“Ghosts are real.”
The next generation of the Call of Duty franchise is already here, and truthfully, it looks quite breathtaking (no, we are not jumping into a direct comparison with EA’s Battlefield 4).
The revelation came at the Xbox One unveiling event on Tuesday where Infinity Ward was present to provide a first-hand glimpse of what to expect in the future. And although it was a just a trailer video, rather than a full gameplay, it was definitely a treat for the eyes.
While there’s still a lot to be delivered in terms of gameplay details and additional features about Ghosts, the development team has already promised that the next generation of Call of Duty will deliver a fresh new experience, new in-game world, and a new engine.
Moreover, the game is set in a time when America is crippled by an attack, and that the player is part of an elite force sent to respond to the threat. The game's story is being brought to life by Stephen Gaghan, the writer of Traffic.
Recently, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg, during the unveiling of the game at Microsoft’s headquarters, according to a Forbes report, stated that “people have been asking for years now how long can Call of Duty last and whether or not this franchise is ever going to crest. The only ‘problem’ is (and it’s not a problem for Activision, but perhaps for other publishers) that the franchise continues to grow.”
“By every measurement, Call of Duty has never been stronger,” Hirshberg added. “Sales of the game and DLC and the number of daily users and number of hours played, even the video views, are at all-time highs. This is a franchise on the rise after all this time, which is pretty remarkable. Call of Duty is still relevant and growing and thriving.”
Similar to the previous Call of Duty games, Microsoft’s console will receive the downloadable content for Ghosts before any other console, and this includes the likes of different map packs and other DLC for Call of Duty: Ghosts. So does this mean that even Xbox 360 gamers will have to wait for the DLCs while their upgraded counterparts already start enjoying them? The tone of the announcement certainly seems to indicate that.
Going by the launch trailer, it seems like Ghosts will have a lot of help obtained from the in-game dogs, and Infinity Ward says that this is something people will care about (explanation: maybe because they are man’s best friend). The dog (or dogs) will help sniffing out bombs and alert the team in case of a dangerous situation.
To make the dog look life-like, the team even took motion capture footage of a real dog with people playing its handlers.
However, the information that everybody really cares about at this point of time is any sort of news related to the game’s multiplayer mode. And although it is being said that Xbox One will support more players in multiplayer matches, Infinity Ward has yet to mention if there are larger maps in the new game.
Nonetheless, a lot is expected from the multiplayer section after it was reported, via IGN, that the “game's multiplayer maps will shift and move as play progresses. Earthquakes, explosions, and loads of other changes can be triggered on the multiplayer maps. None of these changes should favor one team over the other, but they should add a bit of activity to the otherwise static maps.”
As of now, Call of Duty: Ghosts is set for a Nov. 5 release, and there is every chance that Xbox One users might get hold of the game earlier.
