In the gaming battleground of 2013, “Call of Duty: Ghosts” shook things up. Breaking free from WWII and Modern Warfare, it plunged into a near future filled with tactical thrills and futuristic firepower. The campaign wove a gripping tale, while multiplayer introduces “Squads “and orbital strikes, turning battles into strategic showdowns. But what was the real game-changer? Let’s find out.
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Development & Origin
On February 7, 2013, Activision officially announced the development of a new Call of Duty game slated for release in Q4 2013. Anticipating lower sales than its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, on seventh-generation consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360), the company attributed this projection to the transition to next-generation consoles.
Call of Duty: Ghosts marked the initiation of a new subseries coinciding with the release of Sony and Microsoft’s eighth-generation consoles. The game was expected to showcase a new engine developed by the studio, initially described as entirely new but later clarified as an upgraded version of the engine used in previous titles. Additionally, the game employed Umbra Software’s rendering too, Umbra 3, for optimization purposes such as occlusion culling, a method to enhance the rendering process of large environments by filtering out hidden objects.
Treyarch developed the Wii U version of the game. During the development of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Infinity Ward prioritized frame rate over display resolution. The goal was to achieve a consistent 60 frames per second across all platforms. While the game ran at 1080p on PlayStation 4, the Xbox One was limited to 720p while maintaining the targeted frame rate. Despite this, a release day patch was still required for PlayStation 4 version to reach 1080p due to a “configuration issue”.
Call of Duty: Ghosts – Gameplay
Campaign:
Characters And Setting
Set in the near future, Call of Duty: Ghosts unfolds against the backdrop of the Middle East’s nuclear devastation, leading to the formation of the federation of the Americans by oil-producing Latin American nations. Emerging as a global superpower, the Federation swiftly invades and conquest Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico in response to the ensuing global economic crisis.
At the forefront of the narrative are the Ghosts, a group of U.S. Special Operations personnel specially trained for clandestine missions behind enemy lines. Captain Elias Walker, a retired U.S. Army officer portrayed by Stephen Lang, leads the team, which includes his sons Logan and David “Hesh” Walker (played by Brandon Routh), along with the skilled German Shepherd named Riley. Other key members include Captain Thomas A. Merrick (Jeffrey Pierce) and Gunnery Sergeant Keegan P. Russ (Brian Bloom).
The central antagonist is Gabriel T. Rorke (Kevin Gage), the former leader of the Ghosts who becomes affiliated with the Federation after undergoing capture, torture, and brainwashing, fueled by hallucinogens.
Storyline
In 2014, the Tel Aviv War triggered a global oil crisis, leading to the rise of the Federation of Americans in South America. Three years later, the Federation used the Orbital Defense Initiative (ODIN) to devastate parts of the U.S. Southwest. The Walker family narrowly escapes San Diego’s destruction.
A decade later, the Federation expanded into Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. The U.S. faces a bloody statement, with a front known as “No Man’s Land”. Brothers Hesh and Logan, part of a special unit led by their father, Elias, joined the Ghosts-an elite coalition. Elias reveals that Federation agent Gabriel T. Rorke was once a Ghost leader manipulated by the Federation.
The Ghosts capture Rorke, uncover plans for a new superweapon, and launch counterattacks. After major victories, including destroying the Federation the Federation’s orbital system LOKI, the Ghosts are captured by Rorke. Despite a last-ditch U.S. Navy assault, Elias is executed. Hash and Logan, defying orders, pursue Rorke, who survives and captures Logan, aiming to turn into a Federation agent.
Extinction:
Setting And Characters
In an alternate reality stemming from the aftermath of the initial Ghosts campaign mission, the ODIN strike unearths ancient creatures named Cryptids, unleashing them, upon humanity. Players assume the role of an elite unnamed soldier, with their appearances derived from their multiplayer character. The narrative centers on two key figures, Doctor Samantha Cross (played by Ali Hillis), a researcher involved in the Nightfall Program studying Cryptid origins, and Captain David Archer (portrayed by Dave B. Mitchell), the leader of the Nightfall Program.
