Call of Duty is reviled among a vocal group of gamers. When they read that the latest iteration of the series is selling well, or is well reviewed, or is being played by a lot of people, they seem to take it personally. That's always baffled me. So on Twitter today I asked the 13,500 or so people who follow me why that is.
I can't rerun everything they said, but what follows are some select opinions sometimes expressed in multiple Tweets. I'd still love to hear from more of you. Not more blind hate, or unfocused vitriol, but well-reasoned explanations for why you're not a fan of the series or its successes.
Me? I stick by my suggestion that if you're a fan of shooters you should buy the latest in the series. My full review runs Tuesday, and that's where I'll go into the details of my opinion on what I think is a pretty good, though not unflawed game. Of course, Luke thinks it's silly to hate on the game.
Now for those reasons:
_SimplyG writes: "It only bothers me when it completely overshadows other titles released around the same time that are worth more attention, IMO."
V_Ben writes: "It's gaming's popcorn film. Big, dumb and mass market. A crowd pleaser, but not exactly what people want to represent the medium. I mean, can you imagine If people pointed at transformers as an example of cinema at its finest, or twilight for books?"
jerschobel writes: "it perpetuates stereotypes of gamer culture that simply aren't true. many who buy COD buy ONLY COD."
browntown2327 writes: "It's a good game but there are so many other games out there that people are missing out on because all they play is MW."
Dragonzigg writes: "It shows to the world that the stereotypical videogame - the violent, bombastic FPS - is still the most popular."
EvilKatarn writes: "My reason is that the game is very iterative. It's basically the same game back from 2007. Minor additions and a premium price."
tim_rosas writes:"It makes a mockery of troops anywhere in the world by placing depictions of them in a fantasy world and making them kill people."
Taggart451 writes: "It bothers me in the same sense as they're still making Fast & Furious. They're only doing it for the money, not for any passion. But that's just coming from a non-fan. I'm sure the atmosphere is COMPLETELY different for them; they love what they do."
EddieMakuch writes: "It glorifies and festishizes the activity of war greatly. It also actively dodges showing genuine depictions of modern conflict."
yyr_ writes: "IMHO, extremely passionate gamers may say 'I just KNOW that game X is better, therefore it SHOULD have sold more than MW3!'"
FabledFew writes: "Other good games deserve some of the money that Activision makes. They gobble up so much of the money that this industry makes."
mahlemedved writes: "Because of what happened to infinity ward, because it's carbon copy, because the unbalanced MP rewards winners"
Pic: Forest Badger/Shutterstock
You can contact Brian Crecente, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.