Essays 09 June 2020, 16:38

The Best Contemporary Video Game Series

We love excellent games, but we love excellent series even more. Here is our editorial selection of the best (active) video game series.

14. Call of Duty

Developer: Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games
First game release year: 2003
Number of main installments: 16

Who would have thought that another title using the popularity of the World War II theme in games would prove so significant... at first it was going to be an even better version of the famous Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, when a couple of MoH authors led by Vince Zampella created their own team and their own game. And they did it. Call of Duty broke away from a familiar formula introduced by Wolfenstein and continued by Doom, in which the "lone eliminates entire battalions of enemies. The game added dynamic cinematic action to the gameplay, present throughout the campaign, rather than just at one stage. Later, the creators had the courage to break out of the habit of flooding the market with more titles about World War II and released something very fresh at the time – Modern Warfare!

The contemporary war trilogy attracted players with wonderfully created characters, which players grew to love over the movie-like campaign filled with powerful sequences. The highly engaging multiplayer was also a strong asset there. Though over time the series has moved to a rather futuristic vibe, it seems to have come back recently with a successful reboot – and it's no surprise that it was Modern Warfare. The return of favorite characters, the formula, and the well-remembered atmosphere turned out to be a bull’s-eye for the Call of Duty series. It's a prime example of how much we like to go back to "songs we already know."

A series that has been around for years and continues to generate controversy. We say (and we're often right) that the next CoD is just an old chestnut. However the fact that millions still buy it shows that it's not that old after all. Call of Duty, as strange as it may seem, primarily serves a social function for me. In the age of lockdown, it allowed me to maintain a social life and hang out with friends in Verdansk.

Matthias Pawlikowski

More about the Call Of Duty series

Table of Contents

14. Call of Duty