My Top 5 Favorite Call Of Duty Games

Hello fellow Otaku & Metalheads, and welcome......to Call of Duty month.

Now, I heard a few growns from the crowd, and some of you probably just left the room, and to a certain degree I can’t blame you. With a new title being released each year, the game market is essentially flooded with releases from this franchise. Hell, even a life long fan of Call of Duty such as myself, can’t completely deny the faults this series has. However, when CoD works, it actually friggen works! To start things off, I wanted to talk about the Call of Duty titles that I happen to enjoy. The ones I think exemplify how good Call of Duty can actually be! The titles that actually have some effort & care put into them! So with that out of the way, here are my top 5 favorite Call of Duty games of all time. Enjoy!

5) Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (Trailer)

We begin this list with one of the most recent Call of Duty titles, and boy oh boy did this stir the hive! I dropped my jaw with the sheer amount of vitriol that the first trailer got, and how much it still gets to this day. It’s a crying shame, as Infinite Warfare is perhaps the freshest title out of what I consider to be the “Modern” era of Call of Duty. I absolutely loved the futuristic vibe of this. The space combat was thrilling, the ground combat was cool & filled with neat gadgets, the zombies mode a lighthearted take on the established mini-game, and even the multiplayer, despite some flaws, is a blast to play! If you’re willing to put the hate aside, you’ll find Infinite Warfare to be a modern classic. See you up in space!

4) Call of Duty (Trailer)

It wouldn’t be right to leave the original off this list. In many ways the very first Call of Duty title has become something of an oddball when compared to pretty much every other game since it’s release. There’s health pickups instead of regenerating health, you can save anywhere (Although there were still some checkpoints), and the multiplayer wasn’t peer-to-peer yet. However, for those who’ve come into the franchise recently, 2003's Call of Duty is a glimpse into the franchise’s distant past. A time where the series wasn’t hated, and when WW2 games weren’t criticized. In recent times World War 2 has come back to Call of Duty, but I’ll cover that when the time is right. Regardless, the original Call of Duty holds up remarkably well despite it’s issues, and even gamers who despise the franchise can’t deny the quality of this title. Do yourself a favor, and give this classic a go!

3) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Trailer)

Much like the original Call of Duty, 2007's first entry into the Modern Warfare series is considered a classic (Even among critics), and for good reason. What gets this game past it’s 2003 predecessor is the simple fact that it spearheaded the movement of getting the franchise out of World War 2, and into the modern era of combat. Gone is the M1 Garand & MG42, and instead the M4 Carbine & M249 SAW take their place. Gone are the Nazis, and instead you’ve got a Middle Eastern dictator & Russian dissidents to fight. Things seem to be a bit more gritty in Modern Warfare, yet it doesn’t lose sight of what made the previous 2 games so great, and takes that quality for it’s own. Nearly a year later, Modern Warfare is still held up as an example of Call of Duty at it’s finest, and it’s a game I have fond memories of. If you want to see where all of the “modern” sensibilities come from, then look no further than Modern Warfare.

2) Call of Duty: World At War (Trailer)

Though Modern Warfare spearheaded the modernization of the themes of Call of Duty, one roadblock came up in the form of World At War. Considered to be the black sheep of the Call of Duty series due to it being the first main title released by a studio that wasn’t Infinity Ward (In this case, Treyarch), it none the less was a nice farewell to the World War 2 era of Call of Duty. It’s also the bloodiest affair in the series, as the German & Japanese soldiers can be burned & amputated with a shocking amount of realism in 2008. Many of the classic weapons from WW2-era Call of Duty return, and a few new ones make their debut as well. It’s the first time that Japanese weapons from the war are put in a player’s hands, and it’s the first time that the iconic German MG42 machinegun is portable. World at War also marks the birth of the iconic & infamous Zombies mode, and while it’s original outing is exceedingly primitive by today’s standards, it’s still a blast to play. Even the multiplayer component has something special behind it, as there were drivable tanks in some levels, along with tank perks to improve the experience in some way. Yes, World At War was another trip into WW2 after the emergence into modern times, but it was a nice way to close a chapter in this franchise’s stories history.

1) Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Trailer)

I will forever have Black Ops 2 as my number 1 Call of Duty game. After the issues starting with Modern Warfare 2 that carries over to the 2 games afterwards, Treyarch’s 2012 offering was an exceedingly massive breathe of fresh air. It gave players an unprecedented level of freedom & control that wasn’t seen in any Call of Duty game beforehand. You could pick out your weapons, grenades, equipment, and singleplayer perks. You could control where the story went, if characters lived or died, and what would eventually happen to you. Multiplayer was much more flexible as well, as you could pick & choose your weapons, equipment, and perks with more versatility than ever before. Even the Zombies mode received an overhaul, with levels that are much larger than before, and the easter eggs were much more expansive. Coupled with a futuristic setting that I felt (And still feel) was the most grounded & realistic out of the Sci-Fi based Call of Duty games. I can’t say anything else, other than Black Ops 2 is an essential title to play.

So those were my top 5 favorite Call of Duty releases of all time. I hope you enjoyed this list, as I have more CoD content coming in the next few weeks. In fact, I’ll see you all next week, when I’ll take a look at the original Modern Warfare. Until then, have a nice rest of the week.