Gamer Bite: The Announcement of Call of Duty WWII

Yesterday Activision announced that Call of Duty will be returning to its World War II roots. The uninspired title of the game, Call of Duty: WWII will have a worldwide trailer reveal on April 26th at 10AM PDT. Fans of the series have criticized the game for taking the game too far into the future. Wall running, jet boosting and exo suits were fun for a while but quickly players realized it was taking away from the fundamental FPS principals that originally made it a success. Games like Counter-Strike have remained grounded in fundamental FPS design without the need for including wall running, boosting or any other gimmick. It has maintained and grown its fan base since its original release in 1999. The people developing the new Call of Duty have a lot to prove.
    
Another game series adding competition for Call of Duty is Battlefield. The series broke away from the future/modern theme last year with the critically acclaimed release of Battlefield 1.  Fans praised it for stepping out of Call of Duty’s shadow and adding a fresh take to the FPS genre by bringing gameplay to the battlefields of World War 1.

It will be interesting to see if/how how Call of Duty can freshen up the largely repeated narratives of WWII. I do not doubt that the developers will find new ways to keep players interested in the series. If there is one thing going for them it is their dedication to creative game design. Whether or not they will be able to pull it off is another question entirely.

Another factor they have to take into account is that DICE just spent the past year creating a large fan base with Battlefield 1. Undoubtedly players will be interested in taking a stroll down memory lane with Call of Duty WWII but how many have been alienated for good?

Last year I promised myself I would swear off Call of Duty for good but the temptation to pick up Infinite Warfare was too strong. After playing a handful of multiplayer matches and a little of the campaign I realized the mistake I had made and stopped playing
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Call of Duty definitely has some competition if they want to remain on top. DICE has shown that they are not messing around with Battlefield 1 and FPS fans have many choices for games. (Overwatch, Counter-Strike, etc.) I fell in love with the franchise with the release of Call of Duty 2 back in 2005. If Call of Duty WWII brings the fundamental FPS gameplay that made the series great and mixes it with innovative ideas (minus wall running and exo suits…), I am sure myself and many others will be hooked on it once more. 

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