CoD:IW or Battlefield 1; which will you pick?
Infinite Warfare or World War? The Great War or Space War? This autumn fans of the First-Person-Shooter genre are being faced with a choice; An interesting choice we haven’t really had in a while. One I welcome with open arms.
Call of Duty is continuing down the path it has been on for a while now. Infinite Warfare will feature futuristic space battles, wall running, jumping and all the other bells and whistles you would now expect. Fans of that series won’t find much of a shock on that front, the gameplay will no doubt be a little tighter, a little more refined and so on. Iteration on the path they’ve chosen, only this time it will genuinely feature a space setting and space battles assuming, of course, the trailer is to be believed.
The Battlefield franchise, on the other hand, has sniffed an opportunity to gain ground on its rival by changing things up. “What is old, is new again” as they say. Battlefield One will be set during World War One, the first mainstream FPS title in a long time to be set in a historical setting and not a modern/future setting. With Dice’s signature destructible environments, vehicle based combat and large maps, it’ll be a breath of fresh air for the genre. At least I hope it will.
Having fallen out of love with Call of Duty after Modern Warfare 3 I have found myself wondering why, the space setting in itself isn’t an issue, I love Destiny and Battlefront so why do I find it so off putting. I’ve finally figured it out in a way which I can articulate. All of the First Person Shooters I have enjoyed share something, one thing in particular that the recent Call of Duty titles have lacked; Boots on the ground.
Boots on the ground is the key to an enjoyable FPS experience for my tastes, regardless of how futuristic the weapons and setting all players are running along the floor. As soon as you introduce running along walls or ceilings you lose that grounded feel and that’s when I lose interest. Destiny, Modern Warfare 1 & 2, Battlefront (PS4) and Halo all share that grounded feel; whereas Call of Duty and Titanfall do not.
The setting will be an issue for some considering there is so many futuristic based shooters but for me the problem with Infinite Warfare is much more fundamental. The shootout between these 2 titans will be interesting to see in October/November this year. Will you be answering the “Call of Duty” or will I be seeing you on the “Battlefield”?
I know where I’ll be.
