The phenomenon of modern pop culture: the formation of Call of Duty

Call of Duty is a legendary series of games known and loved around the world. Let’s briefly go through all the games in the order they were released.

Call of Duty

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The first Call of Duty was released back in 2003, many of today’s players of this series weren’t even born yet! The game features both multiplayer and single-player modes.

This first installment of the series was dedicated to World War II and consisted of four single-player campaigns. The multiplayer mode consisted of small missions, such as capturing and holding points or flags, where one team of players faced off against another:

Each campaign was a series of missions based on historical moments from World War II. The player had the opportunity to see the theater of war through the eyes of soldiers from different countries and try out the weapons and equipment of various armies.

Each campaign consists of missions that the player must complete in sequence. In total, the game has 26 diverse missions, including a training mission, night battles, sabotage missions at sea, pursuit missions, and large-scale urban battles.

The multiplayer mode consisted of small missions, such as capturing and holding points or flags, where one team of players faced off against another.

Call of Duty 2

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The second game in the Call of Duty series, like the first, is dedicated to World War II. Call of Duty 2 did not differ much from the first game; the main change was the automatic regeneration of the character’s HP if the player’s character spent some time in cover without taking damage.

Additionally, the health bar was removed. Otherwise, the second game in the series very much resembled the first part, which greatly pleased the players.

The game still featured multiple campaigns and many varied missions for each, many of which were based on real events of those years.

There were three campaigns in the game:

The multiplayer mode of the second installment did not differ much from the multiplayer mode of the first game.

At the end of the game, the player could watch a documentary video that told of the hardships of World War II and its end.

Call of Duty 3

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A year later, Call of Duty 3 was released exclusively for Xbox. The theme of the game remained unchanged, but the content was significantly altered.

The first noticeable change in the single-player mode is that there are no separate campaigns but rather one unified storyline. The second innovation was that the player had access to new actions, such as rowing a boat with oars.

Additionally, split-screen became available, allowing multiple players to play on the same screen at once. From a technical standpoint, Call of Duty 3 became significantly better and more advanced than previous installments. Animation, lighting, and much more were considerably improved.

Also, this is the first game in the series to include civilians—though not as weapons—and at the same time, handguns were absent from the campaign.

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

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Next came the fourth game in the series. Infinity Ward, understanding that players had grown tired of the World War II setting, bet on the modern world and created its own alternate reality and history.

The events of the game move the player to 2011, where, while playing through the campaigns, the player must save the world from a nuclear catastrophe. The game features two campaigns:

For example, an Arcade Mode was added, which became available after completing the game. In this mode, the player had to score as many points as possible within a certain time, and their best result would be recorded as a high score in a separate menu.

Cheat codes were also added to the game, significantly altering gameplay. Among these were codes that made all weapons have infinite ammo, caused rocket launchers to fire automatically, or even turned the game black-and-white.

Additionally, for the multiplayer mode, classes were introduced for the first time, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and specifics. Later, this class system would become standard for the series. Although not all players liked such drastic changes, overall, the gaming community highly praised the fourth installment of the Call of Duty series.

The Modern Warfare games became a testing ground for the developers’ experiments and a proving ground for new ideas, many of which were refined in subsequent titles.

Call of Duty: World at War

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In 2008, the new fifth installment of the Call of Duty series was released. The game’s events once again take us to the World War II theater of operations, which caused dissatisfaction in the gaming community, as players were already tired of this setting.

The game features two campaigns:

However, there is nothing especially new in the campaigns for the player to see. Improved graphics, refined AI, enhanced special effects, but overall, this mode remained the same as in the third game.

Nevertheless, this game tested out an additional multiplayer mode with hordes of Nazi zombies, which could be fought alone or with friends.Among the minor innovations that became firmly established later, we can note:

Moreover, this game can safely be called the first in the Black Ops subseries.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

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In 2009, the sixth game in the series was released. The plot of this game is a continuation of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The events take place in 2016, five years after the events of the previous installment.

