3. Not Even The Staple Multiplayer Can Save It
For those of you annoyed that I have just spent 1,000 words ripping into a campaign that only a minority of the fanbase will actually play, dont go anywhere because I have a thrashing to deliver here too. What surprises me most is that I wasnt even expecting this level of pure laziness from Infinity Ward. First off, as usual there is no shortage of game modes to choose from. All your favorites are back ranging from Team Deathmatch to Kill Confirmed to Infected and more. Theres also a brand new mode called Cranked which is interesting. Its a variation of Team Deathmatch where getting a kill automatically grants you multiple perks that affect your agility, reloading, and shooting. The setback is that if you dont obtain another kill within in 30 seconds you will explode. If you cant tell, its ridiculously fast paced and frenetic, resulting in everyone dashing across the map, palms sweaty seeking a kill. On that front, Call of Duty delivers as usual leaving you with a plethora of modes to pick and rotate between. Its the layout of the maps that I take issue with. I can understand wanting to design maps as open ended as possible to eliminate those cockroaches known as campers. The maps here however may as well be incoherent mazes where youre open to get shot at any moments notice. Furthermore, the spawn system is undeniably atrociously bad as youre again, open to die within 5 seconds of spawning. Its almost as if Infinity Ward put forth no real effort in tightening up their map designs, leaving us with a nonstop headache of chaotic environments and death. Its actually pretty embarrassing that Infinity Ward is also charging $50 for a Season Pass of map packs when whats initially here is an unmitigated disaster. I hope you werent planning on buying early in hopes that you could get in some playing time before the cheaters and hackers taint the entire competitive experience, because those clowns have already done so. The current online leaderboards are a laughingstock featuring absurd statistics like people having 2 billion kills or having played for 99 days already. I fully understand Infinity Ward isnt necessarily at fault here but it still carries a pretty lofty negative stigma.