Storyline
Following the Federation’s assault on ODIN Station, a stray missile struck Caldera Peak, Colorado, unearthing a dormant colony of ancient creatures known as Cryptids. Seizing this opportunity, the Cryptids’ masters. The Ancestors. Commanded them to awaken and wreak havoc. Task Force Specter was deployed to eliminate the Cryptids and through successful. Remnants were collected by Nightfall, a research program led by Captain David Archer, aiming to unravel the creature’s origins.
Doctor Samantha Cross, a Nightfall researcher, succumbed to the Ancestor’s influence, causing an outbreak at the facility. Archer and Cross were the sole survivors. CIF Team One was sent to rescue them but Archer, seeking another Cryptid site, secretly departed on a destroyer vessel. Over the next three weeks, Archer experimented on Cross, discovering her ability to control Cryptid Arks globally. Cross, under the Ancestors’ control, summoned the Kraken to defend the Cryptid colony.
CIF Team One returned to eliminate Cross, per deal with their handler, General “Godfather” Castle. However, Cross, now in the Cryptid Ark, formed a temporary alliance with the Archer. CIF Team One retrieved the Cortex, a device containing Ancestor brain tissue, extracted Cross, and left Archer behind.
During the return journey, Cryptids attacked CIF Team One, stranding them in the outbreak. Over the next three months, Cryptids overran U.S. military centers. General Castle, leading the remnants, ordered CIF Team One to protest the Exodus launch site. As the operation unfolded, Cross, now in contact with the survivors, urged the CIF Team. One is to activate the Medusa, a psionic weapon to eradicate Cryptids. In a final stand, Castle commanded his men against Cryptid siege.
With safe passage to the space station, Cross recognized her vital role. Agreeing to be placed in a Beacon Amplifier, she harnessed her powers for the Exodus program’s future descendants, ensuring humanity’s chance against Cryptid extinction.
Call of Duty: Ghosts – Features
Campaign
Call of Duty: Ghosts primarily unfold from the perspective of Logan Walker, the main protagonist. The narrative also allows players to experience the story through various other playable characters, such as Baker, an astronaut specialist; Sergeant Thompson; Elias Walker, a member of Icarus and Logan ‘s father; and the unique option to play as Riley, a German Shepherd, marking the franchise’s first non-human playable character.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer mode in Call of Duty: Ghosts introduces several changes compared to previous installments. Notably, maps now have destructible or. Alterable areas. A new kill streak reward, the KEM Strike, functions like a nuke. Players can attain the ODIN kill streak by accumulating kills or eliminating the top player on the opposing team, followed by completing various challenges after picking up a dropped blue briefcase. Sniper rifle Scopes incorporate “dual render technology “, enabling players to see the surroundings outside their scope when zoomed in, albeit in a blurred manner.
A new multiplayer type called Squads was unveiled on October 3, allowing players to build and face other squads globally. The player’s squad can be leveled up and behave as an independent unit. The game includes maps like “Octane”, “Prison Break”, “Tremor”, “Stormfront”, “Siege”, “Warhawk”, “Sovereign”, “Overlord”, “Flooded”, “Strikezone”,” Whiteout”, “Stonehaven”, and “Chasm”. The dynamic map “Free Fall” was a pre-order bonus. Notably, the game introduces playable female soldiers.
Squads
In Call of Duty: Ghosts a new game type Squads is introduced, playable either solo or with friends. A squad comprises ten customizable characters, and various games involve both AI-controlled enemies and AI-controlled squad mates. The available game modes include Squad Assault, Safeguard, Safeguard Infinite, Squad vs Squad, and War-game, all of which are playable online or offline
In Squad Vs Squad, two opposing players engage in team deathwatch using their customized Squads. The game sets the player and five squad mates against a team of enemy bots. In Safeguard, the player and up to three friends participate in a wave-based survival match, resembling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Survival Mode, with the added elements of perks and score streaks.