The single-player campaign introduces new gameplay features, such as climbing, underwater movement with scuba gear, and much more. However, these are only available in certain missions. There were no major overhauls of the campaign.

Minor changes were added to the game’s multiplayer component. For example:

The sixth part of Call of Duty was a huge success among players and largely defined the future direction of the series.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

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The year 2010 was marked by the release of the seventh game in the Call of Duty series. While it was a continuation of the World at War subseries, its events take place after World War II. The player must complete a series of dangerous missions as an experienced CIA agent and save the world from another military disaster.

There were no major changes to the single-player campaign; it differed from previous campaigns mainly in its time frame and in the greater variety of vehicles the player could use.

However, there were quite a few new additions to the game; here are some of them:

Of course, the game also featured the now-familiar classes, perk leveling, and a zombies mode.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Image: moddb.com

In 2011, the next game was released. Modern Warfare 3 is a direct continuation of Modern Warfare 2. The game’s story continues the events from Modern Warfare 2, keeping the main characters that players had grown to love.

By sensing its players’ preferences, Activision chose not to make radical changes to the game, only improving existing mechanics and enhancing the sound and graphics. This approach quickly paid off: the game showed excellent results and even set a new world record by having the most successful launch in entertainment history at the time.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

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In 2012, the sequel to the Black Ops subseries was released. This time, the developers took an interesting risk by setting the campaign in two different time periods, showing what led to certain events in the game. The story takes place in 2025–2026 and 1986–1989.

The campaign itself did not undergo major changes. However, some changes were introduced:

Although Call of Duty: Black Ops II did not have the same explosive success as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it still performed well.

Call of Duty: Ghosts

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In 2013, a new game in the series was released. This time, the player takes on a new character and experiences a new story. The action takes place not only on Earth but also in space.

In addition to battles on orbital stations, there is a mode in which the player must fight against aliens. Other changes in the game included:

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

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This time, the player travels through time to a future world where scientific progress has reached incredible heights, technology has advanced, and the world is governed by corporations via private military companies.

Like the previous game, Advanced Warfare was received rather coolly. Players were not pleased with the new storyline, new characters, or even the addition of many unique weapons and exoskeletons. The few changes in the mechanics could not fix the situation either. Among these changes were:

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

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A year later, in 2015, the third installment of the Black Ops subseries was released. Events unfold about forty years after the events of Black Ops II.

In the game’s world, the future has already arrived, and soldiers—including the player’s character—have cybernetic limbs that can transform into various weapons. They can also hack enemy computers, drones, and war machines. Notable changes include:

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

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Infinite Warfare is a standalone game with its own storyline. The events take place on Mars, where the squad has traveled in search of new resources and habitable locations.

In the single-player mode, there were no major mechanical changes, but the multiplayer mode introduced new exoskeletons that players can gradually unlock. Each exoskeleton has its own set of upgrades that the player can customize to suit their style.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

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When releasing the remaster, the developers chose not to change the core game and kept almost everything the same, making only minor changes to the campaign and adding new achievements and cheat codes. 

However, they significantly reworked the audio and visual effects as well as the animations.

Call of Duty: WWII

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In 2017, it was decided to return to the roots and create another game set during World War II. The developers remained true to previous World War II titles and did not introduce any major changes to the campaign. Among the noticeable changes were:

The multiplayer mode also received a few changes:

Players received the game warmly, even though WWII-themed games were long thought to have worn out their welcome.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

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In 2018, the fifth game in the Black Ops subseries was released, immersing the player in events between the second and third installments.

The developers made another attempt to engage players with a futuristic setting. However, players were still unhappy with the futuristic timeline, and after this game, the series abandoned near-future warfare. Future installments would be set in either present-day or historical settings.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Image: store.steampowered.com

The developers decided to reboot the Modern Warfare subseries by releasing in 2019 a new game that completely ignores the story of previous entries in this subseries.

