Call of Duty: Ghosts

[RedShell]

Just saw this on NeoGaf:

 

 

Brilliant.

[Clownferret]

liking this so far, except for some cheating AI on squads. Now I'm no great COD player but really getting frustrated with chasing a character around a corner only for him to have turned around and shooting me point blank in the face, also if I've been sniping out of a window in a street full of windows the computer characters have an uncanny way of just looking straight at that window and shooting you before you've even seen them.

[Zechs Merquise]

Well, I got my copy. It was the last copy GAME in Leeds had. So here are my thoughts:

 

I really like it. I was prepared for the worst, but in fact I have found it to be a much better game than Black Ops 2 so far. My impressions are solely from the multi-player - I haven't tried the campaign or squads yet, but here goes:

 

+ The maps are much better designed. Black Ops 2 maps were a complete mess. They all seemed small and many felt like arenas with a layout that was simply mirrored either side of the central line.

+ Black Ops 2 was plagued by waist high cover everywhere. It was on every corner, in every room and even down the side of corridors. This is now gone allowing for movement to be more free and to corners to be more flowing - rather than every corner being a camp site.

+ The weapons feel much more balanced. There's no ridiculous shotguns, pistols, machine pistols or any of the other quirks that plagued the last couple of COD games.

+ The kill streaks are great. There doesn't seem to be cheap instakills like the Hunter Killer or the RCXD. They have also cut back a lot of the air support streaks as well keeping the action on the ground.

+ There don't seem to be the stupid attachments on guns anymore. No more target finders or cheap game ruining additions to please idiots who can't play!

+ The graphics for the most part are lovely - some maps look amazing, especially the Scottish castle - it's an eyegasm!

 

- There's still the problem of lag compensation. I have died several times when I really shouldn't have and on watching the kill cam I was annoyed to see how cheated I was.

- The spawns are still not perfect, you spawn in on your team mates. However in about 14 games I spawned twice down the barrel of an enemy's gun.

- The maps, whilst very well designed are a little too big sometimes meaning you can go long periods just wandering looking for people.

 

Overall, whilst not perfect it's definitely a step in the right direction. They haven't fixed some of the main issues - the lag compensation and the spawns. However due to the much improved maps and overall design these aren't as annoying as they once were. Where Black Ops 2 was spawn, hit the run button, die. This is much more measured and paced. You don't seem to run into massive groups of players as much and because the maps are bigger the problems of Black Ops 2 are eased greatly.

 

I also briefly played Extinction just to try it out. I'm not a fan of Zombies, but this really surprised me. I enjoyed it. It certainly isn't as random and I much preferred the combat with the aliens to the combat with the zombies. I can't wait to try it out with a team of four.

[Kav]

The maps are way too big for my liking. The spawns are a complete mess I've found and lag-compensation is as ever present as it was in BO2.

 

With the maps, I find I get bored and frustrated at times, yet also I get spawned down the barrel of an enemy gun so much that it's laughable. It happened 4 times in a row on one game, 4 of the cheapest deaths I'd ever had, it was like Goldeneye on the WiiU. Why spawn me so close to someone when the maps are so big?! This pisses me off more than anything did in BO2.

 

What does my head in is how it's so up and down, probably more than BO2 was, your connection to the host is either good and you can engage in gunfights or it's utter bollocks and you don't have gunfights as you die in what seems like one shot no matter what you do.

 

Again, it'll all be down to connection to host and networking, which they've ballsed up again.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, the maps are too big and sometimes the spawning is just flat out stupid but I'm still enjoying it, especially the banter last night. I was waiting all day to hear Zechs kick off and he didn't disappoint. He also enjoyed shooting the women characters a little too much.

 

Highlights last night were:

 

Zechs gushing over the levels, especially the outdoorsy castle stage. I'm pretty sure he would have been happy to just stroll around that map with his dog.

 

Welsh's impression of a certain someone. I had a laughing fit over the instruction manual bit.

 

Myself and Lost slowly crawling towards each other as we died side by side in the squads mode.

 

Funniest part of the night was Zechs having to teach Blade English and explain what lunge meant. Classic.

 

The game may be a little off at times but as long as the banter is there then it's all good!

[Londragon]

Is this better than BO2? I really need to get a good military shooter, haven't played one properly for over 4 years.

[-Dem0-]

It's taking me a while to get used to this actually. Maybe even more as I sold BO2 a while back? Anyway my only complaint so far is that some of the stages are just too big and traversing them without movement & speed enhancements is a pain. I've been playing Squads mainly, and only a few online games, two of which I was D/C from.

[Zechs Merquise]

Is this better than BO2? I really need to get a good military shooter, haven't played one properly for over 4 years.

 

As one of the resident COD experts, I would say yes! For me, Black Ops 2 was the most disappointing game I have ever played. After the excellence that was Black Ops, it was awful. I didn't like the campaign, I thought Zombies was a mess and the multi-player was the weakest the series has ever presented.

