The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series has made a rod for its own back. ‘Difficult second album’ syndrome for artists is far worse for game developers, and spiraling expectations will trip you up if you don’t have an incredibly clever plan set in place for future editions. Sequel parameters in modern gaming are limited only by the collective imaginations of those with their names in the credits, which on paper roughly translates to: ‘Make everything similar, but better and with bigger explosions than before.’
This is truer nowhere than in the Modern Warfare series, the third and most recent release in which, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, is set during and just after an international World War III. It’s a stunning game, but it begs one serious question: where the hell do you go from there?
A bit of background: the Call of Duty franchise – initially launched as a World War II FPS in the mould of Medal of Honour – has, since 2006, been handed back and forth between two game studios on an annual basis. In the current console generation, Treyarch has made World at War and the record-melting Call of Duty: Black Ops (ie. the ones with Nazi Zombies). Infinity Ward is the team behind the equally bombastic Modern Warfare series.
Activision publishes a CoD title each year in time for the Christmas rush, clearly under the belief that a problem shared is a problem halved, and rightly so.You’d never be able to carve and launch a completely fresh title in a 12 month timeframe without staff members dying, while the kind of variety offered by two teams is the spice of gaming life. But I can’t help but feel that one of these studios has employed a bit more forward thinking (or future-proofing) than the other.
World at War and Black Ops have set the tone for Treyarch’s CoD entries. They feature a selection of missions plucked from all across the globe, but also from multiple time periods and set within a myriad conflicts – both real and fictitious. It’s all tied together with just enough plot to count as having one, but not too much as to detract from the act of painting the scenery red with brain matter. The upshot is that Treyarch can continue unabated, picking decades and settings out of its bloodied hat until you end up playing as a minion in Genghis Khan’s Mongolian army.
Infinity Ward can’t do this. The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series has to feature just that: modern warfare, which would be fine if the latest hadn’t taken place during the pinnacle of such things: the next World War. Don’t misread any of this: it’s undoubtedly a top, brutally visceral and cinematic game, but there is a general rumble from the deluge of online reviews that even this is a bit too ‘more of the same’ for comfort.
As if echoing this, Modern Warfare 3 has failed to topple the opening week UK sales record currently held by Black Ops. So what’s next? It’ll need to be something special. With EA’s Battlefield 3 sporting a new, arguably superior graphics engine and generally presenting a bit of fresh competition in the shooter season charts, Infinity Ward has two years to impress.
This presents us, Infinity Ward and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as an entity with two possible routes:
Option one is to abandon the Modern Warfare sub-heading altogether. This’ll allow the team to cast the self-made shackles aside in favour of a new setting and a new identity. The series could even see a return to its World War II roots with a remake of the 2003 original, a la Halo: Combat evolved Anniversary.
The big problem here is that the MW franchise is a cash-spewing mainstay. It’s one that the Activation money counters won’t want to give up. “Call of Duty is more than a game. It’s become a major part of the pop cultural landscape. It is a game that core enthusiasts love,” says Activision’s Eric Hirshberg. He knows it sells, and what sells is unlikely to die. Just look at the Simpsons.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 trailer:
Option two is a more tantalising one, anyway. As mentioned, Infinity Ward has a two year timeframe. With rumours already clogging the web about an Xbox 720 landing soon, could the next installment eschew the current crop to star on a brand new generation of consoles? If the Xbox 720 and/or PS4 land in 2013, it’ll be a perfect, blockbuster launch title.
Ex Activision exec Robin Kaminsky has the right idea: “For traditional games to grow, I believe a new generation of consoles is needed; consoles with real innovation and the resulting onslaught of new IP and innovative gameplay,” he said in August. “Ideally these consoles will bring a breakthrough on how games are played or what kind of game experience can be delivered.”
Let’s not forget that the Nintendo Wii U launch is just around the corner. While not a graphical leap ahead of the Xbox 360 or PS3, it does throw open some great potential for new gaming techniques and ways to play. “Treyarch is seeking a Senior Platform Engineer for a position on the team bringing our hugely successful game to a new console,” read a recent job ad.
If the Black Ops team are looking ahead, you know Infinity Ward is too. Whatever happens, you can guarantee that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will be a very different beast to Modern Warfare 3. It’ll have to be, or there’ll be outcry.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below…
