Debate Week: Call of Duty: Treyarch vs Infinity Ward
Call of Duty is one of, if not the biggest FPS franchise of recent times. With games selling in their millions, online multiplayer dominating the Xbox Live and PSN charts and YouTube videos of every known play-style available, the franchise is somewhat successful. However, with two leading developers alternating year on year, there are questions on which is the better of the two. So, rather than compare on a game to game basis, lets compare on a segment of the game and work our way from there.
Story
We’ll start off with an easy to resolve section, the narrative. Infinity Ward are the masters of creating compelling stories that keep us hooked. Remember ‘All Ghillied Up’. Level design masterpiece at its best. What about ‘No Fighting In The War Room’, ‘War Pig’, ‘Death From Above’, ‘Heat’… all levels that thrust us into the heart of the battle with our battle cry piercing through the enemies brains. Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. On the otherhand, can you remember a mission name from Treyarch’s last outing, World at War? It’s not that the Treyarch storytelling ability is lost, but that being based on real events, we don’t have the same attachment, knowing how it will turn out and what happened. I mean, with Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2, did you ever foresee Gaz and Ghost being murdered in either? No, because good story telling never reveals itself to you until the maximum point of emotional penetration. And no, that was not a euphemism.
Winner: Infinity Ward
Characters
Again, another easy win for the boys at Infinity Ward. Whilst Sergeant Reznov and Corporal Roebuck were two fond characters in World At War, it’s the likes of Captain Price and Soap MacTavish whom we remember and would listen intently to any word they uttered. It’s because of these characters that Infinity Ward aced the ‘Story’ section also. Just to prove my point, outside of the two aforementioned WaW characters, can you name any others? And no, Nazi #1 doesn’t count. How about characters from the Modern Warfare series? Gaz, Griggs, Kamarov, Ghost and the rest. Ramirez, go design a memorable character, WITHOUT YOUR IMAGINATION!
Winner: Infinity Ward
Co-op
Modern Warfare 1 lacked any whatsoever! MW2 at least allowed us to play a series of exhilarating mini-missions with a friend, but was still a major letdown. With little to no replayability and no matchmaking, we were stuck playing the same things with the same bunch of friends. World at War not only had an almost fully co-op campaign for upto 4 people, complete with death cards as a way to mix up the gameplay, but also the greatest, albeit somewhat unintentional, co-op gamemode in Nazi Zombies. As little more than a reward for completing the campaign, this wave defense game has received more accolades than the games multiplayer due to the addicting nature of slaughtering zombies using all manner of utensils of war. I think Treyarch just planted a Bouncing Betty in Infinity Ward’s ass as this one is unchallenged.
Winner: Treyarch
Multiplayer: General
As much as the fanboys flamed Treyarch when World at War was released, their arguments tended to state that the game wasn’t ‘CoD4′. Well no shit sherlock, but the game took all of the successful elements of CoD4 (Perks, game modes and attachments) but into a different era. It felt the same, but felt completely different at the same time, just like the transition from CoD4 to MW2. But, as successful as Treyarch were, it was largely due to the fantastic work Infinity Ward made on Call of Duty 4 that was the reason behind it. Still widely acknowledged as the best FPS of our time, CoD4 still feels fresh and fair, something that cannot be said for its big brother, eh MW2!
Winner: Infinity Ward
Multiplayer: Functionality
Whilst I knew that Infinity Ward was going to win the multiplayer bout, I opted to split this category into two as this latter section is where Treyarch shine and is why I thought World at War was the most polished of all the Call of Duty games. The skeleton is what Treyarch used of CoD4, but World at War has a beautiful skin all thanks to the developer. Squads were the first big improvement, allowing you to see which of your party were where on the mini map, could back-out as a group and allocate tasks (albeit simply) to your squad. Simple but effective method of adding at least some teamwork to your collaboration of Rambo-wannabes. Secondly, the most ridiculous thing that Infinity Ward failed to add to Modern Warfare 2 was extensive leaderboards. Treyarch literally allowed each separate game mode in Waw to have its own leaderboards and then their website had stats and leaderboards of everything from what challenges you’d completed, what weapons you’d got the most kills with and how many, most zombie kills and so much more!
Winner: Treyarch
Post-game Support
Now, Infinity Ward don’t seem to have much luck post-support. With CoD4, they released just one map pack. MW2 has had an abundance of glitches, some of which are fixed, a lot of which aren’t. However, we’ve had one DLC already, with another on the way! All of this whilst over 30 employees have joined the mass exodus from the studio, so I guess we can’t be too hard on the remaining few who are trying to get by as their senior advisers and colleagues have jumped ship. Treyarch provided 3 good, fair priced, solid map packs, as well as a free map for all gamers. As well, many more of the important issues were resolved, with few if any still remaining. It’s a triumph for Treyarch, albeit in a bout against a disabled opponent.
Winner: Treyarch
The Future
Modern Warfare 2 was a great game. A flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. However, it was still a large stepdown from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Since Treyarch released the mixed bag that was CoD3, they’ve gone from strength to strength, with World At War being a brilliant game, and Black Ops looking even to step up on the modern time podium. With many staff leaving Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 3′s future looks hazy and with the original team dispersed, do we really have anything to look forward to? For this, you have to agree that the ball is firmly in Treyarch’s court and anticipation for Black Ops is growing. Time will tell, but I have a feeling we may have the new leading CoD developer in our sights this November.
