TheCall of Dutyfranchise andBattlefieldfranchise have been fighting for fan attention for a long time, as each game offers a unique perspective and experience when it comes to digital warfare. With the recent glimpse atCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’smultiplayer mode, fans are starting to a blur in the stylistic divide of the two war franchises.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warhas been a tight lip secret that only recently has debuted. With only a glimpse at the multiplayer potential within the game, fans noticed a very large desert map, and further information confirmed that the map would be a massive battlefield hosting large groups of players in aGround War-style confrontation.
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For some fans, this idea seems exciting as it gives long open field potential along with a capture the zone mechanic, but other fans noticed the similarity of the upcoming map and a large desert battleground from theBattlefieldseries. As the maps get bigger, the explosions get louder, and the player count rises fans are starting to see a blur inmultiplayer features betweenBattlefieldandCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
The Difference Between Battlefield and Call of Duty
Call of Dutyalways attracted Multiplayer fanswith its close-knit maps, challenging battles, and evolving playlists. The gun selections matched with the fast-paced gameplay created an environment where players relied on fast reflexes and general object awareness, as fans charged headfirst into battle wielding everything from snipers to shotguns as they fought for varying objectives. It is this fast-paced, arcade environment that attracted fans and developed into the modernCall of Dutycommunity.
Battlefieldoffered fans a different pitch. With vehicles, objectives, and built-in squads, players were expected to coordinate on each mission to achieve their objective. Different classes allowed for players to assume battlefield roles while the vehicles helped determine transportation, countermeasures, and in some case, breach methods. The large scale maps and massive war experience were meant to be drawn out into longer game modes, as a match could go on for hours, and fans expected that from the game itself.
WithCall of Duty: Modern Warfareexploring the varyingpossibilities found in Ground War, it is slowly drifting into a style of game that has been exclusive toBattlefield.Long matches, vehicle combat, and massive maps all combine into a single experience that is blatantly notCall of Duty.
Addition of Vehicles
Although theCall of Dutycampaign has taken ample advantage of vehicles, the Multiplayer has only ever offered a limited view. Most non-campaign vehicle interactions were reserved for killstreaks or scorestreaks earned within the match, yet with theintroduction of Ground War, players saw vehicle spawns for the first time inCall of Dutyhistory.
The addition of vehicles to atraditional “boots on the ground” style gameshifted the multiplayer in an interesting way. Although the emphasis was still on the close-knit battles featured in other Multiplayer modes, the vehicles made open terrain deadly and siege points more efficient.
With larger maps, transportation becomes an in-game necessity, as to get to points across the map, players need some level of speed that does not inherently come in aCall of Dutysetting. It feels like a natural transition, but when players examine the end result of game modes like Ground War, they are left with an earlyversion of theBattlefieldformula. It all starts with the addition of vehicles and the need for a much larger battleground.
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Map Size, Team Size, and Game Length
The core dividing factor betweenCall of DutyandBattlefieldis the size of each match. Ground War’s debut inModern Warfareblurred this line, and it appears thatCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Warwill continue this evolution. At some point during the developmental process, Treyarch is going to be forced to shift the expansive vision of Ground War in its title.
If Ground War continues to evolve as expected, then fans will see the evolution drift closer into aBattlefieldstate. It seems that Infinity Ward is drawing the line at aerial combat, but Treyarch’sCall of Duty: Black Ops Cold Wartrailer shows a multiplayer modewhere players in a helicopter are gunning down retreating soldiers. Although the Helicopter could easily be a killstreak, there is a fraction of theCall of Dutycommunity who believe it’s not.
Massive maps and vehicle combat are only the start of the problem, as blurred lines threaten players with the possibility of losing values that are inherent totheCall of Dutyfranchise. There is a divide betweenCall of DutyandBattlefieldfans that see these blurred lines as losses of the charm on both sides. Although they are dramatically different development and publishing teams, the games are playing with the same tools every year.
The eventual merging of the two concepts is not inherently bad, asCall of Dutyfans would benefit from a larger field of battle. WhileBattlefieldhas always edged on the side of realism,Call of Dutycontinues to promote a more arcade and fast-paced style of play. Thisfast-paced small-map environmentis whereCall of Dutyprospers by not locking players into hour-long games.
Battlefieldalso stands to lose in this muddling of concepts as the game already struggles to compete withCall of Duty.Battlefieldcontinues to outshineCall of Dutyevery so often due to its values of a realistic battleground, but asCall of Dutyedges closer to large scale combat and realism,Battlefieldis automatically set to lose what it has already fought so hard to gain. This is especially true after recent installments of the franchise.
On a player side, a merge in concept betweenBattlefieldandCall of Dutywould be brilliant. The large scale confrontations mixed with close fast-paced battles would create a unique game environment that fans would love for years. AsCall of Dutycontinues to move forward with innovation and deliberate scaling of its match sizes, players must be the word of caution to prevent the developers from losing what makes each game inherently unique.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold Waris set to release on November 13 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox One X.
