XBOX ONE CONTROLLER: CALL OF DUTY- THE FPS REVOLUTION PART 1 (2003-2012)

Introduction to the Franchise:

You can play COD with the Xbox One Controller. Call of Duty (COD) is the name of a very successful First-Person-Shooter video game franchise published by Activision. The series initially focused on World War II. Over the years the Call of Duty franchise has seen games set in the Cold War, in Futuristic Worlds as well as in Outer Space. The series has been developed by Infinity Ward, Treyarch as well as Sledgehammer Games over the years. Several spin-off games were also developed.

Call of Duty games are known for their gripping story driven Campaign and for their many Multiplayer modes. The story of Call of Duty spans a period close to 2 decades and from the initial days right until now serves as one of the most important game franchises for players as well as for publisher Activision. In this article we will cover the period from the launch of the first Call of Duty in 2003 right up to the very successful Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Call of Duty

The original Call of Duty was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. Call of Duty was released on the PC, PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 on October 29, 2003. The game puts players in the boots of American, British and Soviet Union Army infantry soldiers in World War 2.

What distinguishes Call of Duty from other games is the game's take on AI controllers, such as Xbox One Controller allies, who assist players and adapt to the various situations presented by the game. In a way, Call of Duty introduced us to Squad Based play which we are so used to playing now.

In 2004 an expansion pack called Call of Duty: United Offensive was released. In 2009 an enhanced port was released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This port was aptly named Call of Duty Classic alongside the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. The game was included in the Hardened and Prestige Editions of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 as a redeemable code.

The Original Call of Duty won many awards such as several prestigious Game of The Year awards from renowned reviewers. By the year 2013 the Original Call of Duty game had sold a whopping 4.5 million copies.

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 was (like its predecessor) developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The game was released on October 25, 2005 for PC and Xbox 360 and it may be played well with the Xbox One Controller. The game also put players in the boots of 1 American soldier, 2 British soldiers and 1 Soviet Union soldier.

Moreover, the game adopted a new regenerating health system that became the norm with shooters from this point onwards. The game was also the first to feature grenade indicators. You can also improve your Call of Duty gaming experience by using the Xbox One Controller.

The game was a critical success and got lots of praise for the graphics, sound and new health system. By November 2013, the game had sold nearly 6 million copies, thus outperforming its very successful predecessor.

Call of Duty also featured many Multiplayer modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Capture the Flag as well as Headquarters.

Call of Duty 3

The third instalment in the Call of Duty franchise was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. Like its predecessors, Call of Duty 3 is also based in World War 2. The game was released on November 9, 2006 and was the first major release not developed by Infinity Ward. The game was released on Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360. No PC port was released for Call of Duty 3.

Call of Duty was the first open-ended Call of Duty game which gave players multiple paths to complete objectives. And if you use the best Xbox One Controller, it can make a difference in your game. Players play as American, British, Canadian and Polish soldiers in the Single Player campaign. Call of Duty 3 brought with it an introduction to close-combat sequences and sequential button presses to arm explosives. Multiplayer modes were available for Playstation 2, Playstation 3 & Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Call of Duty 3 received very positive reviews for all platform except the Nintendo Wii. By November, 2013, the game had sold about 7.2 million copies worldwide.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It was the first Call of Duty game that broke away from World War 2 in favour of modern times. The game was released on November 5, 2007 on PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Mac OS and Nintendo Wii.

The campaign takes place in the year 2011 and players don the boots of a US Marin Force Recon Sargeant and a British SAS commando. The game won numerous awards for its single player campaign and multiplayer modes, graphics and the best Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game of 2007. Modern Warfare was the first Call of Duty game to introduce a levelling system that allows players to unlock additional weapons, attachments and camouflage schemes as they level up. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is widely regarded as one of the best games ever made.

Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty World at War was the 2008 entry in the Call of Duty franchise and was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released on November 11,2008 on PC, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. The game marked Call of Duty’s return to World War 2. The game also featured the first Black Ops Storyline in a Call of Duty game.

The game focuses on the Pacific and Eastern Front theatres of World War 2.  The campaign features missions in which players play an American soldier and a Red Army soldier. The game introduced vehicles such as tanks that players can control. Call of Duty: World at ware featured more mature themes than all previous entries in the series.

