It was only two months ago that the games press were in downtown LA for E3.
This week Activision gave us a compelling reason to come back as they were ready to pull the cover off the multiplayer component of their upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts. The presentation had all the markings of an E3 keynote, kicked off by Activision's Eric Hirshberg.
Along with a loud and effective reveal trailer, the relatively comprehensive hour-long presentation was followed with an afternoon of hands-on time with the game, not to mention more hands-on time with Xbox One controllers.
It was only two months ago that the games press were in downtown LA for E3.
This week Activision gave us a compelling reason to come back as they were ready to pull the cover off the multiplayer component of their upcoming Call of Duty: Ghosts. The presentation had all the markings of an E3 keynote, kicked off by Activision's Eric Hirshberg.
Along with a loud and effective reveal trailer, the relatively comprehensive hour-long presentation was followed with an afternoon of hands-on time with the game, not to mention more hands-on time with Xbox One controllers.
Squads
Layering on top of the customization are the squads, which comprise of ten characters you design yourself. Sense of ownership multiples when you take them out to the field as AI controlled teammates, pitted against your friend and his squad.
Squads seem to encourage diversity of weapons and skills, but I also feel the compulsion to experiment and see how a team of ten snipers can hold their own. One of the more intriguing aspects of Squads is an asynchronous mode where you can play against your friend's squad without your friend being present.
Customization
Like females in Call of Duty: Ghosts, customization feels overdue. It's not that such a feature is standard in shooters, but considering the popularity of the franchise and the sense of ownership daily COD players have, customization is a welcome addition to the series. Expect to customize many aspects of your appearance from head to toe, including mask options, which is fitting for Ghosts.
Having played around with the character creation a bit, we do hope Activision expands the selection of facial models for both genders. Perhaps more customization options will open up through gaining experience. Activision did boast 20,000 combinations.
Assault + Sniper = Marksman Rifle
Hybrid classes can be a dicey prospect, especially if they might be good enough to render classic classes irrelevant. At this event, Activision introduced the Marksman Rifle which features weapon handling abilities of the sniper and assault classes. While I held my own in multiple matches with this class, it's too early to tell how this will be received in the professional competitive gaming circuit.
Mobile Integration
The map in the photo above shows the layout of the Clan Wars mode, just one of the many Call of Duty: Ghosts games beyond the game itself. It's one of a number of features in the Call of Duty mobile app tied to Ghosts, which also features clan and character management tied to Call of Duty: ELITE.
Clan Wars are two-week long multiplayer campaigns where clans compete to dominate a series of maps. Think of it as Domination mode, but the capture points are the maps themselves.
Females
The Ghosts MP trailer saved the final shot by revealing to the viewers they were watching the action from the perspective of a female character, a first time for the series. In 2013, it feels very overdue, especially considering how long they've been a fixture in other genres like RPGs.
It was embarrassing to ask, but during my interview, I wanted to make sure that there weren't any gender specific abilities or stats. Thankfully, the answer was a confident "No.".
Versatile Perks
Customization looks like the make-or-break theme of Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer.
There are more perks and this time, each with different point values, which you spend points on. The opportunity to turn off the secondary weapon slot (among other options) in favor of an additional perk slot can open up possibilities. With so many options, we'd like to think the team at Infinity Ward in charge of player balancing have anticipated exploits based on certain perk combinations. If not, well, there's always patching the game.
Dogs
We knew about dogs in Ghosts from the game's formal reveal earlier this year, but only in the context of the game's story mode. It wasn't a foregone conclusion that dogs would also be in multiplayer, but it was also unsurprising to see man's best friend in the MP reveal video.
They work as part of the killstreak rewards; when called upon, they run within close proximity to you, often in front of you. Don't you hate it when you're comfy sniping from an elevated position, only to get stabbed from behind? Your dog just might be observant enough to have your back.
The Big Overhaul
Call of Duty to representing the series on two new consoles is a big deal, especially when it can't coast on the subtitle of Black Ops or Modern Warfare. It's the opportunity to make significant changes, like elimination of deathstreaks and selective environment destruction.
This overhaul also means new modes, like the walking timebomb mode known as Crank, where killstreaks makes you faster, but if you go 30 seconds without a kill, you explode.
Audio Enhancements
On more practical topics of Call of Duty's sound, a small part of the presentation went over the advancements of Ghosts' audio. A notable addition was situational audio from squadmates. Expect to hear everything from "Contact at the pawn shop!" to "He's out in the open!".
From my hands-on time, it wasn't easy to capitalize on these sound cues, especially considering the fast pace of Call of Duty MP matches. Yet if you're at the right place at the right time, you just might get an easy kill, knowing that a team member warned that foe is closing in on your position.
Eminem Drops 'Survival'
A music artist dropping a new song in conjunction with game reveal isn't new, but presenting it to make an impression takes work. It was certainly an Eminem song down to his recognizable and assertive vocal delivery, you could have mistaken it as a track from one of his older albums.
While I could not make out any of the lyrics (thanks to the loudness of the presentation and acoustics of the event's giant tent), the song's energy certainly matched the visuals of the reveal trailer. As the aptly titled 'Survival', you wonder if Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward had input on his lyrics. Does he actually name drop the game in the song? You can listen to it HERE.