With Battlefield officially declaring war on Call of Duty in 2011, we look back on a rivalry that has been heating up for almost a decade. Follow Josh Lundberg as he takes us on a very personal journey (with some help from the boss along the way) through gaming history…
In 2002 and then 2004 two games were released that caused a fundamental shift in the gaming industry. And so began a long, but odd rivalry.
From different interpretations of Stalingrad, to Berlin, to russian tank battles, Call of Duty and Battlefield 1942 locked horns in the most indirect way possible; they were both the premier World War Two shooters of the time, but they didn't seem to compete as they were vastly different games.
So, before we continue on, know that I will only be mentioning 'true' Battlefield and Call of Duty games in this article (no expansions, no non-IW CoD).
Call of Duty came first - for me, anyway - but only just, so we'll let Activision have the first say.
Atomicans, Please Note: I am ignoring Brothers in Arms intentionally. But seriously, what the frack is with the new one? I have another article in me called 'Gaming and Franchise Abuse: How to Print Money'.
Call of Duty Call of Duty burst onto computer screens – and note, only computer screens – in 2003. It brought with it a new scale of warfare in-game. Before it was Medal of Honor, which focused on highly linear, one-man army gameplay. One moment of true inspiration and greatness set Medal of Honor: Allied Assault apart from the previous games (yes, Atomicans, the gorram console gamers don't know this came before Frontlines)... Omaha Beach.
Now, members of the MoH:AA team did move over to Infinity Ward, so it’s no surprise to assume they thought to themselves “why don't we make an entire game as intense as the Omaha level?”
And they did. The game opened – after what is now the classic CoD training level – with you falling to the ground in the middle of France. No crazy sequence like the MoH expansion, just BAM. France. So it left you thinking you were in for a clone. Off you trot.
But soon you come across something that was a scarcity in MoH:AA... squad mates. Friendly AI. You were thrust into a shoot out against Germans holed up in a farm house. Your allies urged you to push forward, screaming orders with what was the precursor to IW's well-marketed dynamic 'Battle Chat' technology.
This continued throughout the game. Your squad mates would kill one in ten of the enemies, while mostly laying cover fire or not doing anything at all. But they were there. This certainly shifted my concept of what a war game was. I can't be alone.
Despite the whole thing being smoke and mirrors, Call of Duty managed to pull off a sense of well-directed, dramatic warfare inspired by and likened to Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates and the more recently released Band of Brothers. It was truly epic. What was even more epic was that after you made it through the American campaign, you were faced with the British and Soviet struggle against the Third Reich.
The Soviet campaign took the scale beyond the rest of the game and into the stratosphere of what was possible in scripted game experiences. Like Doom 3, Call of Duty could be played to the point that you remember where every single enemy will pop out. Even to this day. But it didn't detract upon replay – you just felt more badass. More veteran.
I will admit that I didn't play the MP much except at the occasional LAN, but the single player was the home of true innovation. Besides, a real multiplayer war was rumbling on the horizon...
Issue: 137 | June, 2012