“Call of Duty” has always been the “summer blockbuster” of videogames.  As a franchise obsessed with large explosions, crazy set pieces, and gruff male characters, it’s a distinction well earned.

While this works very well for the series, many argue that the game has stagnated in recent years, due to the series’ approach of “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”  With “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” the developers are mixing things up a bit.

With the series’ large focus on multiplayer gameplay, we thought we should do a multiwriter review.  Joey is a veteran gamer with experience in hundreds of games, and has been playing videogames since he was 4 years old.  Tyler has played most of the COD games, and has some experience with other games as well.  Let’s start with the single player campaign first:

Tyler:  I liked the “Let’1s throw everything we have out and start over” approach that the developers brought to this game.  The improved graphics helped the campaign become a major part of a game that usually doesn’t have a big focus on single player.  It brought players to the forefront of the action and allowed them to have a bigger role in the story line.  Having the characters narrate the story in a more descriptive manner has helped the story line come together better and has also allowed for bigger twists in the story.  When playing the game, players can hear the other characters shout out commands to them or tell them where enemies are specifically located in order to target and ultimately kill them.  I liked the firsthand approach that was taken to single player and it helped the campaign become a bigger part of the game.

Joey:  I agree with Tyler that the campaign does feel like a stronger part of the game this time around, but I have to say that I don’t appreciate the length of the game.  I managed to beat it in around 3 hours, which is ridiculously short.  There were a lot of really cool moments in the campaign, but when the whole game is only a little longer than an average movie, I was left feeling underwhelmed.  That being said, I enjoyed the time I had with the campaign, and I’m excited to see where the story goes in the inevitable “Ghosts 2.”

With the campaign out of the way, let’s move on to the real meat of the game, multiplayer:

Tyler: There are many new game modes this time around in “Ghosts.”  From “Cranked” to “Hunted” to “Search and Rescue,” I enjoyed getting to experience new game modes and some games that have added twists to them.  The maps in this game are much bigger, some maps being 2-3 times as big as normal large maps on a Call of Duty game.  When it comes to leveling up, experience is much harder to gain.  With former COD games, players could level up easily.  Now with “COD: Ghosts,” I have come to the conclusion that it is much harder to level up. With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the multiplayer in this game, and I’m excited to dive deeper into the game and find out more new things this time around.

Joey:  “Cranked” is officially my favorite game mode in any COD game ever.  With “Cranked” making you have to get kills within a certain amount of time, the game goes by so much faster.  Couple that with the new slide move in “Ghosts,” and the game mode is fast, fun, and likely to be many people’s new favorite way to play “Call of Duty.”  Although I do like what they added when it comes to game modes, the way they added customization options is terrible.  While they give you the option to customize your character, they do it in a way that takes way too much work.  To get almost any new customization option requires hours of work, and that’s for the most basic options.  It’s not very fun, and discourages players from making their character their own.

Also included for the first time is the new cooperative mode, “Extinction.”  This new mode features up to four players battling increasingly difficult waves of alien enemies.  Here are our thoughts:

Tyler: One may think a game mode from Infinity Ward about aliens attacking the Earth may seem a little far-fetched, I think the mode is a blast, and likely to become a fan-favorite.  Most COD players always look forward to the campaign and multiplayer modes, and there is always the third mode that comes with the game.  The gameplay itself is really challenging.  You have to go around destroying the hives to eventually reach safety and escape extinction.  Like I said, this gameplay is very difficult and might turn away some players, but could also be very tempting to the group of players who normally play challenging games.

Joey:  This mode is too much fun.  It reminds me a lot of the “Zombies” mode back in “Black Ops 2,”  which was my favorite game mode in that game.  Fighting aliens always feels awesome, although the game is really difficult.  In fact, the mode gets so difficult at times that I wonder how many players will react to it.  “Call of Duty” is a game that attracts people who don’t usually play games.  Because of this, many don’t have the experience that most gamers have with the survival-esque mode, and will most likely be put off from Extinction.

Final comments on game:

Tyler:  While very different from the previous COD game” Black Ops 2,” Infinity Ward managed to create a new storyline to continue the Call of Duty series. I like this game overall and I believe many former COD players will enjoy playing this game until next year when the next game surfaces.

Joey:  This new game is really fun, and a worthy addition to the Call of Duty franchise.  If you were already a fan, you’ll love “Ghosts.”  If you weren’t already a fan, this game might just change that.