Contrary, Balance does not equal a good game. CoD has a reasonably enjoyable multiplayer and a story that I can imagine would be like by the easily satisfied action seeker. But after you've played one CoD game, you've played them all. The story was never significant and the singleplayer campaign would be about shooting a enemy everybody could hate, then something with helicopters, followed by a (near) death, PLOT TWIST OMFG and to finish it all a heroic victory.

But this isn't my main complaint with CoD, it's that the game has the most annoying teamwork based gameplay. In short; it's non existend. In a more reasonable way: The entire gameplay is focussed around getting kills, which will be rewarded with extra kills(in the form of killstreaks), this wouldn't be that much of a problem if it didn't mean that the team with the luckiest shooter ever could win just because he offers them such a massive advantage that the enemy team will remain at a disadvantage.
While nearly every other multiplayer shooter attempts to make sure that everybody is having fun by creating some sort of balance, CoD just gives the losing team the finger and arms their enemies with ridiculous weaponary.
Back to the teamwork, the gamemodes themselfs don't really help this either. Everything can be dumbed down to: "kill as many things that turn your crosshair red."
I just can't see the point. When I'm playing a multiplayer game and I'm having a great match it means that the score was ridiculously close, that the teams were both doing everything in their power to win, that a brilliantly executed tactic can mean the difference and that at the end nobody feels like they really lost. I mean sure, I get a loss behind my name. But frankly, I don't give a ♥♥♥♥.
This is where TF2 and BC2 excell, dynamic battles that often end in a epic clash between two equal teams.

It's not that I hate CoD, I play MW every once in a while, but I only play it when I feel like the mindless slaugher that it presents.

/rant

Just gonna drop this in here
But yea, I can not wait until it comes out! I loved MW2 and hope that MW3 will live up to my expectations.
Basically being better overall, not really picky about what is thrown in, as long as it is cool.

OMG! The russians are invading america! Thats not like the single most over used plot ever or anything. i Love you bad company 2 please don't hate me
For anyone who wants to be a real man http://www.ea.com/battlefield3
Whats that? No the limited edition does NOT come with and night vision googles, or RC cars. You want toys, buy lego, not an MA15+ video game.
...was that a bit harsh?

Y u raggan' on lego.

No (lego's awesome), im saying you don't buy the limited edition just to get a toy.
When i go to Mc'donalds, i get a big mac, not some ♥♥♥♥ happy meal.

Hey man, Legos are freaking awesome.

I wasn't complaining when I said there isn't really much more (borderline future) modern junk to throw in the game. The bottom line is that the single player will have the objective of "Shoot ♥♥♥♥ until there ain't no more ♥♥♥♥ to shoot" (as most fps games do), multiplayer will be a blender with bullets and body parts in it. Quite honestly, teamwork in most online (fps) games is ground down to all the players on one team wanting to be in the same place at the same time. There's just too many people out there who'd rather kill everything forever without a mic and couldn't really care who's around them so long as there actually is a friendly team around them to keep the enemy's attention spread. I'm speaking more towards console games here, I haven't done much in the way of PC games. Still, it's not a particularly bad experience.

Things I'm hoping for in this game:
-Some sort of bolt-action sniper, bonus points if it can have iron sights (not going to happen, I know).
-Larger maps for maneuvering in, like from building to building. Something that makes smoke grenades and sniper hunting so nice.
-The same amount of air-attack killstreak options they have in Black Ops. Pretty much the only problem I had with MW2 was the volume of lead coming down from the sky.
-A lame-ass weapon like a double-barrel shotgun or revolvers. Because I got the most fun out of Black Ops with just these two.
-Something like the challenges for cash they had in Black Ops to reward players for mixing up their arsenal now and then.

As long as they do the coop properly I'll probably enjoy it.

And yeah I agree twwig, like the M14 with iron sight on mw2 coop.
Except it's a semi auto DMR, that is, not a bolt action rifle.

