Call of Duty: Ghosts Single-Player Review

Call of Duty has become defined by its multiplayer segment, so much so that multiplayer gaming has become the frontline battlefield of the FPS war as COD and Battlefield slug it out over online war-spaces. Despite this, each yearly iteration of the game has been accompanied by a generally decent single-player campaign. Many of these campaigns have proven to be impressive feats of both game design and storytelling, refusing to be ignored over the natural appeal of the multiplayer matches. The launch-pad that was COD4 being the prime example, and Black Ops II being the most recent.

So enters Call of Duty: Ghosts; loaded with a brand new game world with new characters, a new overarching plot and a dog called Riley. Sadly, while there are plenty of superficially new features to be explored in the latest title from Infinity Ward (among others), what you’ll find here is a single-player campaign that simply refuses to move forward.

The plot this time round is simple enough and will be familiar to anyone who’s played a modern military shooter. In fact, there’s a slight possibility that you could mistake this campaign for one of the previous Modern Warfare titles. In Ghosts, a collection of South American countries have unified under the banner of ‘The Federation’ and subsequently launched an invasion on the USA. When the game begins, the war has been fought to a bloody stalemate, with neither side prepared to drop the killer blow. That’s where the Ghosts come in.

An elite group of American troopers, based in the desolate ‘no mans land’, the Ghosts work to constrict The Federation and bring an end to their attack. Surprisingly, you’re not one of the Ghosts, at least not to begin with. The protagonist, one Logan Walker, is dropped in to the conflict along with his brother and father. It’s a serviceable set up for some shooting, but lacks the ingenuity of the Black Ops II campaign. This plot, perhaps more than ever before, seems like business as usual.

So with a plotline that’s clearly more focused on giving you reasons to shoot people than reasons to cry, you’d certainly expect the gameplay to be a step above the previous titles. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The game follows the tried and tested Call of Duty style; clear a few rooms full of bad guys, enjoy a set-piece, watch a cut-scene then repeat the cycle. Unlike Black Ops II, the changes to this formula are small. Perhaps the most famous (or is it infamous?) mix-up is the introduction of Riley, a combat German Shepherd who’s a total badass.

In a game all about manly men shooting other manly men, Riley is a surprisingly fun and relatable character. I don’t know what it’s like to shoot a man, but I know what it’s like to love a dog and building a relationship with Riley is one of the most weirdly enjoyable elements of the campaign. His effect on the actual gameplay is minimal; controlling Riley is fun but there aren’t many opportunities for you to try this and ordering him to attack nearby enemies is far from engaging. Regardless, his mini story, and his relationship with the Walker brothers, is a highlight of the game. Looks like all those dog jokes were a little unfounded after all.

There are further attempts to provide something different in the Ghosts campaign. Vehicle sections are back in, this time including helicopter and tank sections. It’s an odd move that’s clearly a response to the vehicular combat of Battlefield 4, but I can’t help but feel as though Infinity Ward are trying to force these sections out of an engine that simply wasn’t built for large-scale armoured or aerial warfare.

What we get, then, are helicopter sections that feel heavily restricted and linear as well as tank battles that lack focus. In fact, the developers have somehow managed to make the heavily armoured death machines feel like dodgems. They’re segments that make you appreciate the quality of the vehicle design in BF4, and ultimately Infinity Ward should have stuck to what they know best.

So what do they know best? I’d argue that IW are experts at turning just about any location into a perfectly balanced, and enjoyable, combat zone. In this regard, Call of Duty: Ghosts sees the world-renowned developers shine. The pan-American war takes the protagonist to some intriguing locations, the best of which include a levelled American city, an Antarctic oil rig and, yes, a space station.

Some of these may not sound particularly exciting, but Infinity Ward cleverly selects the way in which these locations are revealed to you. What’s more, they’re finely tuned to fit with the classic COD gameplay. Where the vehicle sections feel unnecessarily open, these levels are tight, fast paced and unrelenting, especially on the harder difficulties. Plugging your way through this campaign is still fun, it’s just that there’s less here to mix things up.

The story of the Ghosts and The Federation, written by Hollywood scriptwriter Stephen Gaghan, is by far the most disappointing element of Ghosts. The writing itself is poor; there’s nothing that’ll linger in your mind after completion and none of the characters are remotely interesting (except Riley, of course). The formulation of the plot is also poorly handled; there are added elements to the standard US vs generic enemy theme, but they’re either boring or lacking development.

That hoo-rah-ing, chest-pounding vibe seems to be impossible to kick from a COD game, and I for one am growing sick and tired of the genre cliches that are on show here. If anything, the Ghosts story has left me gagging for a tale based upon American aggression, in which the USA finally begins its assault on the world. For now though, we’ll have to make do with confusing morals and inexplicably powerful super-nations.

There are moments of greatness to be found here, shadows of the fantastic COD4 campaign. The last hour of the game is easily the best bit and seems to finally nail that excellent pacing that characterised the early Call of Duty games. There are also some good set-piece moments, including a sudden city flood and a battle in space. Actually, that space battle brings me to a small point of interest. There are a weird number of segments in Ghosts that bear a strong resemblance to various James Bond films... seriously.

The aforementioned space battle is a good example, so too is the underwater fighting from the E3 demo. There are a few further examples that I won’t spoil (no, not a jetpack), but take my word for it that you’ll probably spot a couple more during play. I’d argue that this is a big indication of wear and tear. Seven games on from COD4, the Hollywood cliches are coming on thick and fast. Having these familiar themes in-game is an unfortunate, but unavoidable, side effect of the yearly release system. Are the developers running out of ideas? Probably not. Are technological and time restrictions leading to unoriginality? It’s more likely.

Much can be said the same regarding visuals. It’s classic COD style; responsive, sometimes beautiful, but usually mediocre at best. The game engine has barely changed over the last five years and on current-gen consoles, this is more than obvious. There are some really well put together cutscenes to enjoy, but other than the unavoidable awesomeness of the view from space, there’s very little to impress visually in Ghosts.

This all comes together in a campaign that lasts around eight hours, which is and always will be fairly short. Call of Duty: Ghosts feels like a step backwards for the series. Black Ops II provided enough new content, including entirely new gameplay elements, to make the COD campaign a point of interest once again. There’s no chance this game will be remembered for the single-player campaign. It’s unoriginal, poorly written and full to the brim with military cliche.

Despite this, it’s still fun and arguably worth your time. The seemingly timeless appeal of feeling like a super soldier is ever-present and will keep you playing. Is the game worth buying for this mode alone? Not a chance, but then who really does this for COD these days? With a questionable campaign, it looks like Ghosts is relying on the popular multiplayer modes to keep it in working order. We’ll have our in-depth review for this section of the game ready very soon, so keep an eye out.