Now, given my current interests in anime and the more colourful games I enjoy, Call of Duty, on the surface, seems like something I wouldn't touch with a 4-foot pole. That is incorrect. Ive been playing COD on the Wii, and now WiiU, since Modern Warfare and have had a decent ride since than. The one thing that hold this series back for me is the obsession the game developers have for frustrating the heck out of the player. Let me explain.
Using COD: Black Ops 2 as the prime example, certain features in this game only serve the purpose of frustrating the player. The main example of this is the death mic. Every time you kill a player, the killer hears the mic of the person they killed for about 2 seconds. Why? For two reasons. 1. To give more satisfaction for the killer. Hearing the person you killed get mad, call you a hacker or complain about his or her death is extremely satisfying. Almost too satisfying. I've caught myself getting into moods where I get a little too into hearing other players complain about me. The principle of it alone is also a little scary. They want you to not only kill the person, but hear them die and feed off their frustration. 2. To humiliate the person dieing. Everybody knows this feature is in place, so if you have a mic and you die, you know the other person heard it. This makes the player realize the enjoyment they are giving their killer for the reasons I stated above. there is nothing more frustrating in COD than giving another player enjoyment at your expense, whether it be giving them a high kill streak, making them go flawless or gain satisfaction from your death cries. But why would a game WANT to frustrate you?
Well because that's the name of COD's game. I'm saying it right now they WANT to frustrate you. It's all about the highs and the lows. In order to reach the highest level of enjoyment, they want you to hit the lowest level of frustration. So they'll add things like a death mic, gun camos that require a function of the gun not practical, and overpowered kill streaks to get you to that low. But every player has their day, and when you eventually do something great like get a high kill streak, get the fanciest camo, or do fantastic on a certain game, it feels all the more sweet. Coming up from the ashes you are victorious, finally able to be on the other end of the killing. And really, isn't that okay in the end?
NO! It's not okay! this a horrible practice and the franchise should be ASHAMED of themselves for doing so! You cannot frustrate a player like they do, just for a higher level of enjoyment later! That's not ethical! The problem with the way they do things is that the moments of frustration far out way the moments of satisfaction. You spend way more time getting killed one kill away from a kill streak, than actually getting the kill streak itself! COD, by a long shot, is the most frustrating game series, I have EVER played. COD player will tell you, when you rage, you RAGE. And the thing is, it's so damn addicting. Those moments of enjoyment, while outnumbered, make you keep playing. Keep striving for higher kill streaks and better camos, when of course its barely ever going to happen! It's sad how many hours I've spent on this series, and other than the original Black Ops, I've regretted much of it.
And the community, oh don't get me started on the community. If you enjoy the likes of 12 year olds yelling profanities at you while they consistently suck on your team, mixed in with super defensive teenagers who want to crucify you the minute you stop running around and just wanna stay in one area for a bit, than this community is for you.
So with all this frustration, horrible game design, and terrible community, why do I still play this game? Why am I going for the fanciest camos? Why do I still keep playing matches of pure frustration, just to get that 1 excellent match? Because it's a guilty pleasure. I can't stand myself for playing it, but I can't bring myself to stop. It's my worst habit in all of gaming, and that's why COD is the bane of my existence.
Next post will be: Review: Shiki (Anime)
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