No next-gen yet... sad.
Call of Duty: Ghosts - the Digital Foundry verdict
Last year's Black Ops 2 dared to rewrite some of the Call of Duty rulebook, in the process firmly showing that Treyarch is more than willing to shake up the franchise to keep things from appearing too stale. But besides the increase in graphical spectacle and a few underused ideas we never get a sense that series creator Infinity Ward is looking to expand past its comfort zone in Ghosts. Instead, the gameplay is bolstered by new mechanics that are quickly introduced and then discarded for the rest of the game - such as the introduction of the remote sniper in an early mission, and the inclusion of attack dog Riley, who can be completely forgotten after the game is done using him to advance the wafer-thin plot. Meanwhile, the multiplayer modes are starting to lose some of their lustre, especially when compared to the dynamic environments and vehicular combat of the Battlefield games.
In that sense, the Call of Duty series really needs to evolve in future instalments, taking advantage of the additional power afforded by the next-generation consoles and top-end PC to deliver more than just a bigger bang and prettier pictures, but instead ways to make the blockbuster spectacle feel meaningful again. However, from a technological perspective, Infinity Ward has arguably proven that its underlying engine is ready for next-generation deployment with Call of Duty: Ghosts, even if the sheer number of advanced rendering features fails to match true next-gen titles such as Battlefield 4 and Killzone: Shadow Fall. In that sense it's still a cross-generation game, but one that makes a concerted effort to deliver a meaningful upgrade over the sub-HD current console versions.
In that respect, the PC version represents a huge leap above the console editions and gives us a good idea of what to expect from the upcoming PS4 and XO releases. If you're planning on getting either next-gen console at launch and haven't taken the plunge with Call of Duty: Ghosts on the 360, PS3 or Wii U, we'd certainly suggest holding out a little longer as the graphical upgrade appears worthwhile. Of course the issue of Xbox One's 720p resolution and PlayStation 4's alleged frame-rate problems are still looming with regards to the game - a state of affairs that we are keen to address when we finally get our hands on both consoles in the coming days.
In the here and now, the current-gen Call of Duty experience is best delivered on the 360, followed quite closely by the PS3 version, where stable multiplayer performance is backed up by a campaign that still delivers a good slice of 60fps action, even if frame-rates aren't quite as smooth as on Microsoft's platform. However, the soft-focused look doesn't represent the game in its best light in comparison to the sharper and cleaner 360 release, while the texture bugs are disappointing to see. The real letdown comes with the Wii U version, which sees owners of Nintendo's console once again left with a sub-par experience marred by frequent frame-rate issues and some pretty striking texture quality problems that makes it hard to recommend when both 360 and PS3 offer up smoother gameplay and more enjoyable online play as a result.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-call-of-duty-ghosts-face-off
Enjoy.