Non-existant strategy/team work is wha tkills this franchise for most people who think it isn't that good.

IMO, i think it's a decent game for the people who play it but... It's much too one sided once somebody gets a killstreak cause they chain off another. It's like playing an RPG and you the level 10 guy versus the lvl 1 guy.

I don't think i'm going to buy it.

I'm riding on DoTA2.

Just for reference, I'm with Contrary.
MW2 is about a bazillion times better than COD4. No more spawning in front of bullets that have already been fired.

The plot was more dumb, but less serious, and less anger-inducing. (I've ranted about this before, but the nuke bit in COD4 was ♥♥♥♥ dumb. HEY GUYS FLY BACK INTO THE NUKE HURRR OH NO I'M DYING THIS IS SO SAD)

I find MW2 to be a bazillion times more silly and gunslinger-y than CoD4 with the dual-wieldings. CoD4 atleast tried to stay serious with that ♥♥♥♥.
I mean, seriously. Some lighter pistols still go but shotguns? ♥♥♥♥?
Also,

SPOILER ALERT: You kill the bad guy and they make a sequel.

Don't forget Black Ops has duel-wielded, fully-automatic shotguns. You reload with magic.

I liked MW2 (and MW1 (and CoD2)), but I'm pretty much completely turned off of the CoD series ever since I tricked myself into getting the map packs. Suddenly, I can no longer play multiplayer since basically nobody has the map packs, and the only way to connect to players who don't have the map packs is to either queue with a friend without the packs or to contact Steam and have them irrevocably remove the map packs from my account.

I'll stick with Battlefield now, thanks.

I loved MW for its campaign. MW2 was fun for the online and I also personally loved the Spec Ops missions. Black Ops had good online and zombies, for a time.

The thing about the recent Call of Duty games is this: They're fun. I don't know if I could classify them as "good". That may seem contradictory. But there's a difference between a fun game and a good game. Picking your nose can be fun if you do it with enough vigor. Creating a sculpture out of your boogers is certainly a more artistic endeavor, though I wager it isn't as fun to take all of the time to construct it.

...maybe a bad example. My point being CoD is fun to play every now and then. I certainly wouldn't ever any of the installments into a Top 10 list. The actually quality of the games is completely disproportional to how enjoyable it is to play them. Take Black Ops, for instance. The engine it runs on is utter ♥♥♥♥, there are so many issues with the multiplayer, and the graphical quality is shameful considering there are some launch titles from 2005 and 2006 that are far superior in their visuals. Even Modern Warfare 2 was leagues above it. Its campaign is laughably horrid and the zombies mode gets repetitive after 5 hours worth of matches, and even the new maps will only offer so much extra play.

CoD's defining aspect now is the multiplayer. It's simple enough for a 9 year old to walk into a server and annoy the hell out of anyone, but there's enough depth to the unlockables and whatnot that people will play it for dozens of hours to try everything out. I know "friends" who have put in over 50 days worth of gameplay into MW2. As you can imagine, these guys think that farting is the height of comedy and that screaming obscenities over their mics is "hardcore". They seem to take more stock in their K/D ratios and their scores than they do in having fun with the actual gameplay. Which is bad.



If you're looking for a shooter that's really well made and fun, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is astounding, and Battlefield 3 looks like it will be absolutely breath-taking. Halo is good, too. Killzone is spectacular. For you third person shooter maniacs, Uncharted, SOCOM, and Gears of War all have pretty great multiplayer. But if you're looking for a cheap thrill that 80% of your friends on Steam, Live, and PSN probably have, Call Of Duty will always be there with its annual installment. It's not a good series. It's a fun series.

That said, I'm not buying it, just like I haven't bought any of the next-gen CoDs- I've always borrowed them from those "friends" I mentioned. I've put in maybe 20 hours of gameplay into Black Ops despite having borrowed it back in December.

Yeah I agree, it's not particularly well made in that a lot of aspects, but it sure is fun.