Call of Duty is one of the best first-person shooter video game franchise. No matter if you are a Kid or an adult you must have played Call of Duty once in your life. This game is so much popular that even its name is enough to give you an immense thrill. The gaming world is full of games but this game managed to secure a very special place in the market as well as the heart of the gamers. There are many games which give tough competition to this game, for example, Battlefield, Counter-Strike, Medal of Honor. These games are undoubtedly wonderful games but If I have to choose one I will go with Call of Duty.
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game franchise published and owned by Activision. Call of Duty was first released on October 29, 2003. Call of Duty was developed by Infinity Ward but there are two more developers for this game. Several of the titles of this game was developed by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. The earlier games in the series are set primarily in World War II, but later games are set in modern days. This game was first released for Microsoft Windows but later expanded to consoles and handhelds.
Evolution Of Call of Duty:
Although there are almost 30 or more releases of Call of Duty only 14 of them are 'core' games in this series. In this post, we will only feature the 'core' releases of the series.
**There are 15 'core' instalments of Call of Duty series and these core instalments can be divided into subseries like world war story, Modern warfare story and Black Ops story. There are 3 other instalments of the series which comes under a different category.
World War II Story:
This story mode has 4 main instalments in the series. The story of World War II is shown briefly in this mode. Call of Duty, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty: WWII are the main parts of this story mode.
(1) Call of Duty:
Call of Duty is the first instalment of the series. This game was released on October 29, 2003. This game was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. Infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II was the main theme of this instalment. The gameplay and theme of this series are similar to Medal of Honor but the viewpoint of the playing character differs in both of them. The player in the game can hold two primary weapons, for example, Sniper rifle, Semi-automatic rifle, sub-machine gun and one pistol with 3 grenades. In campaign mode, the player must complete all the missions to advance to the next mission using authentic World War II firearms in combat.
(2) Call of Duty 2:
Call of duty is the second instalment of the series. This game was released on October 25, 2005. On October 25, 2005, it was released only for Microsoft Windows but later on November 22, 2005, it was released for Xbox 360. At later times it was released for mobile phones and pocket Pcs. As this game also comes under the category of World War II the campaign mode of the game is set during World War II. The main gameplay of this game is experienced through perspectives of four soldiers. This game contains four different campaign mode with 3 stories with a total of 27 missions.
(3) Call of Duty 3:
Call of Duty 3 is a first-person shooter game and the third instalment in the series. The game was published by Activision but developed by Treyarch. This game was released on November 7, 2006. This game was available for all seventh-gen home consoles, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 3. Unlike other Call of Duty games, the events in Call of Duty 3 are based on a single combined campaign but the player is being switched between the four armed forces. This game has a total of 14 campaign missions and each mission contains various action sequences.
(4) Call of Duty: WWII:
Call of Duty: WWII is the latest and 14th Core instalment of the series. This game is yet to be released. This game is going to be released on November 3, 2017. This game is going to published by Activision and developed by Sledgehammer Games. This game will be set primarily in World War II since Call of Duty: World at War. This game lack some special movements like double jumping and wall running which are present in previous titles. Unlimited sprint mechanism is also not available in this instalment. This game also features the Zombie mode. Gamers have high expectation on this game.
Modern Warfare story:
This story mode has 4 main instalments in the series. The story of Modern Warfare is shown briefly in this mode. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered are the main parts of this story mode.
(1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the fourth instalment of the main series. This game was published by Activision and developed by Infinity Ward. This game was released on November 5, 2007. It was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows.
This game features modern day warfare instead of World War like its previous instalments. The main gameplay of this game features modern types of equipment and tactics. Deathmatch and a team-based multiplayer mode are also available in this version.
(2) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sixth instalment of the main series. This game was also published by Activision and developed by Infinity Ward and was released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows. It was released worldwide on November 10, 2009. The player can perform various actions including jump, sprint, crouch, lay prone, and aim down their gun's iron sights. This version includes three different modes-Campaign, Spec Ops, and Multiplayer. There are 18 levels to complete in the campaign mode.
