I don’t usually bother with reviews of a specific version of a game because you’ll no doubt alienate some part of your readership in doing so. But today I thought I’d make an exception as I haven’t been able to find a review of the WiiU version of Call of Duty Ghosts anywhere.
Come to think of it, aside from the news that it was coming to the console, there’s been pretty much no coverage of this version of the game from major new outlets at all, plenty of stories about how ‘Next gen’ the PS4 and Xbox One version are, or if the PS3 or 360 version is best, but as usual the WiiU is absent from the discussion.
It seems that Treyarch (No I haven’t gone mad the WiiU version was actually ported by Treyarch. Like every other Nintendo console version of Call of Duty) have finally gotten to grips with the WiiU proper this year. For a start it looks marginally better than Xbox 360 or PS3 version, with higher quality textures than its other current gen counterparts, which means the action generally looks crisper and slightly more vibrant than current gen machines but obviously not as good as the PS4 an X bone versions.. It also runs at a stable 60 fps too which is a big improvement over the incredibly variable frame rates of last year’s BLOPS II on the console.
As you would expect the WiiU version also gives you all kinds of options that the other current gen machines don’t. Using the WiiU gamepad in multiplayer shows the map on the second screen and in single player you can adjust the sensitivity of the analogue sticks on the fly using the screen as well.
Off TV play is a button press away at any time. Want to use the Wiimote and Nunchuck instead? Sure, just hit a button on the Wiimote and it instantly switches to that control type. Fancy playing with a more traditional style controller? Sure, press a button on the gamepad pro and you’ll be using that instead.
What’s more if you want to play split screen, you can have one player use the TV and the other the gamepad. Doesn’t seem like much but it makes a big difference when you know your opponent doesn’t know where you are.
On reading all of that back, I’ve just realised that this review is starting to sound a little like an advert for Nintendo’s console, but as I played the game it dawned on me that Ghosts is actually a rather great showcase for the inherent benefits of Nintendo’s fledgling system. It’s a game that is a proper fully fledged counterpart of the other consoles versions, it hasn’t had its multiplayer cut, it’s actually been released on the same day as the other current gen versions and uses most of the WiiUs additional functions
It also shows off the biggest struggles the console is facing, which as far as Ghosts in concerned is that since the WiiU has a tiny user base there aren’t many people playing online, especially compared to other consoles. Whereas there’s usually thousands of matches available to join on the 360 or PS3, on WiiU some game types only have a few dozen. That’s not to say there’s a problem finding a match. In fact during my time with the game I haven’t had any problems finding matches in multiplayer or co op partners for Extinction.
The other major issue with the WiiU version is that Activision have not yet confirmed that it will be getting any post launch DLC. It’s a foregone conclusion that all other versions of the game will be getting map packs in the near future, however no previous iteration of the series on Nintendo consoles has ever received post launch DLC, including Black Ops II, so the chances of Ghosts on WiiU receiving any are very slim. This one conceit is enough to put most off getting the game on WiiU, and if you’re a hardened Call of Duty vet I really don’t blame you, however as a casual CoD player at best, this doesn’t matter all that much to me.
Now that I’ve gotten all the WiiU specifics out the way, let’s get on with the review proper.
Call of Duty Ghosts really is a game of two halves, the amount of enjoyment you’ll get out of the game depends a lot on whether you’re going to spend time online with it or not. As someone who doesn’t generally venture online much, the single player experience in the Call of Duty series has been patchy for at best for years, sadly Ghosts does little to buck that trend.
Call of Duty 1-3 (and I’m including the big red one in this as well) were brilliant cinematic experiences that not only emulated some of the greatest films ever made about the conflict but also made an effort to be somewhat historically accurate, in between each mission you’d hear excerpts from actual soldiers that fought on the front lines, every time you died you’d be gifted with a quote from someone about the horrors of war, they were reverent, respectful and did everything they could to illustrate that war is hell. Not something to be glorified, but a tragic waste.
Then as Infinity Ward’s take on the series entered the modern era, the tone changed completely, the underlying message was no longer about the futility and wastefulness of warfare, no, such meditations were mostly replaced with jingoistic fist pumping and Michael Bayesque set pieces. To say I wasn’t a fan of the new direction Infinity Ward decided to take the single player aspects of the series in is an understatement, and needless to say I’m not a fan of the Modern Warfare series and was happy to see it ended.
So when they announced Ghosts was going to be set in a US that was completely decimated by war, and was going to be more personal, I was quietly hopeful. Sadly most of these were hopes were misplaced.
It’s not that Ghost’s campaign is bad, quite the opposite, in fact it’s perfectly entertaining, especially if you switch the logical part of your brain off and just run with it. But be warned, if you’re the kind of person that counts bullets in action movies or demands any semblance of logic to your science fiction, this game will get on your tits.
In Ghosts you play as one of the titular Ghosts: a legendary Special Forces unit that was formed after they managed to hold a position against over whelming odds, 300 style, except they don’t all die at the end.
The game opens with Elias Walker, a retired serviceman, recanting the tale of the group’s formation to his two sons Logan and David, action then cuts to an orbiting US space station/super weapon which is under attack by soldiers from coalition of South American states called The Federation. After successfully sabotaging its guidance systems, the station is kicked out of orbit, hurtles through the atmosphere hitting the earth with the impact of several nuclear bombs and destroying half of the United States in the process.
