Everybody hates it so much that they murdered it. It came back as Ghosts!
Or something like that.
Intro:
Another year, another Call of Duty, another KVR Gaming compulsory Review or Areas of Concern. What can I say? But heck, although a majority of you may already have picked this up when it first came out, I'm still doing this.
Basic Plot:
When a huge, unexpected strike comes from a super cannon thingy in space and destroys America, America must fight back to regain America from South America, and so America decided to make an elite band of soldiers known as Ghosts.
They try and save America.
Release Date: November 2013.
Developer: Infinity Ward.
Publisher: Activision.
Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC.
Genre: First Person Shooter.
Reviewed By: Kyle van Rensburg.
Areas of Concern:
Violence:
Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive
NOTE: For the sake of brevity, we have chosen to select only the most intense acts of violence in the game.
--People can be shot, sometimes in slow-motion: Blood sprays out, staining the environment, and cries of pain are heard as their bodies spasm in reaction to the bullets. In one sequence a man is shot several times in his side, blood pooling out beneath him, and is finally shot in the head. (Not shown)
--Several sequences feature knife violence: Blood sprays out as the knife is plunged in and cries of pain are heard. In an underwater level, blood flows out, and in space, blood sprays and hangs in the air.
-In a featured sequence, your character stabs a man in the knee and the throat. Your ally brutally chops a guy in the shoulder and neck with a hatchet several times with blood spurting out in large amounts. This happens quickly.
--A dog can attack people, grabbing them by the throat, blood spraying, killing them.
--There are SEVERAL sequences where explosions go off, strewing wreckage everywhere and knocking people back. Lots of detail are shown in these intense sequences. Your character can also throw grenades, lay mines/claymores, and shoot explosive projectiles, with the same results.
--A sequence depicts an injury inflicted upon an animal. It turns to be okay.
Sex/Nudity:
Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive
--One of the multiplayer maps has a building with the headlines: "All nude girls" and "Pinkieez Gentleman's Club". Inside, we see some poles, and silhouette paintings of women in slightly suggestive poses.
Language:
Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive
Semi-Frequent Uses of F**k, S**t, A*s, B**t**d, B**ch, H**l, D**n, and an obscene gesture.
--God's name is used in vain.
Spiritual Content:
Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive
--List of symbols:
-Skulls (Death).
-Pentagrams (Satanism).
-Lightning bolt (Lucifer falling from Heaven).
--A superweapon is called ODIN, after a major god in Norse mythology.
--A man briefly mentions that they point dead soldiers towards their homes, so that when they reach the other side, they can watch over them.
Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking:
Mild Moderate Heavy Very Heavy Extreme Offensive
--We see a pack of cigarettes.
Morality:
Abysmal Bad So-so Okay Good Very Good
While it may generally be considered good, there are a few very brief but disturbing scenes where soldiers execute surrendered enemies at close range in a very deliberate way.Otherwise, this is your standard blockbuster story: Good guys save the day and keep the bad guys at bay. Yay!
Themes:
-Female Soldiers: It's notable that the developers gave people the choice to play as female soldiers in the multiplayer arena. Now while this is just a game, and the reasons may not be to promote any agendas, it may still not sit all that well with the conservative side of gamers.
I personally don't mind this inclusion.
Thoughts & Impressions:
I decided to take a different route with these sections and give you excerpts from popular gaming review sites, and sums up their thoughts, along with my own:
IGN: (8.8) Call of Duty: Ghosts isn't a reinvention of the franchise, but proves there's still room for innovation within its existing formula. Though at the risk of overcomplicating things at times, its robust multiplayer gameplay, surprisingly fun co-op modes, and lengthy, challenging, and varied campaign makes Ghosts one of the best Call of Duty games to date.
GamesRadar: (4/5) Ghosts is a cookie cutter game with a little touch of alien frosting on top. However, the well-designed multiplayer maps, soldier customization, and polished gameplay is more than enough to sink your teeth into.
Destructoid: (5/10) Contrary to the old saying, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Black Ops II demonstrated that with style. Ghosts, however, is a dog that simply doesn't want to change. It knows what it is, and sticks with it. It would be a respectable endeavor, if it didn't lead to such an underwhelming and predictable little product. What a sleepy, sleepy dog.
Edge: (7/10) Many will be satisfied by the simple existence of a COD game on the day next-gen hardware launches, but this is a missed opportunity nonetheless. The studio that defined the console FPS in the current generation has declined to do the same here. By the time it gets another chance, it may be too late.
My Thoughts: If you decide to skip over this instalment, life will still be the same, and in fact, you'll not have missed a thing.
The story is disappointing and lacks significant depth, beyond a very superficial familial thematic. Also, why the cliffhanger ending?
At the end of the day, the people who wanted to pick this up will have already done so. The people who hate Call of Duty won't have. And the small amount of people who are undecided?
My advice to you: Honestly, there are much better games. Stay this one out.
Well, in my humble opinion, there's not much to be concerned about here if you are familiar with shooters.
Bloody but not too graphic violence, this is all like a PG-13 rated movie, complete with only one F-word. That isn't a justification, in case you're wondering, but simply a mere statement.
