Call of Duty is a long-standing franchise spanning 18 different main entry releases. Let’s review the best & worst games yet.

The Call of Duty franchise has changed drastically over the past 17 years. We’ve seen the series reimagined with the release of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, then the jetpack era with the launch of Advanced Warfare.

Fast forward to the present, Infinity Ward redefined Call of Duty yet again with 2019’s Modern Warfare, launching the series to record sales.

Below you’ll find our tiered ratings for the best & worst Call of Duty games yet.

Note: We’ve excluded the classic Call of Duty games (1-3). After the launch of Call of Duty 4, the franchise hit large new audiences and improved drastically on the classic formula. Comparing those titles to the modern games just isn’t a fair comparison.

S Tier – The Legends

These games are the tip of the spear, the most iconic Call of Duty games yet. Many of these games put Call of Duty on the map and are still spoken as the “golden” games.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

After visiting Vietnam and the Cold War with the original Black Ops, Treyarch set their sights on the future. Black Ops 2 gave players an unforgettable multiplayer experience with futuristic weaponry, scorestreaks, and settings. Included with the base package was the first Call of Duty campaign to have multiple endings, and a zombies experience.

The DLC brought players some of the greatest Call of Duty experiences to date, with zombie maps such as Mob Of The Dead and Origins.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

The game that put Call of Duty on an upwards trend to become the #1 first person shooter franchise ever created. Infinity Ward recreated the core Call of Duty experience, creating a fast paced and polished shooter.

The multiplayer experience brought iconic maps such as Shipment, Killhouse, Vacant, Crash & Broadcast. Additionally, the cinematic Campaign raised the bar for single-player experiences in shooters as well.

Releasing during the hayday of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, this was the “must get” game of 2007.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

After the release of Call of Duty: World At War, Treyarch knew they could step out of their comfort zone and bring the franchise past the second World War.

In order to bring a unique experience, Treyarch opted to set their first Black Ops game during the Vietnam/Cold War era. In the Campaign, players would be part of an elite squad working alongside the CIA in covert operations around the globe.

• Read More: Bizarre Black Ops Cold War Zombies glitch is making players invincible

Black Ops set new highs for Treyarch’s titles, becoming an instant success. Zombies mode was redefined, becoming a rich, story focused experience for fans. Multiplayer introduced new gadgets and movement mechanics, such as the dolphin dive.

Iconic multiplayer and zombies maps were also introduced, like Summit, Nuketown, Kino Der Toten & Moon.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Following the success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward set their sights to improve upon the mechanics of the original Modern Warfare game with the sequel.

The campaign is a direct sequel to Modern Warfare and puts players in the shoes of several military factions as a war breaks out between the United States and Russia. Iconic figures like Captain Price, Commander Shepard, and Ghost all appear within the game. For the first time, players get to see the face of the main protagonist from Call of Duty 4, Soap.

For Multiplayer, a brand new set of 15 selectable killstreak rewards were introduced, evolving the killstreak system introduced in Call of Duty 4. The create-a-class system offered a new set of complex and unique perks for players, and many fell in love with maps like Terminal & Rust.

Modern Warfare 2 also launched with a “Special Ops” co-op mode, where players could play split-screen or online with a friend in a set of mission scenarios.

A-Tier – Overachievers

Lowering down a bit from nostalgic favorites, here’s some of the heavy-hitting Call of Duty games that deserve praise.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019

While controversial across the hardcore community, Modern Warfare yet again redefined the Call of Duty franchise, giving players one of the most polished and detailed Call of Duty titles ever created.

The campaign reintroduces classic characters with a fresh storyline, apart from the events of the classic Modern Warfare franchise. Each campaign mission introduces a tense, unique experience across the UK, Russia and the Middle East. It’s a must-play campaign experience for any Call of Duty player.

For multiplayer, animations were fine-tuned and weapons were overhauled to feel powerful in the hands of every player. The game opts for a classic Call of Duty loadout style with a twist – each weapon can have up to 5 attachments via the new gunsmith system, where players can change weapon barrels, stocks, grips and more to turn their gun into one that fits their specific playstyle.

In March of 2020, Infinity Ward released Modern Warfare’s Warzone mode, a 150 player battle royale – which was an instant hit. It quickly amassed over 75 million players after its first five months of release.

Call of Duty: World At War

With the evolution of the Call of Duty engine during the development of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Treyarch had the opportunity make the most detailed World War 2 shooter experience yet.

World At War delivered just that, giving players a chilling ride across the Pacific Theatre and Russian front. Gore mechanics were introduced, making the experience much more intense and realistic. By far, World at War is one of the best campaigns in Call of Duty history.

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For multiplayer, players had the opportunity to experience gameplay eerie to Call of Duty 4 with World War 2 era weaponry. The game launched with a killstreak similar to Call of Duty 4 as well, giving players a recon plane, artillery strike, and attack dogs at three, five, and seven kills respectively. Popular maps included were Dome, Castle & Asylum.

Zombies were also introduced for the first time in the franchise, with the addition of Nacht Der Untoten. At launch, it was unlocked after completing the main campaign but was later unlocked by default for all players after the mode received high praise from fans. The mode received three more maps through DLC and has been continued in every Treyarch Call of Duty since.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Modern Warfare 3 was the final classic Modern Warfare game, and the finale to the story of Task Force 141 and their battle against Valdmir Makarov.

The campaign brings us front and center to a full scale “what if” scenario for a third World War. Players visit landmarks across the world including Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and New York City. The campaign is a bit lackluster when compared to the first two games, but there are enough exciting locales for the game to hold up.

For Multiplayer, Modern Warfare 3 attempted to change up the create-a-class system with weapon proficiencies, a new perk system applied specifically to weapons. These perks would give weapons less flinch, more damage through walls, or even a second attachment.