Call of Duty: Ghosts – Multiplayer Game Modes
Call of Duty: Ghosts presents a variety of traditional and new multiplayer game modes, including,
- Search and Rescue: A twist on Search and Destroy, allowing team revives instead of single-life rounds, combining Kill Confirmed Teamwork Search and Destroy objectives.
- Gun Game: Players start with a pistol and progress to a new weapon with each kill, cycling through all available weapons.
- Cranked: A team-baser mode where the first team to earn 100 kills. Players become “cranked” after a kill, with 30 seconds to secure another kill or explode. Movement speed increases, and other enhancements come into play when “cranked”.
- Free for All: The classic mode where players aim to reach 30 kills against seven opponents within a 10-minute time limit.
- Team Deathmatch: Returning with two teams, a 10-minute limit, and a 75-kill limit.
- Search and Destroy: Teams face off, one planting a bomb, the other defending. No respawns and the game concludes after one team secures four rounds.
- Domination: Players vie for control of three flags, earning every five seconds. The first team to 200 points wins.
- Team Tactical: Objective-based games involving four on four matches.
- Kill Confirmed: Similar to Team Deathmatch, players drop dog tags upon kills, collecting which award points. The first team to 100 points wins
- Infected: Other player starts infected, spreading the infection to others. Up to 18 players on advanced platforms, with various loadouts and scenarios.
- Blitz: The team aims to reach a portal at the enemy’s spawn while preventing opponents from reaching their Portals close temporarily upon capture.
- Hunted free for all: Starting with limited equipment, players compete for additional weapons and ammo in crates. The game mode has a 25-kill limit.
- Ground War: A playlist with Domination and Team Deathmatch, accommodating 12-18 players and a 100-kill limit for TDM on advanced platforms.
- Drop Zone: Teams capture drop zones for points, with a care package dropping every 15 seconds of objective holding.
Acclaims and Awards – Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Duty: Ghosts received both “mixed or average “and “generally favorable “reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
IGN praised it by saying
“Sweeping changes that breathe new life into the multiplayer experience”.
And called the campaign as
“Lengthy, challenging, and varied.”
GameSpot provided an enthusiastic review of the campaign in the Call of Duty: Ghosts, describing it as “impressive” and a “terrific collection of shootouts and set pieces”. The new character customization feature and multiplayer game types, especially Extinction, were praised as “tremendous fun “with “an interesting strategic dynamic”. Conversely, PC gamers had a less favorable view, characterizing the campaign as “exciting but only passively entertaining “and criticizing the multiplayer for its “whack-a-mole” feel. VideoGamer.com expressed appreciation for the refined and enjoyable overall gameplay compared to Black Ops 2 but criticized the campaign, labeling it a “po-faced, nonsensical rehash of hits long past”.
Eurogamer, however, commented as
“The Ghosts campaign can’t help but feel like a step backward but that it is still capable of being devilishly entertaining and moment-to-moment thrills are still there, if muted by expectation”.
Call Of Duty: PFP
It refers to a profile picture or avatar associated with the video game “Call of Duty: Ghosts”. In online and gamin contexts, pfp stands for “profile picture” and individuals often use custom profile pictures to showcase their interest, affiliation, or enthusiasm for a specific game or franchise. In this case, the mention of call of duty pfp suggests the use of an image featuring the character of Ghost who is knowingly the most favorite character throughout the game. If someone wants to change the pfp to Ghost on any of his social media accounts, he can find them from different sources, such as Pinterest, and Reddit. etc.
Sales – Call of Duty: Ghosts
While Call of Duty: Ghosts achieved this impressive milestone of shipping $1 billion worth of units of retail channels within the first 24 hours of its launch, its overall sales figures fell short compared to the 2012 release, Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Activision attributed the decline in demand to the uncertainty stemming from the imminent transition to eighth-generation consoles. As of February 2014, the game had sold over 19 million copies through physical retail channels.
Final Word
The journey never stopped nor did expectations of the spectators for even better. The upcoming sequels unfold much more astonishment in the path of Call of Duty. Stay tuned!
