Call of Duty: Ghosts Review Roundup
Call of Duty: Ghosts has officially launched worldwide, and reviews of the game have gone up!
Here’s a round up of all the reviews from around the web:
Call of Duty: Ghosts is a solid installment, but it lacks creativity and innovation. Its new engine already looks dated in the face of the competition, and it eschews many of the solid concepts seen in Black Ops 2. After Treyarch attempted to expand the established Call of Duty formula with risky campaign and multiplayer ideas, Infinity Ward and friends have ignored the franchise’s innovative climb. Despite this, Ghosts still steals the show with more memorable missions than those found in Black Ops 2. And even with the loss of Pick 10, I still played the multiplayer for hours and had a good time.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is mired in a distinct lack of ambition. Outside of the stellar Extinction mode, Ghosts follows more often than it leads, bringing with it familiar missions, modes and experiences. Ghosts feels like an accountant’s sequel, with just enough content to justify a new installment. It just never goes beyond that.
Given the volatility of consumer behavior surround next-gen console launches, you might expect Call of Duty: Ghosts to play it safe and lean heavily on past formulas. Instead, it goes in the complete opposite direction and crafts its own path. In some areas, like the Campaign and Extinction, that works exceptionally well, but in others, such as the Squads mode, it falls woefully flat. Multiplayer is serviceable and fun if you aren’t looking for high level play and just want to have a good time, but it’s severely lacking in competitive features and customization that the series needs.
Call of Duty: Ghosts isn’t a reinvention of the franchise, but proves there’s still room for innovation within its existing formula. Though at the risk of overcomplicating things at times, its robust multiplayer gameplay, surprisingly fun co-op modes, and lengthy, challenging, and varied campaign makes Ghosts one of the best Call of Duty games to date.
Ghosts offers the same style of video game combat that Call of Duty has had since 2007. The core of it is still engaging and can be very thrilling, if you’re receptive to this type of action. In fact, it’s still my favorite online multiplayer shooter. But the bells and whistles surrounding the game are muted and missing, leaving behind that same core without giving you enough new and exciting reasons to come back. Even with the improved graphics to be had on next-generation consoles, I’d rather play Black Ops II.
The bottom line is that, after nine successful titles (though No. 3 was pretty weak), Activision has finally delivered a Call of Duty game that is a disappointment for me. I’ll play it. I’ll enjoy the multiplayer. But I thought that the multiplayer modes for Black Ops II were great. I don’t know why Infinity Ward couldn’t borrow more from those modes and just build upon them.
Ghosts, in and of itself, is a fine game. It ticks all the boxes and then blows the boxes up in glorious 1080p resolution (on PS4 at least). Those who only ever play COD will be more than happy with it, but those who have grown weary of the series will see more of their ambivalence justified this time around. Infinity Ward had a chance here to throw down the gauntlet for the next hardware generation, to set the new standard, to show that this hugely popular, much derided behemoth can dance to a different tune. It’s chosen to play a Greatest Hits package instead.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is out now on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, , and Wii U, and coming day one for next-gen.
