Regardless of Trump/Parallel messaging, and the fact that the fish is pretty alright, there's a bit of a "movement" going on to "return to roots" within Call of Duty. Wondering what the GB community thinks. What do you recall being the strongest days of COD and why? What does COD mean to you?

I stumbled on this via Crave and thought it brought up some interesting conversation points. While I originally started a simple forum post - I found myself spiraling into nostalgia and wanting something more.

What I recall being great about Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare was the fact that it didn't glorify war. It was not a pseudo American military war-complex cheerleader. I thought the fact that player characters died, there was some semblance of true loss and struggle, and the historic quotes on dying that hinted at the futility of the foot soldier and war in general were great touches. Black Ops and Black Ops 2 were off base but in a decent way that told a neat story. Modern Warfare 3 is where they lost me. I don't know if it was the memories of lobbies full of friends to the point we had to move to private games in Modern Warfare 2 or the hype that led up to that release that made that game such an event. But around MW3 things started to get a bit stale - and at that time we complained of war games being too brown, gray, and dull. Even in the above picture 3/4 photos there mean nothing to me - the only one that rings a very distinct bell is the "All Ghillied Up" mission, which to this day is one of the most memorable sequences in all of gaming. Granted we've lost that. That Inifinty Ward is not the same 2016 Infinity Ward. Hell, even the guys that "made" Infinity Ward aren't that Infinity Ward(Titanfall2 hype?) That doesn't mean that we need to go all the way back to the picture in the lower left either though. To me, that doesn't inspire hype, or any feeling reminiscent of enjoyment. It looks like that gray/brown sludge that shooters became for a while.

I think there have been some interesting attempts - most notably Advanced Warfare. While not a true return to form, it was at least distinct, and the campaign explored ideas of the military-industrial complex that hadn't been touched before. I like the way AW handled quite a few things actually, and COD hasn't made all bad moves. The level of customization in AW was handled well, and offered variety, the new movement mechanics made things interesting and could result in some great traversal strings, and I had a good time.

What needs to happen? I can't say for sure, because I'm not a COD insider or game designer. What I think I'd like to see explored from a narrative standpoint is the return to "war is hell" instead of what boils down to a recruitment or a RaRa go Murica experience. I don't want the game, or any game to really make me feel awesome for killing a bunch of people, but I also don't want to feel depressed and have to think about the fact that I just killed a father/brother/son - that's not what COD is for and I honestly can't put my finger on what needs to happen. I can say that I don't envy any dev working on the series - because for each of me that wants something that isn't such a badass simulator, there's at least 10 other opinions of variation on the concept. Does Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, Treyarch lean all the way into the eSports revolution we keep getting promised? Do they lean too far into the Gears of War bro-saw? I don't know, and no one does but those developers. It's Infinity Ward's turn to crank out something, and it can't get much worse than Ghosts.

I can't say I'm invested in COD any more. That is a major bummer. I loved some of those games, and I even have a soft spot for World at War (what up Kiefer). As a part-time critic/reviewer I also have to stay up and hold out a little hope that the games that are coming our way aren't going to submit to the pressure of making the most mass-appeal oriented title. Unfortunately that's what COD is now, it needs to be mass-appeal because it sells to the masses. Like massive masses. Here's the thing though; those masses have proven that if you identify your experience, they'll appreciate a dedication to that identity. Some might not like to draw parallels to Hollywood, but it's hard to ignore the fact that Deadpool has been a smash hit rated R comic book movie due in large part to passion, and a commitment to artistic vision on the part of the directors, writers, and even the star. On the other hand though, there's a great chance that a suit at Activision has already busted into the office saying "These kids and that damn Deadpool! They love it! Can we make a Rated R Call of Duty?! With dick jokes, and...and...and weird sex scenes...and then there's a UFC Fighter because, Gina Carano fought once right? She was in Red Alert...Make it work." Only to leave the office, rubbing their nose furiously I can only guess, and hop into their Jaguar XFR before cutting everyone off listening to Gangnam Style.

Anyway, Call of Duty right? It's not impossible for it to find center. And I think that is exactly what it needs to do - deliver an experience that's not over the top insanity, returning to the core of a wargame that tells a story (not just in campaign) of struggle and the futility of war. There are plenty of conflicts to imagine and extrapolate to the COD-sphere - but if we go back to cold-war conflicts and have Exo-suits I'm probably gone forever. This got a bit long in the tooth - and definitely comes off ranty, wavering, and a bit aimless but if you made it all the way to these words I thank you. What do you think?

Edit: Of course the Dog was making formatting a mess - trying a few things