by Vanessa 'Nessie' Hague
I said I was going to do it and I did it. I got Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and do you know what? It's been the most fun I've had gaming in the past few months. I've sat and thought about why I enjoyed it as much as I did and the more I do, the more I come to think certain things about gaming as a whole. Firstly let me point out that I'm not really a big Call of Duty fan. The only game in the series I have personally bought was the first Black Ops (and that was mainly due to the fact that you play zombies as John F Kennedy) and even then, I sold that within a few months of buying it; I can't really recall that I enjoyed the game as a whole experience. But Advanced Warfare was different. Why? Because I hardly took the game seriously.
I said I was going to do it and I did it. I got Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and do you know what? It's been the most fun I've had gaming in the past few months. I've sat and thought about why I enjoyed it as much as I did and the more I do, the more I come to think certain things about gaming as a whole. Firstly let me point out that I'm not really a big Call of Duty fan. The only game in the series I have personally bought was the first Black Ops (and that was mainly due to the fact that you play zombies as John F Kennedy) and even then, I sold that within a few months of buying it; I can't really recall that I enjoyed the game as a whole experience. But Advanced Warfare was different. Why? Because I hardly took the game seriously.
Kevin Spacey takes on the antagonist role.
Between the blend of robot exosuits, Troy Baker angstily narrating the story as himsel- I mean as Jack Mitchell, and Kevin Spacey being super evil and generally all around cool and Kevin Spacey-like, how can you take Advanced Warfare seriously? With characters so steeped in stereotype, it's painful and the story so by-the-books, a dentist appointment would be more exciting, you have to not take it seriously to enjoy the game.
Pushing the AI partners into corners, melee frenzies, knocking over stuff in the environments and generally getting caught up in the Call of Duty spectacle - you name it, I did it. Pointless you might say, but when you've pushed your entire AI squad into the President's toilet on five hours of sleep because they're generally useless and don't help at all, it's damn hilarious. The point I'm trying to make here is, with the movement towards getting gaming recognised as a "serious art form" (which it indeed should be) there seem to be more and more "serious games" when not all games that classify themselves as such, should be. Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty as a whole, definitely falls into that category. Allow me to explain - due to Call of Duty being such a long running franchise, it has devolved into something that is almost a parody of itself and the genre it represents. Similar long running franchises, Assassin's Creed immediately springs to mind, are falling into the same pitfall. They're losing their edge.
These games are the blockbuster spectacles and supposedly the best that the AAA developers have to offer - filled with fantastical characters, environments and heaps of gratuitous violence, generally backed to stories so amazingly cliché and absurd, these types of games are just begging for a slightly less serious tone at times. The Saints Row series is one that has managed to strike the balance between fun and serious quite well and thus has managed to carve out a more unique identity for itself. If Saints Row can do it, then why not Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed?
Pushing the AI partners into corners, melee frenzies, knocking over stuff in the environments and generally getting caught up in the Call of Duty spectacle - you name it, I did it. Pointless you might say, but when you've pushed your entire AI squad into the President's toilet on five hours of sleep because they're generally useless and don't help at all, it's damn hilarious. The point I'm trying to make here is, with the movement towards getting gaming recognised as a "serious art form" (which it indeed should be) there seem to be more and more "serious games" when not all games that classify themselves as such, should be. Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty as a whole, definitely falls into that category. Allow me to explain - due to Call of Duty being such a long running franchise, it has devolved into something that is almost a parody of itself and the genre it represents. Similar long running franchises, Assassin's Creed immediately springs to mind, are falling into the same pitfall. They're losing their edge.
These games are the blockbuster spectacles and supposedly the best that the AAA developers have to offer - filled with fantastical characters, environments and heaps of gratuitous violence, generally backed to stories so amazingly cliché and absurd, these types of games are just begging for a slightly less serious tone at times. The Saints Row series is one that has managed to strike the balance between fun and serious quite well and thus has managed to carve out a more unique identity for itself. If Saints Row can do it, then why not Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed?
Gaming needs more Kevin Spacey
Imagine how much more fun Advanced Warfare would have been if, say, everyone had been played by Kevin Spacey. When you have these unique selling points you should use them to your fullest advantage because it's sad to see once brilliant game franchises slowly fall due to lack of imagination and fun.
Anyway, did you play (and like) Advanced Warfare? Or are you done with the Call of Duty franchise?
Anyway, did you play (and like) Advanced Warfare? Or are you done with the Call of Duty franchise?
RSS Feed
