over a period of time cannot be neglected because of the ghosts. In Black Ops 3, Advanced Warfare and Infinity Warfare are all disconnected from the rest of the series, we don't have that emotional equity, that's why Soap Mctavish Captain Price are such beloved characters because we've seen them go through so much in the past. To the villains, Raul Menendez is a terrifying mofo out for blood and revenge, but the way the story is told, you can't help but feel a little sorry for him and his tragic story.

He is also completely crazy. Dragovich Kravchenko and Steiner are hell. hellbent on instigating World War III with the United States and again emotional equity, if Dragovich and the others were to gas a bunch of random Russian soldiers, that's not as emotional as killing one of the protagonists of the previous game, Dmitry Patrenco, you can Summarizing Dragovich's character in a single section at the end, even in the face of his demise, has the balls to make fun of you. I can make you kill my own president. These are compelling villains that drive players forward. Actions create conflict.

They evoke emotions. A poorly written bad guy will suck everything. The tension and stakes of the story Rourke's antics are totally unbelievable It's comical The way you and he escape from captivity Jonathan Irons started out promising but then turned into an over-the-top cartoon super villain Also important to Call of Duty campaigns have some type of unique narrative, Black Ops 1 dabbled in portraying the protagonist Alex Mason as a kind of villain, the biggest obstacle that Cod campaigns fall into is being more focused on the plot than on its characters and that's when I lose interest when you try.

To establish how horrible this group of people or people is, if you tell me they killed a million people, it's not half as interesting as showing them killing one person in front of me when the logistics of combat are in oh, what? what are we doing? Where will the plane? I don't know if it's going to the alpha base, what are we going to do once we get to the alpha base? We're going to infiltrate that garbage dialogue that overshadows character development and that's what defines a forgettable cod campaign for me. difference between why you love every line of Captain Price and his glorious mustache and not Sergeant What's His Face is why you care about Woods and not Will Irons is why I was never interested in ghost stories Black Ops 3 and the advanced warfare on one side Note that I couldn't do this video without discussing the incredible branching narrative choices in Black Ops 2 gameplay that affected the outcome, it's something you'd expect from a bioware game and the Cod series should have continued this trend.

I mean, these decisions are not easy to make. Get put on the spot, and sometimes the option that seems best in the moment can have serious consequences later, leading you to wonder what the best path really is. The more elusive the best ending is, the more people will want to see it having the best ending. The most extreme case of good and bad outcomes in history was so incredible that I can't even put it into words. I spent hours watching all the scenes and it amazes me that this sequence and the day of judgment can play out in 15 different ways.

It adds a lot of depth to the story and the characters when their fate depends entirely on you and then there are plot twists, a well done epic twist can leave the player speechless and make them reflect on everything that happened, except when that twist isn't even it's streamed directly to the player and you have to take a screenshot of the flying text to find out, damn it treyarch, this twist could be anything from a major disaster, a monumental betrayal, a shocking revelation, or the death of a main character. These moments when they were built. It can even separate a memorable campaign from a forgettable one.

Damn, why can't you remember? It builds sympathy and establishes that emotional connection we have, but while a tragic twist and interesting, relatable characters are necessary, they don't automatically make a good story. For all its successes, Model Warfare 2019 tried too hard to surprise the player. Do we really need to see children murdered to understand the seriousness of the situation? And if you don't have comic relief in these games, don't even bother. I would do it. Don't trade the soap and witty price banter for all the loot boxes and infinite warfare that harkens back to clichés and familiarity.

Don't you get instantly tired when the new Call of Duty game regurgitates the same type of plot? Okay, guys, we have to create a new story. Who should be the bad guys? I'm thinking the space Russians are just being Russians again. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, let's revisit World War II. There are so many angles and perspectives we can look at this from. I think we should no, just Americans against Germans. all that mattered, I mean thank goodness we also had an American villain in modern warfare and having some sort of historical connection to real life events can also be a plus and make the story instantly relatable walking by. through Pentagon security to see the war room and arrive. in a super secret meeting with jfk that was incredible the world that war did a fantastic job showing the brutality of war a brand that captured theWorld War II completely missed the story and the scenes and campaigns of Call of Duty are much more important than people realize.

Whether they have to be complex with motivation personality, I will never forget my adventures alongside Resnov as Dimitri Patrenco or hearing Ghost's smooth, sexy voice over the comms working with Captain Macmillan to eliminate Zacchaev. I will never forget the ingenious Captain Price. or the cruel and spiteful Menéndez, if the campaign is fun, cool but interesting characters and a unique plot that I invested in are what I will remember when it is all said and done. So what exactly separates an amazing Call of Duty campaign from a bad and forgettable one, well, if there's one thing you can take away from this video, I think this franchise creates the most memorable farewell experiences when you don't push the boundaries of familiarity. , the developers must try to create a perfect balance between an incredible linear story.

Non-linear sequences and missions that put control in the player's hands as a general rule. The less restrictive a cod campaign is, the more fun it often is, especially for a franchise known for its predictable and safe design. Call of Duty campaigns are at their peak. better when they surprise you, which is always what you least expect from this series and that's what makes a Call of Duty campaign so incredible, so bad or so forgettable. It cannot be achieved without sacrifices.