Call of Duty Game Series and History

FPS (first person shooter) games are games of action and combat, which revolve around weaponry and the player experiencing the game on a first person basis. The player gets to see all the action since he/she is playing in character. The history of these games goes as far back as 1973 where games like Maze War and Spasm were invented. Today, first person shooters, commonly referred to, as FPS games are some of the most selling genres of video games.

The Nature of First Person Shooter Games

The same way as many FPS games, this game involves a player character, numerous enemies and varied weapon choices. It is played on a 3D platform, which makes it seem so realistic. This environment is complete with visuals, sound, lighting, collision and precise representation of gravity. Some of the environments platforms may feature different themes such as space, forest, galactic (which is the use of sci-fi) with characters matching the themes such as aliens, exotic animals and fiction based characters.

Like all games, this one too has a structure where a cod gamer graduates to higher levels, with each level being more complex than the previous one. The game is fast paced, with many bloody firefights as well as different realistic weapons involved. With every level, there is usually a task or a mission to complete, and the player may have to use tactics and strategy in order to get the top most prize at the end of each level.

Duty Calls

One such game is the Call of Duty series, it debuted in 2003, created by Infinity Ward, an American based video game developer. Later on, more developers such as Treyatch, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, Gray Matter Interactive, and Spark Unlimited, n-space, Ideaworks, pi studios, Rebellion developments and Amaze Entertainment have enhanced the different versions of the game that is enjoyed by all today.

It is a game loved by all, and this has resulted to it winning up to 90 awards for Game of the Year, abs fifty editor's choice awards. It has gotten high rankings, as its popularity charts seem to be escalating by the year. For every two years since 2003, Infinity ward has been releasing a new game series under the Call of Duty franchise with the latest being the Call of Duty Modern warfare 3 released in November 2011.

How it Runs

These games run on an engine known as Quake III arena engine or id tech 3 as many would like to call it, together with the IW 5.0 and the Treyarch NGL. With the latest version of the game, the player takes the role of different characters in a single - player COD campaign. In this exciting game, many happenings unfold with each event having different challenge grounds to cover, with different checkpoints to reach after eliminating a number of enemies. Every level presents a mission, which if accomplished will automatically unlock the next level.

More is Fun

COD multiplayer is more fun as you get to tackle a mission together with a team. This is more challenging compared to the single player, as the game ends with one team player garnering most points, when he/she completes the mission or when time lapses to become the winner. The strategy of this game is survival of the fittest. One has to eliminate the opposing players, meet the objectives of the mission or complete the challenge on time to gain experience points.

The Good

With all these exciting features that the game has to offer it has proved to be good for the gaming fanatics, as they present a great pass time activity which helps people enhance skills such as concentration, planning and strategy skills amongst many others. The development of a new game in every two years as it has been the trend, has elevated gaming on to a spotlight, giving everyone, young and old a reason to embrace it as a culture.

The Bad

However, many out there view this game and many others of the like such as Mortal Kombat as violent and therefore, they have put a restriction on their children from playing it. The pressure on the gaming industry comes not only from the parents; there is a weighing political pressure, with critics claiming that these kinds of games promote a violent culture within the society.

Open Opportunities & Benefits

On the other side, due to the success of the call of duty games, many developers are now adopting the FPS game model in order to feast from it and soon many such games will saturate the market. The latest COD game hit an unbelievable marker in the history of gaming, which has proved to be motivating factor to many game developers, as well as giving them a push to try to develop something better.

Many game developers have even looked outside the box to bring in less "violent" games, which involve different kinds of sports, which they consider safer and more fun. From all this competition, a lot of funds are likely to be utilized with companies competing to outdo each other and other people will benefit from this. Others are positively gaining inspiration from games such as COD, driving them to invent games for younger players who may not be able to play beginner levels for this game.

The development of new games from different game developers only goes to say that there will be a variety for players and more financial gain for the video game market.

Better Days ahead for COD

With Call of Duty however, there seems to be a clear indication that with new releases and editions of the franchise, success will be the song the developers sing for years to come. This is all thanks to Call of Duty Black Ops 2, which reached the 1 billion dollar milestone, a fortnight from its release, setting the record of being the fastest selling gaming product in the history of gaming. Players all across the globe are eager for each release as new challenges await and the ideas are fresher. With as many developers under the franchise as there are, there can only be one thing expected from the COD game series, and that is success.