Winner: Treyarch
Conclusion
Infinity Ward are able to give birth to the most beautiful creation the FPS genre has seen, but you can still see and get weirded out by the amniotic fluid. Treyarch takes a towel, wipes it off and produces a similar but better sight. Okay, the analogy may not be great, but it’s more refreshing than ‘polished turd’ right? Either way, what Treyarch have lacked in innovation before, preferring to use the best of their predecessor, they more than make up for in community involvement. And, Black Ops looks set to explore Treyarch’s creative freedom like no other game before. But, like the chicken and the egg, you cannot have one without the other, so whilst Treyarch wins our little debate, both play a pivotal role in making sure the CoD franchise is full of crappy perks, unbalanced weapons and whiny arsed 12 year olds. Hey, wait a minute…
Short URL: http://thegamershub.net/?p=7262
Posted by Matthew Gildea
on May 31 2010. Filed under Editorials, Philosophy and Gaming, Screenshots.
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well every call of duty game is the same as the last just different guns and re-skinned…. and infinity ward is dead in the water since activision screwed them over just like they will with every company that makes the terrible call of duty…..people gotta learn real good games and let the dead series die
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I enjoy playing the infinity ward ones offline
Prefer Treyarch for online
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This Article has some comments worth reading on N4g; LINK: http://n4g.com/news/533552/call-of-duty-treyarch-vs-infinity-ward#selcomment
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Good article dude, well thought out with some interesting points. As much as I enjoy IW’s games the lack of co-op options is always a disappointment. MW2 should get an award though for being the most highly brought yet most universally slated game in history, it made 1 billion dollars in like two months and yet as far as I can tell everyone does nothing but complain about it. C’est la vie.
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well yeah juzzo the game suck its what the 12yr olds that play halo play when they turn 13 and still havent hit puberty
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when you made this article, it was an instant fail. Because IW is no more:/
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They still exist. Just most of them have gone and are being replaced.
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I am really pleased to post my comment on this blog .I love your blog by the way, I am gonna have to add you to my list of watched blogs
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very well said
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The best gaming experience we get from infinity ward was deduced by treyarch… since it required too power hungry engines to run their game and it reduced the number of working players to the student players … we hope to have another COD by IW … soon … waiting… loading…
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People say that IW is better i think thats bull**** treyarch has made some of the the best cods out there W@W was one of the best games it made the break through with graphics and the online maps were awsome i got a diffrent map every day when i played it when i played MW2 (its a good game) they had the the shitty sub base for every lobby. black ops is awsome it has some great maps and unlike IW the map packs arent from the older cods or shit maps made in a hour. and if you are a IW fan boy and wont play treyarchs awsome game then your fucked up in the head
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After Black Ops. I say that tryarch sucks donkey dieck! MW2 is a great game, and dont get me wrong, COD 5 was a FANTASTIC GAME!, and if black ops did not have zombies, more then half of the BO community would give the game back, Now I dont know alot about the past COD’s But I know after MW2, IW still stands, and is strong as ever, and If a MW3 comes out….GoodBye Black Ops
MW&MW2 is the best games, however, COD5 beats MW…Not MW2 tho, and also…Why the hell dont Try and IW just work together! I mean come on! Imagine, MW2 with zombies? Or even COD-REVOLUTION that would be amazing, I just hope one day they collide, like, what the hell is with both of there top games being called, Call Of Duty, I mean why dont IW just sew Try for stealing that name, like I said, I 1st played COD when MW2 came out, so I dont know to much
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I am here to give my opinion on what I think about the entire CoD series and about the rivalry between Infinityward and Treyarch. Yes they both have their perks but Treyarch comes out on top. The minds behind WaW and Black Ops are unmatchable. Treyarch uses more symbolism in the Zombies mode than in any other games. Yes, the Modern Warfare’s were a nice addition to the series but Black Ops topped Infinityward… so far. As far as I know there has been talk about Modern Warfare 3 which might put Infinityward back on top, if they give the people what they want in an FPS. Personally I have tried every FPS on the market and the CoD by far is the best so I know what I would look for in an FPS.
Here Is a list of what I look for in an FPS.
-Detailed and Suspenseful Story
-Side mode such as Zombies in Waw/Black Ops.
-Well Organized and A Well maintained online muntiplayer
-Fair Weapon damage stats
-Fair Knifing action.
All these pretty much define the CoD’s but which one has all. Well in my opinion Infinity Ward made a pretty sick storyline in Modern Warfare and the characters in the game were phenomenal but their multiplayer sucked. Not only did they have to change the weapon damage stats many times as well as the knifing in the game was horrid but to be honest Black ops wasn’t much better
(In my opinion no game can perfectly put the knifing action in a game without flaws). Another thing that made the Multiplayer on Modern Warfare 2 fail is the allowance of modding. The best players in the world ( take Blame Truth as example) can’t be in the top 100,000 because of people who’s stats have been modded. Microsoft has been good about banning j-tags but unlike Infinity Ward ,who I have heard went under, Treyarch has kept Black Ops in tip top shape…No Modding, at least withou being caught and banned. 3 of my friends who modded were banned within the first week. Thumbs up to Treyarch.
Overall Treyarch wins…………………OH and don’t even get me started on the Zombies game mode which has made WaW and Black ops some of the best FPS’s of all time. If you agree,disagree,or want to comment I will not get back on this site for a while but you can contact me via my GT on XBOX360 which is
DHG CoDxPRODIGY or you can contact me by facebook, look up William Sedryck Nott and send me a message. If you would like to join my MLG clan Named DHG Message my GT and I will put you in a recuiting lobby as soon as possible. Thank you. COD PRODIGY OUT.
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Well said, but I believe that mw2 was a huge step up from cod 4, and now that black ops had came out already, we all know that is no better than cod6, it’s way improved comparing to waw, but treyarch is just catching up. And mw3 is going to be a world invasion lead by makarav, which looks like it’s going to top the tf141′s little story big time.
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