Call of Duty: World at War also brought with it an introduction to Zombies. Nazi Zombies mode was available for all versions of the game such as Xbox One Controller except the Nintendo Wii version of the game. Players could play with other players (cooperative mode) and kill zombies together either offline or online.

Call of Duty: World at war received mostly positive reviews. By November, 2013 the game sold 15.7 million copies.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the 2009 entry in the Call of Duty franchise and was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The game was released on November 10, 2009 on PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360. Modern Warfare 2 was not released on the Nintendo Wii. With this game, Call of Duty returned to modern times. Modern Warfare 2 is sequel to the immensely popular Modern Warfare. If you 

Modern Warfare 2 contains a Campaign, Special Ops (additional levels) and Multiplayer modes. Spec Ops missions can be played cooperatively with other players. The game saw the release of 2 downloadable DLC Map Packs that broke Xbox Live DLC Records after being downloaded over 2.5 million times within the first week of launch.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 received extremely positive reviews for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. The game was praised for its story, mini missions as well as the multiplayer modes. By November, 2013 the game had sold more than 22.7 million  copies worldwide.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops was the 2010 entry in the franchise and developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released for PC, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 on November 9, 2010. Locations in the game include Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Soviet Union, USA, Hong Kong and the Arctic. Black Ops covers the time period between 1961 and 1968.

4 Map packs were released as DLC throughout 2011. While the first 3 DLC Map packs were for the various multiplayer modes the game contained. 

The game saw the return of the very popular Zombies mode aptly named Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies. The fourth DLC map pack called Rezurrection contained 5 Zombies Mode maps.

Call of Duty: Black Ops received very positive reviews and by November 2013 the game had managed to sell more than 26.2 million copies.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

2011 saw the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The game was developed by Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward. The game was released in November, 2011 for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Modern Warfare 3 was the final Call of Duty game released on Nintendo Wii.

The game is a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and is the final game in the Modern Warfare Trilogy. The game’s campaign is widely touted as one of the most controversial of all time due to the presence of an interactive scene of a terror attack against civilians. The game introduces players to Survival mode which allows players to fight massive waves of enemies alone or in coop mode.

The multiplayer modes saw massive changes with a massive alteration of the Killstreak reward system. Killstreaks made way for Pointstreaks and kills were not the only way to increase Pointstreaks. Multiplayer game modes such as Kill Confirmed and team Defender were introduced for the first time.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare received very positive reviews and managed to sell 26.5 million copies by November 2013.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the 2012 release for the Call of Duty franchise and was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. The game was released on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo WiiU. It was the first Call of Duty franchise to make its way to the Nintendo WiiU. The game is a sequel to the original Call of Duty: Black Ops that was released in 2010.

The campaign is set in 2 different time periods. Players play as Alex Mason and Frank Woods in the 1980’s and as David Mason (the son of Alex Mason) in the year 2025. The campaign was the first to feature non linear gameplay and offers players multiple endings, thus giving players reason to replay the campaign several times to experience them all.

The game got a lot of praise for the stellar Campaign, Multiplayer as well as the Zombie mode. The game saw the introduction of Pick 10 system. This system gives players a total 10 allocation slots in classes which can be used for guns, grenades and perks. The game also adopted an approach which forced players to focus more on multiplayer objectives rather than just kills. The Killstreaks in previous games made way for Scorestreaks.

Black Ops II also featured the most variety in the Zombies mode for any Call of Duty game before it. The Zombies mod had deeper community experience this time. There was a new 8 player mode called “Grief” which allowed 2 competing teams of 4 players each.

By November, 2013 Call of Duty: Black Ops II had sold in excess of 24.2 million copies.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the last major release of any Call of Duty game with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as primary platforms. In subsequent years the Xbox One Controller and PlayStation 4 became the platforms of choice. The increased graphical power resulted in better looking games and more immersive experiences. That said, the releases from 2003-2012 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were what built the franchise into one of the most iconic First Person Shooter franchises with arguably the most loyal fanbase the Video game world has ever known. A few of the games covered in this article were remastered for the updated hardware of the Xbox One Controller and PlayStation 4. This gave a lot of players a chance to replay some of the finest and most iconic games of all time.

In the next article we will cover all Call of Duty games from 2013 until present day. This is our way of paying homage to arguable one of the best video game franchises of all time. And if you want to have the best Call of Duty experience, you should use the Xbox One Controller.