To absolutely nobody’s surprise, a new Call of Duty release set for late 2015 was announced yesterday. While it wasn’t much in the way of a shocker, it did raise plenty of discussion about Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and how the franchise will move forward after its bold release.
While Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare wasn’t for everyone, it did take risk. As a result it, in many ways it was the radical departure from the tried and true Call of Duty formula that fans have been begging for. But along with that came unique shortcomings, ones that the next Call of Duty can learn from.
Related: New Call of Duty Confirmed for 2015, Treyarch at the Helm
Here are 10 things we think the next Call of Duty could learn from Advanced Warfare.
10 Things the Next Call of Duty Can Learn From Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
-
Exo Suits are cool, but we can live without them
The Exo Suit was primarily responsible for how fresh Advanced Warfare's gameplay felt. It amped up the pacing of the game, and forced players of all skill levels to adapt to a new style of play. Though, in the process it also compromised the Call of Duty formula in a variety of ways.
While some might say that it'll be difficult to go back to a more methodically paced Call of Duty after Advanced Warfare, there are plenty of other games that specialize in that style of first-person shooter (i.e. Halo and Titanfall). You're better off shelving the Exo Suits for a few years and going back to the basics.
-
Tactical gameplay must be revived
Speaking of the Exo Suit, as fun as it was to use, it eradicated the tactical gameplay that Call of Duty is known for. Truth is, most online matches devolved into nothing more than a frag-fest akin to Unreal Tournament or Quake. In a way, it didn't even feel like Call of Duty anymore.
The next Call of Duty should bring back a slower pace with tactical equipment such as the claymore. It'll make the game stand out more in today's FPS climate.
-
Bringing in A list talent isn't a bad idea
As much as bringing in Kevin Spacey was a move that appeared to be solely in the interest of Advanced Warfare's marketability, his performance was the highlight of the campaign. If the writing is good, having big stars featured in Call of Duty can be a good thing for story delivery. It'll just pique the interest of mainstream in the process.
Though, please try to get rid of the "dead eyes" next time. I know it's not easy, but staring into Kevin Spacey's virtual eyes was a terrifying experience.
-
Invest in a better network
Advanced Warfare had a relatively positive launch, but there was one area that kept it from being an ace: its lag.
The game's convoluted peer-to-peer/dedicated hybrid infrastructure simply wasn't reliable at launch, and while things have improved, it's still difficult to invest in the game competitively when it's as unreliable as it is.
Read More: Advanced Warfare’s Lag is Turning Players Off the Game
A solid backbone is something that costs money, but will be vital to retaining players in future Call of Duty installments, especially those that spend thousands of hours competing online.
-
Weapon balance needs to be sorted out
Weapon balance has never been Call of Duty's strong suit, and Advanced Warfare was a particularly bad offender.
The problem was that there were several weapons that were essentially non-competitive in the game. Weapons like the sniper rifle, and even some assault rifles were simply less capable of producing consistently positive results than the BAL 27 or HBRa3. Watching everyone run around with the same weapon is boring. Find a solution.
-
Killstreaks should be exciting
There's no doubt about it, Advanced Warfare had the worse implementation of killstreaks in Call of Duty history. Not only were they incredibly difficult to earn, but very few of them felt powerful.
As much as killstreaks casualize the Call of Duty experience, they are an integral part of the series' unpredictability. Future games shouldn't trivialize one of its core features.
-
The Firing Range was a fantastic idea
Having access to a Firing Range from within the loadout interface is something that should become standard going forward. It makes testing out new weapons far easier, in addition to serving as a great way to pass the time while waiting for a match.
-
Easy on the QTEs
It's been established at this point that it's difficult to make players feel like a part of big story moments without spending a metric ton of manpower making sequences playable. Naturally, QTEs have been a reliable solution. But as QTEs have been used and abused over the years, gamers have grown tired of them, especially when they're poorly implemented.
Read More: Advanced Warfare’s Ridiculous Funeral Scene Has Everyone Laughing
Advanced Warfare had a ton of useless QTEs, sometimes even bordering on offensive. It's easier to just auto-play sequences. Stick to that.
-
Create-A-Soldier should be here to stay
Call of Duty has long needed a sense of individuality among players when playing online, and Create-A-Soldier has evolved to become a solution. It doesn't need to become anything extravagant, but keep the feature in.
-
Good map design is your bread and butter
Terrace, Detroit, Riot, and Solar. Advanced Warfare had several solid maps that stand out as some of the best in Call of Duty's recent years. And the truth is that's one of a few reasons some gamers are still actively playing the game. Maps that have good "flow" are critical to making both short and long-term play enjoyable.
