Since 2008, every Call of Duty release has featured a Modern Warfare or Black Ops subtitle in its name. After finishing the Modern Warfare story with the decisive conclusion of its third entry, Infinity Ward had every chance to inject the long-running series with new life. With Ghosts, the developer introduced a new universe, populated it with a new cast, and brought the franchise to a new generation of consoles. One thing the studio hasn’t done is introduce significantly new elements to the gameplay experience.
Even on PlayStation 4 [NOTE: The Xbox One version of this review is embargoed until next week], Ghosts feels like any number of previous Call of Duty games. Most of its predecessors featured at least one big hook that made them stand out. For example, Modern Warfare 2 greatly expanded on the killstreak system, and Black Ops II offered branching campaign paths and smartly streamlined loadouts with the Pick 10 system. Ghosts simply doesn’t have its own hook.
Sure, it contains a handful of new multiplayer modes. Grind mixes Halo’s Headhunter mode with Call of Duty’s own Kill Confirmed match type, and it results in some tense moments as you struggle to return dog tags before you’re killed. Blitz is fast-paced and fun, tasking players with sprinting into a designated scoring zone before enemies stop them with a hail of gunfire. Search and Rescue is a smart variant of a series favorite, and gives players hope to return after being eliminated. These new match types can be a lot of fun, but the only thing that feels different is the method of scoring.
Infinity Ward touted environmental destructibility in Ghosts’ multiplayer maps, but these moments rarely have an impact on the matches. A gas station may fall over, some doors can be opened and closed, and specific sections of walls are destructible, but these events never feel like an organic (or necessary) development of shootouts. The most significant tweak to multiplayer is the toning down of air-based killstreak rewards. Without choppers, fighter jets, and drones constantly buzzing above you, there are far fewer instances of dying seconds after spawning.
Squads is a new multiplayer mode that aims high but simply isn’t much fun to play. Players have the ability to create 10 different soldiers, each with their own specific loadout. These squads can be put to work in a variety of match types, most of which involve one or two human players in rounds otherwise populated by bots. Unsurprisingly, spending a ton of time in menus as you tweak characters for AI-filled matches isn’t nearly as fun as participating in shootouts filled with real opponents. 
While Squads misses the mark, the new Extinction mode is a great co-op distraction. It may be limited to one large map, but teaming up with three friends to take down increasingly difficult waves of aliens and their hives is a blast.
Call of Duty Ghosts