 

From what I've played of Ghosts, I think it is by far the better game. Maps are much better, Extinction mode is fun, but I haven't played the campaign!

[Hero-of-Time]

Is this better than BO2? I really need to get a good military shooter, haven't played one properly for over 4 years.

 

I think better is a strong word. Different would probably be more suitable. I've played through all the CoDs since CoD 2 and this one feels the most different from any other version. Its a more slower paced game and probably more tactical.

 

If you enjoyed the fast, frantic, run and gun style of Black Ops 2 then you may feel disappointed. I know many people on the net are up in arms over the style change. Personally it doesn't bother me but many are raging over it.

[tapedeck]

Can you still play off TV multiplayer on this one, where one could be on TV and one on Gamepad?

Think I may ask Santa for it.

 

Also...do wii remote controlling players destroy players who are using the gamepad?

[Hero-of-Time]

Also...do wii remote controlling players destroy players who are using the gamepad?

 

If they do I have never noticed it. I use the Gamepad ( did on BO2 as well ) and always do alright. I imagine it is more precise for head shots though. Hmmm...with me not running and gunning anymore maybe I should give it ago.

[-Dem0-]

Can you still play off TV multiplayer on this one, where one could be on TV and one on Gamepad?

 

Yes you can.

[DuD]

Just had a go on squads using the Gamepad and I was utterly shite.

Gonna go back on in a bit and try it out using the Wii-mote.

 

I've never played COD before, but the 2 levels I played on seemed pretty big as I spent alot of time searching for people

 

I cannot believe how bad I am at this? I can not hit shit!

[yesteryeargames]

Contains mission 1 mild spoilers

Good to see the wii u version in 2nd place graphically versus the ps4 360 and ps3.

 

Not that graphics matter ,IMO the controls make the wii u version the best.

[Londragon]

Well, thanks for the help I've finally put my money down on this. My decision was finally sealed after seeing 4 of you playing this when I turned my machine on at 9:00am in Taiwan (that's 1:00am in the UK) to play a little Zelda. Now, the 2-3 week wait for delivery.

[Hero-of-Time]

Day Two in the CoD house. The lads decide to try out Extinction mode but have mixed results.

 

I played Extinction mode last night with the lads on here and it was great. For me it's easily better than Zombies, as it's more fast paced and just more fun. He held out pretty well, considering it was our first time. Eventually we got butchered and like Zombies, once you die you have a nightmare trying to get a decent weapon again.

 

We just had a quick game, so didn't really go in depth with anything but in the future we need to start doing the challenges that appear to nab more cash and perhaps switch our classes up a bit.

[Retro_Link]

Zelda and Doctor Who Easter Eggs, found in all versions of the game...

 

Tardis award

Ruppee award - Awarded for most bushes cut and pots smashed

 

[Blade]

Absolutely hate the map Siege! I can never find a soul on it!

[-Dem0-]

Strikezone is probably my favourite so far.

[Zechs Merquise]

Day Two in the CoD house. The lads decide to try out Extinction mode but have mixed results.

 

I played Extinction mode last night with the lads on here and it was great. For me it's easily better than Zombies, as it's more fast paced and just more fun. He held out pretty well, considering it was our first time. Eventually we got butchered and like Zombies, once you die you have a nightmare trying to get a decent weapon again.

 

We just had a quick game, so didn't really go in depth with anything but in the future we need to start doing the challenges that appear to nab more cash and perhaps switch our classes up a bit.

 

I loved it too! I thought Zombies on Black Ops was OK, but on Black Ops 2 Zombies was just dull and have the time you couldn't figure out what to do, it was just painful!

 

Extinction is great fun though, really fast and fluid. Whoever said it was like playing Starship Troopers was spot on!

[lostmario]

Extinction is great fun though, really fast and fluid. Whoever said it was like playing Starship Troopers was spot on!

 

That would be me.

 

Overall thoughts on the game so far:

 

Extinction mode is brilliant, looking forward to playing that regularly.

 

Multiplayer mode is so so, lag compensation is back and as frustrating as ever. I had 5 one shot deaths in a row in one game then watched the kill cam and it was a 3 second gun fight each time.

 

Tuesday night was pretty good, last night was a frustrating piece of crap.

 

Squads mode is a lot different to Spec Ops, no radar is a pain and the fact it randomly picks the map means you are just thrown into it without getting tactically ready for it. I like what I've seen so far and will no doubt put hours into it over the next 12 months.

 

KD means nothing now and for that one player in the clan who is clinging onto his good KD thinking it means something, LET GO!

[Blade]

Im absolutely hating this game. Considering trading it in.

[Zechs Merquise]

Im absolutely hating this game. Considering trading it in.

 

It's time for some truths...

 

Firstly and fore mostly - you should never have taken a week off for this. Taking a week off to play a new COD game on release is as insane as expecting a new COD game to be perfect.

