Xbox 360 The last CoD game to innovate

[BitesizeCrayons]

I'm not here to bash Call of Duty, but to point out an unfortunate truth. Call of Duty 4 truly was the last game in the series to offer anything particularly fresh, and everything since has just been tweaks of the formula. Sure, engine overhauls, balance changes, new features and the like are nice, but it's undeniable that the series has stagnated. At least Black Ops II made a drastic changes to the campaign structure, but I want Call of Duty to make a bold paradigm shift. They might not have the incentive, as each game still outsells the last, but a gamer can dream.

 

[LALucien]

I think you're right really.
COD4 really re-defined the FPS genres and set a new, exceptionally high benchmark for all developers to follow after. None of which have got it right I might add.

I've had, MW:2, MW:2 COD4 & Black OPS (But no BO2).
I still have BO, but never play it.
I still have COD4 and its the only FPS I play!

 

[BitesizeCrayons]

Yes, it is also true that CoD 4 and its sequels have been and will continue to be responsible for an untold amount of cloning. I think you're right about no other developer getting it quite right; there have been great games that have copied the CoD mechanics, but any game that tried to copy CoD outright failed. Even if CoD isn't too respected in the gaming world, I'd sooner play it than a wannabe, even if it continues to stagnate. I don't want that to send the message that other devs need to try harder to make a CoD clone, but rather make something innovative of their own.

 

[Medza]

This is spot on, COD4 was definitely good, although I would have to say that the first COD game was definitely the pinnacle of the series. But still, COD is in this strange situation where it's essentially the same game being sold every year, and yet every time it comes out it still peaks the charts. It's quite mad really, no other game manages being this bad, yet having such a wide popular appeal, and so I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon.

 

[Simexy]

It has always been this way my friend. True, there are many games that get better as they go, but in most cases, the same concept is used over and over and over and over and over again as long as it sells because the whole industry is about money. If you want a good game, become a millionaire and donate five million dollars to some independent game company and tell them to make a game and do not attempt to "sell" it but make it so it is the most fun and amazing game of all time. Seriously, it seems like it will never change if a scenario like that does not happen because everyone has money and marketing on their minds while thinking about the video game industry. I sometimes ask myself, "Where did the fun go?" Please consider this... do we even have fun anymore? COD4 was a breakthrough, a masterpiece for it's time... and today, there are numerous attempts at Call of Duty's makers to make money by re-selling the same product in a different package. To this very day, I still love playing COD4 over any Call of Duty game.

 

[orz]

Definitely agree, while CoD MW2 was probably my favourite of the series it definitely transitioned to more of a "cartoon-y, arcade" game than what it was like prior. I can't say much for CoD: WAW but CoD4 was where it was at. The singleplayer campaign in that game still hasn't been beat on any of the newer titles which is quite sad actually. The map design is right up there as well.