Ten years later and Logan and David or “Hesh”, as his friends like call him, along with their father and their pet dog Riley are now all enlisted in the only part of American civilisation to survive – the military.
Elias being their commanding officer first and their father, well, never, instructs his sons and their pet pooch to track down the Ghosts as they have important information that may completely change the course of the war.
After a perilous trek through no man’s land, Logan, Hesh and Riley finally meet up with the Ghosts who have some dire news concerning The Federations plans to wipe what little remains of the USA and its dwindling populace off the face of the earth by using a weapon that is pretty much identical to the one the Americans were probably going to fire on the Federation a decade ago if they hadn’t turned it against them.
Worse still, not only is the US now just days away from complete destruction, but Rourke, the Ghost’s former leader who was presumed dead, is now working with the Federation to eliminate the unit as he believes the Ghosts, more specifically Elias, left him for dead during a botched operation several years previously.
In theory, Ghosts should have a more told intimate narrative about the bonds of fraternity and family. The problem is that you don’t spend enough time with anyone in the game to form any meaningful attachment to them, as the whole thing can be slogged through in one extended play session of about 5-6 hours. Also most of the characters are arseholes. Especially Elias, who does absolutely nothing except for getting captured and sending his sons off to die,. You also get the feeling that he was planning to make Logan and Hesh join the military even before the shit hit the proverbial fan.
The game also fails in its attempts to build a meaningful relationship with Riley the German Shepherd because you just don’t spend enough time with the pooch to care. I will admit he’s a lot of fun when he is around though, and incredibly useful in combat as you can command him to flush enemy forces out of cover and straight into your firing line. Likewise the sections, in which you actively control Riley as he sneaks through long grass covertly taking out enemy forces and providing intelligence to the squad via a camera on his back, are some of the game’s highlights.
In fact the game is at its best when you’re not on the ground trudging through the desolate remains of Middle America, as atmospheric as it is. I’d have to say that my favourite section was during the game climax as you take control of a tank during a raid out on a Chilean Radar station. It’s the only time when the game world really opens up, as opposed to the soul crushing linearity of the games earlier sections in which you’re constantly forced to keep up with the squad or be forced back to the last checkpoint for deciding to turn right instead of left.
The other and much more substantial part of Ghosts is the multiplayer. To call the suite of game modes included robust would be an understatement, even without DLC there’s enough here to keep you busy for a good long while.
Building on the framework of the Modern Warfare series and taking a few pointers from Treyarch’s more open ended approach to multiplayer, Ghosts features all the usual match types from previous iterations and for the best part is mostly unchanged. Player progression is similar to Black Ops II with weapons and equipment bought with currency earned in game and cosmetic unlocks earned through prestige. That’s not say that Infinity Ward have completely rested on their laurels as there are also two rather epic new modes – Squads and Extinction.
Squads mode is basically Call of Duty’s first attempt at creating a training mode for players new to the series multiplayer, for the best part it does a great job of it too. Players are given a squad of six bots to command, although you can also enlist the help of other players if you want. Your rag tag group of bots is then used to face off against as many human opponents as you think you can handle. With four different match types to choose from Squads mode lets players dip their toes into the multiplayer and get a feel for the game’s online experience without the daunting trial by fire that diving headlong into traditional multiplayer usually presents.
As a lapsed CoD player I had far more fun playing around in squads than traditional multiplayer, mainly because I’ve never been very good at competitive multiplayer and spent most matches getting repeatedly shot in the back and being very little use to anyone which didn’t happen when I was fighting bots in Squads mode. So, if nothing else, Squads is a great confidence builder and a nice way to hone your existing skills without the worry of other players spoiling your fun.
If, like me, you’re not a big fan of competitive multiplayer, Ghosts has you covered there as well with Extinction mode. Basically Ghosts take on Treyarch’s zombie mode, Extinction is another four player cooperative game in which players face waves of invading bug like aliens whilst attempting to destroy their hives using a giant drill.
Like Zombies, players earn cash for every kill which they can then use to purchase better weapons, equipment, items as well as set off traps which litter the games map to help them get through each of the games waves and numerous little set pieces.
Just like Zombies mode before it, players will need to effectively work together as a team if they want to stand any chance of making to Extinction’s later stages.
On WiiU you’ll be hard pressed to find a better multiplayer shooter except perhaps Black Ops II, but that’s not saying much as you can count the number FPSs on the console on one hand.
In the grand scheme of things though, Ghosts is bugger to score as some parts are far superior to others.
Single player, despite its more nuanced set pieces and low key tone compared with the bombast of Modern Warfare, is let down by a script that mostly falls flat. Filled with characters that are loathsome, two dimensional and hard to relate to, except for Rourke, whose anger and motives seem mostly justified, as do the actions of the Foundation, at least to begin with. When you feel more sympathy for the psychotic villain and the totalitarian regime he works for than the main protagonists it’s hard to remain motivated or invested, epic tank battles aside
Despite the many short comings of Ghost’s campaign, its multiplayer is robust, highly enjoyable and despite the series iterative nature still manages to find ways to innovate thanks to Squads stress free multiplayer training and Extinction’s interesting new take on a classic gameplay type.
If you’re a single player only kind of guy I wouldn’t recommend Ghosts, but if you’ve got an itchy trigger finger and are looking for a little online action, Activision have once again shown why Call of Duty has such a massive following by providing an enjoyable, engaging, innovative and somewhat addictive online experience, and as such you should certainly pick it up for your console of choice.
