The Charlie INTEL Staff give their thoughts on Call of Duty Ghosts
The entire staff here at Charlie INTEL HQ have been discussing Call of Duty Ghosts non-stop since it’s reveal this past Wednesday. We thought we’d open up the discussion to our readers to see what they think about what little is known on the next Call of Duty title.
Victor (Admin, Editor, Creator of C.I.)
Based on the teaser trailer and marketing images of a war torn urban enviroment, my best guess is that Ghosts is set in “post-apocalyptic” or a “post-lost war/occupation scenario”. Fans have been tossing around “Guerrilla Faction” which is what I believe the Ghosts are. They’re possibly a group of rebel or freedom fighters who wear masks as symbol to inspire hope in civilians and fear in their enemies.
My gut says it will have zero ties to the MW series for fear of people branding it MW4, however Infinity Ward’s Mark Ruben did describe it as “sub-brand” in the official press release which makes me think it’s branching from the MW series with possible cameos. Either way, we’re looking at a military shooter in a modern (or very near future) setting like MW was….
It sounds like Microsoft is still on board with marketing based on the timing of the full reveal. I think it’s a good bet that DLC is coming first to Microsoft consoles.
Keshav (Co-lead and writer)
Watching the teaser trailer, it comes to show that Infinity Ward is trying to revolve Call of Duty: Ghosts around a game based on “stealth.” As the title would presume, Ghosts would most likely be a game based upon stealth missions, and a team of people asked to do the dirty work for the government. The team could possibly be like the “Navy Seal 6” team that’s known for their operation with Bin Laden. This team is all about stealth with quick and fast missions to get the job done. I would think that Infinity Ward is trying to make this a futuristic game with the environment shown in the teaser, but it could also be a modern setting.
As they confirmed, Ghosts is running a “new-engine” and I hope that the engine is actually brand-new. All previous Call of Duty games have used the same engine, but slightly updated and been called “new.” Hopefully, Activision and Infinity Ward use a new “new” engine that completely changes how Call of Duty looks and feels to make it a better game.
Even though Call of Duty: Ghosts is coming to the PS4/PS3, we should all just expect everything shown from now till release to be on Xbox 360 or “the new-Xbox” gameplay. As the game is being revealed at the MS event, it again seems that ATVI/MS have renewed their contract between the two companies.
James (Bravo INTEL writer)
The biggest part of the Call of Duty: Ghosts teaser trailer that stood out to me was the dog, presumably a German Shepherd, over the center character’s left shoulder. From what little we saw, we can tell that the dog was wearing a tactical harness, and his handler was holding the leash. There’s alot of speculation running around as to what it might mean, but what we do know is that dogs have been featured as both non-playable assisting-role characters as well as the devastating Killstreak from Call of Duty: World at War.
Using the information we saw from the teaser trailer, we can translate it to real world scenarios. Many of you might not know that a dog by the name of “Cairo” was used during the Osama Bin Laden raid in Pakistan. Dogs have been used in combat for decades in a multitude of jobs such as Special Operations, EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) Tracking Teams, and SRT (Search and Rescue Teams).
What does this mean for Call of Duty: Ghosts though? Will we be seeing the return of a devastating dog-based Killstreak? Or does Infinity Ward have something special planned more on par with something like Dead to Rights: Retribution where you can actually control the dog and he helps you during combat? Nevertheless whatever Infinity Ward decides to do, we’re curious to see what the dog in the teaser trailer actually means for Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Though many are disregarding the fact that in “Modern Warfare 2: Ghost” that tells the back story of Simon “Ghost” Riley as being relevant to Call of Duty: Ghosts, we cant rule out the fact that they described multiple “Ghosts” and not just one. This leads me to believe that Call of Duty: Ghosts is actually a prequel to the Modern Warfare series and that we may just in fact see the return of Simon “Ghost” Riley although Infinity Ward has stated that they will be using new characters. If I was a betting man, I would say we will see the return of “Ghost” in his pre-Modern Warfare days, maybe even before he actually became the “Ghost” we know him as.
Matthew (European Corespondent)
From the teaser trailer I got the idea that Ghosts would be based around a small group of Special Forces who are protecting their people. It seems the environment or setting for Ghosts will be dull with destruction creating the best possible scenario for both stealth and skill within a Call of Duty title yet.
It appears that the game doesn’t continue as a sequel to Modern Warfare 3 (although I actually wanted it to be), the reason being is that the current marketing and trailer did not link or reference it whats so ever and it’s obviously not part of the title. I get the feeling that its going to be something rather new and its going to be more focused on stealth and tactics as far as gameplay is concerned.
The media seems to be predicting that Black Ops 2 sales numbers couldn’t be beaten by any other game, but from the hype I saw the other day as the trailer was released I believe they’re wrong. With the strong positive vibe and attitudes shown from the community I’m hoping that both Infinity Ward and Activision will feed that back into the community by making the reveal very community based in a way that everyone can get involved (take the mosaic as an example).
Derek (C.I. Clan Leader)
The teaser trailer and marketing art we’ve received so far gives only enough to speculate on. I personally feel that while Ghosts is set to become a new sub-series (in line with Modern Warfare and Black Ops), it will pay homage to the character Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley in a subtle, yet significant way. It seems clear to me that the group of individuals at the end of the teaser are a band of revolutionary force (be it professional or not), and they’re on a mission to fix something.
The teaser hints at how masks are used to stick up for one’s beliefs, to invoke fear into the enemy, and to protect us all. These “Ghosts” seem to be some sort of rebellious group looking to cause change. I would equate them and their skull balaclavas to the modern-day hacktivists Anonymous and their Guy Fawkes masks.
Drift0r gave us the interesting concept of being forced to revert to previous weaponry (our current-gen weaponry, presumably M4s, AK-47s, etc.). If we’re forced to revert to such equipment which require no electricity or power (in comparison with BO2’s near-future style equipment), I can only wonder what would cause us to revert. The only thing that comes to mind is an EMP or something equally destructive of technology. The teaser was set in ruins.
With Ghosts being revealed at the Xbox Event on May 21st, I can only assume that Microsoft is yet again going to have the upper hand on Call of Duty this year. I’m pretty glad the whole storyline hasn’t been leaked this year (yet) as it actually gives me a reason to look forward to a reveal.
Let us know in the comments below if you agree on anything or just to share your thoughts too…