Call of Duty: “Insert Subtitle Here”

Published February 25, 2012 | By Casey

Call of Duty Needs Some Innovation

Following their record setting release of Modern Warfare 3, Activision intends on keeping their annual release trend going. The day of MW3’s release Activision CEO Bobby Kotick announced that a new Call of Duty was being developed for a 2012 release. On the release of their fourth quarter earnings earlier this month the next installment was confirmed.

After Sledgehammer Games was pulled from development of their ill-fated 3^rd person COD game and put on MW3, there is some buzz that they may be working on a new title (my bet is on “Call of Duty 2013). Regardless, it is clear that 2012 will see another COD, I believe this will be number 9 for the franchise, and Treyarch will more than likely be manning the operation.

During their confirmation of “COD 2012” Activision stated that the next episode of COD will be a “meaningful innovation” for the series. This came as a surprise to anyone that has played a Call of Duty game, because they have all lacked severely in the innovation department. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying there is anything wrong with them. Sales of past installments prove that. Yet, to me the franchise has begun to grow stale, similar to Activision’s passed annual Franchises; Tony Hawk and Guitar Hero.

The mentioning of innovation when referring to Call of Duty brings a smile to my face. As of now, there are no real clues as to how or why it will be innovative, but seeing as how most Treyarch-made Call of Duty games tend to traipse a bit outside of the proverbial box, (Examples of this are the addition of Nazi Zombies and Wager Matches, in World at War and Black Ops respectively) we can be sure that something interesting will be thrown in the mix.

As for me, I believe it could be a number of things:

Somehow improved character customization

Female characters

Vehicles

Larger team size

A new graphics engine

More prestige!!!

Character progression from game-to-game

Skill trees or skill points

Team-based Gunplay

More Clan friendly (similar to Forza 4’s Motor Clubs)

Activision instates the “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy

This innovative claim from Activision gives me hope for the franchise. I believe if done right, this could be a step in the right direction for them as well as the industry. Although, to have such high hopes for innovation, when referring to a franchise as famously monotonous as Call of Duty, it is difficult to believe that such prayers will be answered. Still, there remains a lot of time between now and Activision’s standard November release period for such thoughts, hopes, and predictions.

At the risk of sounding cliché, only time will tell.

Casey is a seasoned veteran of gaming. Having spent the majority of his life with a controller in hand it seemed only right that he write about his experiences. Otherwise, he'll be studying.