 

Every single post MW and WAW release has been plagued with issues on launch. Even our beloved Black Ops was - just remember the issues: terrible match making, issues with the voice chat in lobbies, connecting to the online and people who used LAN adaptors systems froze when connecting to games. MW3 was worse, it came out 3 days late for Wii owners, had issues with voice chat, the net code went back to lag shooting and there was a bug that corrupted people's save data. Black Ops 2 was an utter mess at launch - the Wii Remote controls were screwed, you couldn't join a party without being kicked back to the main menu and finding games was a long arduous task.

 

All of these games were patched to different extents. Black Ops was patched and became one of the best games ever. MW3 was patched and became awesome, then was patched with new netcode and became a mixed bag of awesome and frustration - it was the beginning of lag compensation. Black Ops 2 was heavily patched and worked properly for one glorious week - it is still the worst COD on any Nintendo system for getting into a party and finding a game! Seriously, before Ghosts I went back to my Wii and found games on EVERY version of COD including MWR and WAW with less messing around.

 

Week one COD is always hit and miss and investing a whole week of game time into it then is always going to lead to tears. I couldn't take the time off, but even if I could I would only have taken a day simply because I know the issues.

 

Secondly, you are only grinding on the multiplayer. You need to get out of the mentality that COD is just about TDM and endless grind. Myself, @Hero\-of\-Time have all being having a blast on both Squads and Extinction.

 

Last night we had some awesome games on Squads, even completing one map. It plays great, it's a game you play with your friends, there's no lag and it's just good co-operative fun. You haven't even tried the other modes yet.

 

You have to realise, that this is actually one of the best COD games on release. Yes, some games suffer from massive problems with the lag compensation - but it's no worse than Black Ops 2. But on launch you can at least connect to groups, find games and no one is having the problems of their systems freezing or being endlessly kicked back to the main menu repeatedly as the game won't accept parties. Patches will come and things will improve.

 

Also, try something new. Rather than being so insistent on just grinding for XP in TDM, try the other modes with us. Get up early Saturday and play Extinction with me Welsh and Lostmario. Try the Squads mode against bots and learn the maps first. I was playing Squads last night on the pad and was loving it! Taking on other human players and their squads is brilliant! I won 9 games in a row and owned. Plus it's nowhere near as frustrating.

 

Also, as a point of news - neither the PS3 or 360 have dedicated servers. Both are seeing host migration screens and both having problems with lag compensation. The two rumours are:

 

1) Dedicated servers are just for PS4 and XBO.

2) Dedicated servers aren't online yet and will only go online when the new consoles are out.

 

I'm thinking the first option will be the case!

[Hero-of-Time]

Im absolutely hating this game. Considering trading it in.

 

 

Can I ask what is annoying you? The lag or the actual gameplay style of this one compared to BO2?

 

Safeguard was hilarious last night. We held out really well in that little corridor and worked well as a team to pin the area down. When we got our miniguns nothing was getting through! We blitzed that map.

 

The next match was funny for all the wrong reasons.

 

I started by picking up the sniper chopper and using it thinking it was the covering fire one. So as I was flying around, on a map that was pretty much all indoors, while the guys had to hold on without me. When I landed we were running around like headless chickens trying to find a place to hide. We managed to hold up in a little area and thanks to the miniguns we got pretty far. Sadly, we eventually fell one by one.

 

Yup, I really like this mode. It's fun and there is an actual end to it so you have an aim.

[Zechs Merquise]

 

Can I ask what is annoying you? The lag or the actual gameplay style of this one compared to BO2?

 

Safeguard was hilarious last night. We held out really well in that little corridor and worked well as a team to pin the area down. When we got our miniguns nothing was getting through! We blitzed that map.

 

The next match was funny for all the wrong reasons.

 

I started by picking up the sniper chopper and using it thinking it was the covering fire one. So as I was flying around, on a map that was pretty much all indoors, while the guys had to hold on without me. When I landed we were running around like headless chickens trying to find a place to hide. We managed to hold up in a little area and thanks to the miniguns we got pretty far. Sadly, we eventually fell one by one.

 

Yup, I really like this mode. It's fun and there is an actual end to it so you have an aim.

 

Last night was awesome. I'm getting to grips with the customisation on Extinction, we really need to play that mode more, I love it. I ended up last night maxing out the amount of cash I could hold, in future I need to spend more to help the team...

 

My suggestions before we do it again are thus:

 

1) Everyone learn a bit about the class they are using. There's quite a bit of depth to it.

2) In between rounds, make sure you bring up the menu and spend your skill points. I tend to put mine into ammo capacity and then all on gun upgrades for quicker reloads, longer mags etc.

3) The aliens only come when you engage the drill. On later hives I need to spend more money and we need to set up sentry guns and other bits to ensure we don't get swarmed, no point being dead with $6000 in the bank!

4) The first section is quite easy, no problems there. But the second section gets harder, we need to pick the order in which we do the hives more carefully!

5) Potentially before setting up the drill we need to have a run around and check out the actual area as often you can weaponise different points. For example the electric fences can be turned on.

 

Hopefully we can do a lot more of this and dominate the leader boards!