Opposing the expected - My experience with Call of Duty

Yesterday was a fairly significant event in terms of modern video games. The next installment of the widely acclaimed Call of Duty series was released, and the fans went berserk. The game was a success, boasting a short but powerful conclusion to the Modern Warfare series and what is apparently the pinnacle of Call of Duty online multiplayer. Nearly all of my friends rushed to the nearest retailer to purchase a copy.

I accompanied them on their short trip, with my intentions unsure. I guess wouldn't have minded getting the game itself, but I wasn't a fan of spending a large amount of money on a game I don't really like. And here's where the issue begins, I don't like fun video games?! Am I ill?

We reached EB games, which was packed full of wanting CoD fans. I cautiously grappled my cash and searched for a better purchase. All of my friends walked over to the counter with a copy of the game immediately, so I quickly followed. One by one, they handed over their cash in exchange for the game. Soon it was my turn to pay up.

The cashier woman didn't hesitate. 'Same as them?' I thought for a moment, looking around the store, and came up with my answer.

'No, actually, i'd just like to pre-order Zelda Skyward Sword'

The lady looked slightly surprised, but completed my request. I walked away with my receipt to meet my friends. They looked at what I had and grinned. One of them said, 'Man, only you would walk into a store full of people wanting CoD and get Zelda instead.'

And that's where I once again come to the topic of this article - apparently this is an issue to some people?



Just to clarify - None of this is because I hate Call of Duty. I do not hate Call of Duty, I do happen to own Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops - I just don't play or enjoy them as much as I would do with other games. So don't just think of me as a hater who's complaining about the series.

The ironic thing is that that no matter how much I seem to pass off these games, I always seem to end up owning one, whether it is on my own account, or a gift from a friend trying to convince me to play (usually the latter).

My experience started some time ago when I was invited some time ago to a friend's insanely nerdy party at an internet cafe, where we all hunched up behind a computer and played us 'dem videya gaems. We started off playing a huge session of DoTA and Left 4 Dead. It was all very enjoyable, when the person next to me, who was browsing the list of available games, suggested we play some Call of Duty 4. Everyone agreed, so we proceeded to play it. It was fun for a while, and everyone was really enjoying it, but after a while, I found myself feeling bored of the repetitive gameplay, and convinced some other people to move over to another section of the cafe with me. Together, we enjoyed an antisocial session of Battle for Middle Earth 2, while the majority of the party remained playing CoD 4.

Of course, I can't argue that DoTA or Left 4 Dead may not share the same repetitive values that Call of Duty had at the time, they probably do for a lot of other gamers. I just think that they're a lot more fun and challenging than mindless shooting.



One thing I do have a problem with though, and I know that this argument has been expressed many times over on this website and probably lots of others, is the fact that children half my age are abusing these types of games - Call of Duty, Grand theft Auto and what not. My issue is not that they are playing them, though, but the fact that they could be having so much more fun playing games that I was exposed to when I was a wee boy, and their parents wouldn't constantly bicker about their suitability for their children.

When I was a child, I was fascinated by nearly every Nintendo game, and a ton of RPGs. I don't see why kids couldn't be playing something like Final Fantasy (Which in my opinion, is a lot more fun and challenging) instead of Call of Duty. But again, I guess if they really enjoy it, and their parents are fine with it, I can't really judge (although that is a strange method of parenting).

It's not that I hate Call of Duty, or the amount of time I've spent playing it, it's just that I think that there are a lot more games out there that are so much better, and deserve nearly twice the popularity and fame that CoD receives. I'd like to hear your opinions, though, what do you think of Call of Duty?