The Call of Duty series is to gaming what iPhones are to cellphones. It’s an integral part of gaming culture — for better or worse. While the games have won over millions of fans for their snappy gun-toting physics, excellent multiplayer, and breathtaking first-person visuals, it’s a series that has seen extreme highs and lows.
And after all, that’s only to be expected when releasing a game every year since 2003 — games that are usually among the top sellers. With a series this old, there’s plenty of games worthy of a refresh — a graphical upgrade for the next generation of consoles. And... there’s some that are worth a pass.
10 Deserve It: Call of Duty 2
Released in 2005, Call of Duty 2 is a series mainstay, taking gamers deep into the world of World War 11. Its graphics were impressive at the time, but now playing through iconic WWII set-pieces re-rendered with the capabilities of next-generation consoles would be breathtaking.
It was classic Call of Duty: gun fights, action, and never-ending enemies. This classic of the first-person genre deserves a makeover.
9 Don't: Black Ops III
This game is still relatively recent, but with 2015 graphics, it could be a contender for a refresh in the future. However, it doesn’t add anything new to the series — other than the futuristic setting.
Unlike other Call of Duty games that push into new territory, Black Ops III seems to rest on the success of the two games before it, and a graphical refresh wouldn’t add anything to the genre which is already saturated in glossy futuristic shooters.
8 Deserve It: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
A welcome change from the usual Call of Duty formula, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare brought gamers into a world of exoskeletons and terrorists — as well as a new way to traverse dynamic multiplayer maps no longer constrained by running and jumping.
It brought along many of Call of Duty’s multiplayer features too, with extremely customizable load-outs and characters. And it still looks good by today's standards. In five years, however, who knows what kind of graphics could be added to this game to make traversing the tense gunfights of Advanced Warfare even more exhilarating?
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It’s a game sandwiched between two classics — the recently remastered Modern Warfare 2, and the newly released, and fairly excellent Modern Warfare 4. While the Modern Warfare series has been praised for its handling of the tough and gritty side of warfare, the third installment in the series didn’t offer much new.
The formula for Call of Duty games — shoot, rinse, repeat — got a bit old with this third installment, and any refresh of the game would hardly compete with the nostalgic thrills of Modern Warfare 2.
6 Deserve it: World At War
World at War tackles heavy, disturbing content in it’s return to WWII; in the pacific theatre this time. Gamers fight through gruesome battlefields and take a careful look at the way warfare affects all involved.
There’s plenty to recommend this game to modern audiences —even a co-op mode— and it would be the perfect addition to a new generation of Call of Duty games with updated graphics that could do justice to the dark stories the game tells.
5 Don't: Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Duty: Ghosts had promise, but upon release turned out to be a rehash of familiar concepts in a largely abandoned campaign, instead focusing on the development of the multiplayer system. And even there, Ghosts didn’t offer anything new.
As Call of Duty games began to forgo the story in favor of multiplayer, it creates a vacuum for games worth remastering. Remastering a multiplayer experience usually turns out to be less than satisfying.
4 Deserve It: Call of Duty Black Ops
The original Black Ops marks the start of a new decade for Call of Duty and a pivot towards a new console and values in gaming. Black Ops kicked off the highly successful series which has since seen four iterations. The games now focus on the high-octane multiplayer experiences that have given rise to a profitable E-sport series.
Taking a trip back to the original Black Ops, with graphics updated to reflect the varied covert ops locations gamers visit, would be a milestone of sorts — a way to mark the new generation of the series.
3 Don't: Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty 3 was yet another WWII game, pitting gamers against Nazis in the days leading up to the battle of Normandy.
It loses a bit of luster whenever compared to the first two games, and it’s hard to see what a remastering would achieve beyond putting a glossy coat of paint on a lackluster effort.
2 Deserve It: Call of Duty
It’s always worth it to venture back to the beginning of a beloved series. Remastering the original Call of Duty would provide more than a great game (though Call of Duty 2 is arguably better).
It would bring the series full circle — giving fans a chance to see the bones of the modern games they’ve sunk hours into. As a story first experience, it would translate well into a bite-sized Call of Duty blast from the past.
1 Don't: Infinite Warfare
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was met with immense criticism. It was yet another futuristic shooter, and many gamers found Call of Duty’s trajectory was veering far off the series’ originally premise.
No future console or state of gaming could convince Activision to release a makeover for Infinite Warfare — unless it involved rebuilding it. As the series heads back to its roots with Call of Duty WWII, and into the realm of Battle Royale, Infinite Warfare will fade into gaming lore.