According to the developers, they wanted this game to reflect the problems of modern society, specifically terrorism. Perhaps for this reason, it features very heavy content, such as the use of chemical weapons, the killing of civilians, the kidnapping and torture of children, and more—naturally causing dismay and disapproval from critics and players alike.

In addition to the new storyline and grim content, the game received several other changes:

Spec Ops mode was split into operations set in the new Modern Warfare setting and operations styled after previous entries in the subseries.

Call of Duty: Warzone

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In 2020, a new game was released that was an entirely new project, unrelated to the previous mainline entries. The game has three modes:

Thus, the game lacks the usual single-player or standard multiplayer modes, as well as the usual class and perk mechanics. However, it introduced new mechanics, for example:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered

Image: youtube.com

That same year (2020), another remaster was released. As with the previous remaster, the main changes involved sound, animations, and visuals.

Overall, players reacted positively to the game, since it allowed them to once again immerse themselves in one of the best installments of the series and relive the emotions of its campaign.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

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The year 2020 was prolific for the Call of Duty series; the third title released that year was Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Most of the game’s events take place in early 1981—between the events of Black Ops and Black Ops II.

In the single-player campaign, the player travels to North and South America, Asia, Turkey, the Ukrainian SSR, East Berlin, and Moscow. The single-player mode offers a variety of missions, ensuring the player won’t get bored.

Learning from the negative reception of recent radical changes, the developers did not introduce any innovative mechanics in either the campaign or the multiplayer, except in the zombies mode. Changes in zombies mode include:

Call of Duty: Vanguard

Image: news.blizzard.com

In 2021, another installment in the series was released, once again returning to the World War II setting. The single-player campaign is divided into a short overall storyline and multiple backstories for each member of the group introduced in the first part.

By now, it’s a familiar formula that World War II–themed entries do not usually feature untested new mechanics. Call of Duty: Vanguard follows suit: neither the single-player campaign nor multiplayer includes any major, unproven features.

However, it’s worth noting that there are as many as 20 maps available for the multiplayer mode, a new record for the series.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0

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In 2022, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 was released as part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, and there is no need to purchase it separately. Essentially, it differs from the first Warzone in just a few new features:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Image: callofduty.fandom.com

This game is a direct sequel to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Its events occur three years after the first part and focus on the fight against a terrorist organization and drug traffickers.

Mindful of the negative reception of drastic changes in past installments, the developers tried to avoid them here. The story is new, but there are almost no major gameplay alterations. Notable changes include:

Otherwise, the gameplay closely resembles the previous installment in the subseries.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

Image: store.steampowered.com 

In 2023, the third part of the MW subseries was released, bringing together all the best elements from the first two. The player embarks on a single-player campaign featuring even more combat-focused missions than previous installments, and an even wider freedom of approach. The player will once again meet familiar characters and learn more about their backgrounds.

As for the multiplayer mode, a new record has been set for the number of maps—24 in total this time.

Additionally, for the first time, a new “Slaughter” mode has been added in which three teams of three players each fight simultaneously. Otherwise, the game doesn’t differ much from previous Warfare titles.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Image: moddb.com

In 2024, another game in the series was released. It is a direct continuation of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The events unfold in the 1990s, during the Persian conflict.

Unlike the last few installments, this entry reintroduces new mechanics and major changes, such as:

The Call of Duty franchise currently includes 25 games. Every year, a new installment is released, and every year players eagerly await it. But why do players love these games so much?

It’s because all the Call of Duty games found the golden mean—a balance between difficulty, realism, and interaction with other players and in-game objects. The game doesn’t overwhelm players with overly difficult missions but still delivers an adrenaline rush and generously rewards success.

For 21 years, every Call of Duty game has improved on the best mechanics of its predecessors while adding something new. Call of Duty games have won the hearts of players worldwide, uniting people of different ages and interests.

The CoD series is made up of modern warfare games, and all the Call of Duty games rank among the most popular shooters out there.

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