Call of Duty and the Endless Sequels

The most obvious reason is due to its predictability. Every year the top selling games will be a FIFA game or a first person shooter – a Battlefield or a Call of Duty or a Gears of War (Which is, admittedly, a third person series. But still). Some of these series have been around for two decades and have long since ceased to bring anything original or exciting to the genre. Though other mediums do this – think of the lastest sad Pirates of the Carribbean outfit or albums from X Factor drop outs – it is endemic amongst video games to a far greater extent. Perhaps it is symptomatic of a heavily corporatized culture that distrusts risk but I can’t think of any games that truly revolutionised the way I viewed video games since the PlayStation 2’s Okami. Mario has done almost every single profession - work, sport, or otherwise; and there are now more than six hundred Pokémon, something which would be much less appealing to my eight year old self. Increasingly the Call of Duty series have become a series of disjointed missions wrapped round a story that reads like the paranoid ramblings of a Cold War fantasist who can’t quite believe its over crossed with a jingoistic flag-raise straight out of the Military of Defence.

You might think it harsh to criticise games companies for sticking to what’s popular. "If it ain’t broke don’t fix it" is a valid point. But when the overall trend in games is towards sequels and more sequels the overall tone is one of stagnation. Though there are many games in the independent sector which are delightfully innovative – last year’s Limbo and Amnesia: The Dark Descent and the plethora of smartphone game apps – the general trend is for more of the same. The main fear of this is that it pigeonholes video games – still seen through the veil of cultural snobbery by many and usually featuring in a tabloid scare story – into attractions solely orientated for young adolescent boys.

There have been attempts to branch out – The Wii brought in the casual crowd but the question is how many will stay and how many Wii Fit boxes will gather dust next to the last fad to gather pace. If the video game industry is to avoid becoming sealed off and ridiculed as it launches sequel after sequel, it must make ground-breaking reforms. Personally it would be nice to see the launch of many strong, relatable female characters, too often skimpily attired and nothing more than semi-pornographic window dressing; Samus in Metroid. I’m not arguing for video game gender politics; I don’t believe that girls need to play girl characters to have fun, but introducing rounded female heroines would possibly lead to the abandoning of tired tropes. It might help clear up the sometimes foul atmosphere of online gaming as anyone who’s attempted to play on Xbox Live will sometimes feel, though the cynic on me thinks it might provoke the opposite response.

What else would I start? A movement away from the gritty realism that has bedevilled our gaming screens the last 5 years. Video games are obsessed with completion tokens that allow the gamer to rejoice in how hardcore they are rather than any fun they had with the game. Though this is not to say achievements can’t exist, they should come secondary to enjoyment. I would like to see some investment in a plot that hasn’t been ripped out the back of The Beano and focus on gaming structure above all else. Too many games plonk you in the middle of the world and feed you the sugary treats of an obese plot structure that doesn’t go anywhere. While not railroading you, the player should feel that his efforts mean something, when often in ‘sandbox’ games you feel increasingly bogged down. And a ban on video game covers with a heavily armoured soldier striding through a dusty gritty landscape (viz. every first person shooter since 2007). That would really make me happy.

Add Comment

You must log in to submit a comment.