I hear ya, Activision. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is trying something new. It’s going full-out space mode and putting new things into the campaign, like optional missions.
That’s cool.
But despite the fact that you saw similar backlash against Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 when the trailer was released, this is different. Hopefully you know that by the fact that Infinite Warfare’s trailer is now the second most disliked video (not just trailer) on YouTube.
In my opinion, here’s why things are different this go-around.
Reason 1: Infinity Ward is Making This Game
Don’t get me wrong — as someone who has bought and played the snot out of every Call of Duty game since the first Black Ops, I love the series. It didn’t matter who developed it — I still bought the game.
But when Black Ops 2 came out, the players cried out over it being made by Treyarch. Though I’d argue that of the three developers for these games, Treyarch is the best. All three Black Ops games have been awesome.
Meanwhile, the last game made by Infinity Ward — Call of Duty: Ghosts — has been consistently rated as the worst of the series. Although I still pick it up from time to time for a few reasons, it wasn’t received well by the community.
Reason 2: We’re Tired of Space
We have enough shooters in space. Between Halo, No Man’s Sky, Star Wars: Battlefront and Destiny, the community is getting spaced-out.
You can be more creative than that. Go back to World War 1, the U.S. Civil War, The Crusades — whatever. ANYTHING besides the over-done space genre.
I understand you’re trying to stay with the trends. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s predecessors have been consistently becoming more futuristic… but this could’ve been the game to take a 180 and move a new direction.
Reason 3: Battlefield 1
The Battlefield 1 trailer is the highest rated trailer on YouTube right now. And when you watch it, it’s easy to see why.
My loyalty is normally with Call of Duty, but you have to give it to BF this time.
Battlefield 1 is trying something new. They realized they didn’t have to keep following the trends of their other games. After all, how much cops and robbers could you really play?
World War 1’s trench warfare made it unique. By bringing it to life in this game, with everything from the old tanks and planes to various melee weapons (like a trench club?!) they’re bringing something refreshing to the shooter genre.
Reason 4: We Don’t Need More PS2 Games
Okay — maybe comparing the trailer’s graphics to PlayStation 2 is an exaggeration, but you get the point. (An EA DICE dev went so far as to call them “quaint” and “10th grade”.
Look at Battlefield 1’s trailer — or the actual gameplay of Star Wars: Battlefront. These games are beautiful and actually make you feel like you’re there
Unfortunately, the CoD trailer just can’t compete. It’s got some cool effects going on, and some parts look better than others, but in general what I’ve seen doesn’t make me feel like I’m in the action.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by saying that that even though I wasn’t greatly impressed with the trailer, I’m still going to buy Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. I’m loyal to the franchise, and I’ve always enjoyed being able to pop into a few games to get my butt kicked by 9-year-olds.
But I hope the game turns out better than it looks, and that the franchise begins to move in a different direction in the future.
