Treyarch was finally able to get out of Infinity Ward’s shadow and establish itself as a premier Call of Duty studio with 2010’s Black Ops. Despite this, the map design was unparalleled, and sniping an unsuspecting enemy from a window was incredibly satisfying. Its scale was mind-blowing at the time, and the most cinematic moments still hold up today.Ĭall of Duty 2’s approach to multiplayer was more laid-back than some of the later games, and it wasn’t interested in throwing a million statistics at you upon completing a match. Split across missions focused on Russian, British, and American soldiers, Call of Duty 2 took players everywhere from the beaches of Normandy to the deserts of North Africa, and its open-ended approach often gave you more than one way to approach a mission. The first Call of Duty game for many current fans - and a launch title for the Xbox 360 - Call of Duty 2 was the ultimate World War II shooter for those interested in the fall of Nazi Germany. Call of Duty would no longer play second fiddle to any other series, and its reign would last for the next decade. Modern Warfare’s competitive multiplayer put a renewed emphasis on personal performance rather than winning individual matches, with players now carefully eyeing their kill-to-death ratio as they modified their weapons with custom sights and grips. All Ghillied Up is arguably the best mission in any first-person shooter, and it looks even better in the remastered version for modern consoles. Not a second of time was wasted, and over the course of the legendary Call of Duty 4 campaign, that would still be true. Where were you when you first played Crew Expendable in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare? In just minutes, Infinity Ward proved to players that the move from World War II to a contemporary conflict was worthwhile, as Captain Price and Soap MacTavish make their way through a hostile ship and eliminate targets with pinpoint precision. You can play a remastered version of its single-player campaign on modern consoles now. Even a decade later, there’s just something about Modern Warfare 2’s pacing and map design that makes it a classic - it’s one of those games you could put in your Xbox 360 for months and never get tired of it. The kill-streak concept was expanded to allow for even more ways to eliminate your enemies, and the progression system remained one of the most satisfying in all of gaming. Somehow, Infinity Ward managed to outdo itself, delivering another campaign filled with twists, betrayals, and action-packed set pieces while also building on what made the first game’s multiplayer so successful. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Ĭall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare almost single-handedly redefined the modern first-person shooter with its thrilling campaign and endlessly customizable multiplayer component, so the bar was sky-high for Modern Warfare 2 when it released two years later. Seventeen games were eligible, and we had them battle it out ahead of the Call of Duty: Vanguard release. This means excluding spinoff titles, as well as simplified games released for previous-generation systems like World at War – Final Fronts. Some were simply better than others, and we’re going to rank them from the best to the worst.įor this list, we’ll stick to the main entries in the Call of Duty series. But not all Call of Duty games are created equal. Even when 2018’s entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, switched it up and ditched the campaign, it brought another thrilling experience into the fold with its new battle royale mode, called Blackout. No matter the location or story, Call of Duty games usually deliver heart-pounding single-player campaigns and an intense competitive multiplayer mode. What began as a polished World War II shooter has morphed into something else entirely over the last 15-plus years, with games going everywhere from the Vietnam War to the far reaches of space. Fitbit Versa 3įew video game franchises are as influential and successful as Call of Duty.