(3) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the eighth instalment of the Call of Duty series and the third instalment of the Modern Warfare arc. This game was published by Activision and developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games with assistance from Raven software. This game released on November 8, 2011, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3. In single-player campaign mode, there are various missions available. Each mission contains various objectives. This game includes one more mode called Survival.
(4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered:
There is not much new about this game. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is the remastered version of the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This game was released on November 4, 2016, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. There are many updates in Animation, lighting, Sound effects and many small improvements but still, retains the core gameplay. This game has given importance to minute effects like blurring the surrounding while using a sniper.
Black Ops story:
This story mode has 4 main instalments in the series. The story of a Black operation is shown briefly in this mode. Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Call of Duty: Black Ops III are the main parts of this story mode.
(1) Call of Duty: World at War:
Call of Duty: World at War is the fifth instalment of the main series.This game also goes back to the time of world war but still, it is under the category of Black Ops and considered as the first title of Black Ops storyline. This game was released on November 11, 2008, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. This game was published by Activision and developed by Treyarch. This game has more feature theme than its previous instalments. This game is open-ended and gives the player multiple ways to complete a mission. This game also adds a new mode called co-operative mode which supports up to 2 players locally and up to 4 players online.
(2) Call of Duty: Black Ops:
Call of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh instalment of the series. This game was published by Activision and developed by Treyarch. this game was released on November 9, 2010, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. It is the first game in the series which take place during the Cold War. The gameplay mechanics in this game is same as previous instalments. The multiplayer mode has two different modes. In first Deathmatch mode the team with highest kills wins and in Flag mode, the players have to capture a flag from opponents base and take it to own base. A zombie cooperation mode, called "Zombies", is also featured in the game
(3) Call of Duty: Black Ops II:
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the ninth main instalment in the series. This game was also developed by Treyarch and was published by Activision. This game was released on November 12, 2012. It was the first game of the series which shows future warfare technology. This game includes multiple endings. In this game, the players choice affects both the current mission and overall story. One biggest feature of this game is the Pick 10 feature in multiplayer which enables the player to create ten 10 slots to carry gun or perks.
(4) Call of Duty: Black Ops III:
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the twelfth main instalment in the series. This game was also developed by Treyarch and was published by Activision. This game is the sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The game was released on November 6, 2015.
In the game, the story of the game takes place after 40 years from Black Ops II. This game supports 4-player cooperative gameplay. Players also can change their appearance and clothing. The Zombies mode include XP progression system.
Other story arcs:
This story mode has 3 main instalments in the series. These games don't come under any category that's why they are included under others. Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare are the main parts of this story mode.
(1) Call of Duty: Ghosts:
Call of Duty: Ghosts is the tenth main instalment in the series. It was developed by Infinity Ward with Neversoft and Raven Software. This game was released on November 5, 2013. The video game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U. This game has received positive feedbacks from critics for its multiplayer mode and a new mode called extension. The storyline of this game is truly amazing. The game has some emotional parts in the story according to gamers.
(2) Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare:
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the eleventh main instalment in the series. This game was published by Activision and developed by Sledgehammer Games with assistance from Raven Software and High Moon Studios. It was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The visuals, the single-player campaign, the fast, dynamic, and exciting gameplay, and the content-rich multiplayer was praised by many critics. This game includes some new movement features likes EXO movements.
(3) Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare:
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is the thirteenth main instalment in the series. This game was developed by Infinity Ward and was published by Activision. The game was released on November 4, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Single player mode and visuals of this game are highly appreciated by critics but the multiplayer mode was criticized for its lack of innovation. New gameplay mechanics, such as zero-gravity environments, are included in this game. This game also features a cooperative multiplayer zombie mode.
Final Words:
This game has many instalments. Covering 30+ releases in a single post is not possible that's why I have included only the Core releases. Moreover covering a detailed review of each instalment is also not possible that's why I have written a short review of each game.
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