Sure, the violence is a bit stronger than a PG-13 you might say, but not enough for me to drop my example. I was disturbed, however, at the random and unwarranted execution of surrendering soldiers in this game.
It was such a cruel and baseless thing to do, so why are good soldiers so uncaring in their battle to take back what's right? Doesn't make sense to me...
But otherwise, I see no problem with this game getting a Caution Advised.
The Preacher: I'm more concerned about the game's quality than the content, in my humbly correct opinion (just kidding). The Multiplayer features women as soldiers. So? Maybe that will even become a necessity at a time when more people are given the call to arms to defend what's right. But let's not get into hot topics now.
Heck, they didn't even make them incredibly attractive, so you can't argue that it's wrong based on merits that teenagers will play this game and MAYBE lust after them. Huh, even the concept sounds ridiculous...
Trent: I can understand what you're saying, but shouldn't we as parents be more concerned about what our children are playing, especially when it comes to video games that glorify death and violence, albeit in less psychopathic ways?
Ghosts is much milder than Black Ops II, or even 2011's Modern Warfare 3, but is it okay in comparison? Do we really want to have things like this in our system and on our televisions-
The Preacher: You already went over that last week. New material, please!
Trent: ...Okay, so I have gone over it a few times, but I still urge serious caution. Don't allow these games to fuel an already aggressive personality, or even make you develop one, if such a thing is possible.
IGN: (8.8) Call of Duty: Ghosts isn't a reinvention of the franchise, but proves there's still room for innovation within its existing formula. Though at the risk of overcomplicating things at times, its robust multiplayer gameplay, surprisingly fun co-op modes, and lengthy, challenging, and varied campaign makes Ghosts one of the best Call of Duty games to date.
GamesRadar: (4/5) Ghosts is a cookie cutter game with a little touch of alien frosting on top. However, the well-designed multiplayer maps, soldier customization, and polished gameplay is more than enough to sink your teeth into.
Destructoid: (5/10) Contrary to the old saying, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Black Ops II demonstrated that with style. Ghosts, however, is a dog that simply doesn't want to change. It knows what it is, and sticks with it. It would be a respectable endeavor, if it didn't lead to such an underwhelming and predictable little product. What a sleepy, sleepy dog.
Edge: (7/10) Many will be satisfied by the simple existence of a COD game on the day next-gen hardware launches, but this is a missed opportunity nonetheless. The studio that defined the console FPS in the current generation has declined to do the same here. By the time it gets another chance, it may be too late.
My Thoughts: If you decide to skip over this instalment, life will still be the same, and in fact, you'll not have missed a thing.
The story is disappointing and lacks significant depth, beyond a very superficial familial thematic. Also, why the cliffhanger ending?
At the end of the day, the people who wanted to pick this up will have already done so. The people who hate Call of Duty won't have. And the small amount of people who are undecided?
My advice to you: Honestly, there are much better games. Stay this one out.
Conclusion:
Well, in my humble opinion, there's not much to be concerned about here if you are familiar with shooters.
Bloody but not too graphic violence, this is all like a PG-13 rated movie, complete with only one F-word. That isn't a justification, in case you're wondering, but simply a mere statement.
Sure, the violence is a bit stronger than a PG-13 you might say, but not enough for me to drop my example. I was disturbed, however, at the random and unwarranted execution of surrendering soldiers in this game.
It was such a cruel and baseless thing to do, so why are good soldiers so uncaring in their battle to take back what's right? Doesn't make sense to me...
But otherwise, I see no problem with this game getting a Caution Advised.
The Preacher: I'm more concerned about the game's quality than the content, in my humbly correct opinion (just kidding). The Multiplayer features women as soldiers. So? Maybe that will even become a necessity at a time when more people are given the call to arms to defend what's right. But let's not get into hot topics now.
Heck, they didn't even make them incredibly attractive, so you can't argue that it's wrong based on merits that teenagers will play this game and MAYBE lust after them. Huh, even the concept sounds ridiculous...
Trent: I can understand what you're saying, but shouldn't we as parents be more concerned about what our children are playing, especially when it comes to video games that glorify death and violence, albeit in less psychopathic ways?
Ghosts is much milder than Black Ops II, or even 2011's Modern Warfare 3, but is it okay in comparison? Do we really want to have things like this in our system and on our televisions-
The Preacher: You already went over that last week. New material, please!
Trent: ...Okay, so I have gone over it a few times, but I still urge serious caution. Don't allow these games to fuel an already aggressive personality, or even make you develop one, if such a thing is possible.
Verdict: 15+
For Violence, Language, and Spotty Morality.
Outro:
Another one in the can. Tune in next week for an Areas of Concern of Battlefield 4. Oh and by the way, I'm trying to come up with new posts for the blog, so as soon as this month is over you'll see an onslaught of new content.
Tune in Friday for another article, and I hope you guys enjoy what's left of the week.
Writer Bio:
Kyle van Rensburg is the Editor-in-Chief of KVR Gaming. He likes cookies.