Alongside these changes, a new “Strike Package” system was introduced to allow all players to have the chance to achieve killstreaks. Assault streaks reset upon death, granting lethal rewards for players who could reach high streaks in a single life. Support streaks did not reset upon death, but often required more kills and only rewarded less-lethal streaks to support the team. Lastly, we have the specialists streaks, which would reward perks instead of killstreaks. When a player hit 8 kills, they would be rewarded every perk in the game.

Overall, Modern Warfare 3’s Multiplayer felt like a celebration of all the series had achieved so far. It was a fun and exciting experience. The Special Ops mode from Modern Warfare 2 was also re-introduced, with new combat scenarios.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3

Black Ops 3 was an interesting year for Call of Duty. We debated putting this at B tier due to some of the game’s issues (supply drops, weak campaign), but the gameplay ultimately pulled it higher on the list.

For a jetpack Call of Duty game, Black Ops 3 found a perfect balance for the movement system. Wall running felt smooth, and combat was fun. Advanced Warfare’s boost jetpack system didn’t allow for wall running or controlled movement, which led to frustrating engagements. Black Ops 3 remedied these issues.

In combination with map design that complemented the movement system, a well-tuned specialist system and a well-balanced group of futuristic weapons, multiplayer was a treat for fans of the new jetpack movement.

Overall, the multiplayer experience was an entertaining one, mostly set back by the supply drop system that made the game feel pay to win. Players would often have to pour hundreds of dollars into a loot crate system to get the best weapons in the game.

In terms of the Zombies mode, it was the most evolved version yet, with brand new boss zombies, and even gave PC players a mod tools client to create their own maps. Towards the end of the game’s lifecycle, Zombies Chronicles was introduced, which brought several fan-favorite zombies map remasters to the game.

B- Tier – Average

These games showed much promise, but fell a bit short.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Black Ops 4 was a return to a “boots on the ground” experience, following Black Ops 3. Many mechanics from Black Ops 3 came over, including specialist characters and abilities. It was also the first and only Call of Duty game to not release with a proper Campaign.

While a fun installment, Black Ops 4 didn’t feel like a truly new Call of Duty experience, launching with four remade maps. The multiplayer felt just as smooth as a Call of Duty game should, but ultimately was set back by the annoyingly overpowered specialist abilities players would get throughout the game. These abilities were easy to use, awarding players with bonus XP for kills, which resulted in easier than normal to achieve scorestreaks.

The gameplay loop of multiplayer which originally fell on skilled gunfights, felt all but absent with regularly spammed equipment, specialist weapons, and streaks. It’s quite the shame, because a very well polished and fun multiplayer experience was hidden behind these mechanics.

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Zombies was also a hit and miss experience, resulting in a divided Zombies community that criticized the mode for being shallow and oversimplified.

The main shining star of Black Ops 4 though, was the Blackout battle royale mode. This was Call of Duty’s first try at a modern battle royale, and Treyarch delivered an entertaining experience that gave Battle Royale a true Call of Duty spin.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

While it may not be fair to judge Black Ops Cold War just two months after its release, we decided to put it on the B-tier due to the launch issues. While the Treyarch team had less time than expected, they still managed to fully develop a game during a worldwide pandemic.

The game offers quite an entertaining campaign with all the exciting twists you’d expect from a Black Ops title, albeit a bit short. Multiplayer is what you’d expect as well, with fast-paced, heart-pumping combat. Also as a first to the Black Ops series, we now have 12v12 modes called “Combined Arms”. There’s also a Blackout-esque mode called “Fireteam” that takes place on large maps.

Zombies is the real star of the show though, being completely reworked into a more casual experience overall, while also offering a challenge to players who seek it. New currencies have been implemented into the mode for weapon upgrades, and those weapon upgrade systems have evolved past just the pack-a-punch system. You can even survive Zombies now, through the evac system.

As for the B rating, Black Ops Cold War’s launch just hasn’t impressed us when compared to Modern Warfare and Black Ops 4. The game only launched with eight 6v6 maps, and two 12v12 maps. Fireteam received two maps, but the core multiplayer experience felt lackluster for the games first month.

Luckily, Treyarch added Nuketown post launch, and Season 1 brought us 2 more multiplayer maps, with four 2v2 gunfight maps. Another Fireteam map is expected to launch midseason.

If the next few months go well for Black Ops Cold War, it very well could land higher on the list.

C- Tier

Passable, yet not stellar.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Sledgehammer Game’s first standalone installment in the Call of Duty universe was a beautiful game, with plenty of brand new mechanics. It was a solid game that should be commended for taking chances.

The game sought to capture the excitement of the Call of Duty formula, while also introducing jetpack mechanics. These mechanics allowed players to double jump and quickly evade from side to side. The jetpacks did not allow for much control mid air, which often led to clunky player movement. The sound of players double jumping around the map also created confusing audio queues for players trying to grasp situations around them.

While the core gameplay had its issues, the map design was well catered around the new gameplay design, resulting in relatively decent map flow on most maps.

This game was also the first Call of Duty to be built around the controversial Supply Drop system, that was later removed in Modern Warfare 2019.

Aside from Multiplayer, the game also brought a cinematic Campaign experience, with a relatively sub-par narrative. Exo-Zombies was also later introduced with the first DLC pack.

D-Tier

These games simply missed the mark.

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Ghosts is well regarded as one of the weakest franchise entries by fans, and for good reason. This game was a frustrating experience for players, with many complaining about visability on Multiplayer maps.

Deaths felt nearly instant, and many gunfights felt inconsistent due to the state of the servers. Infinity Ward also had to release the game on six different platforms, and across two console generations, which did not help.

The multiplayer was slow, punishing and overall tough to play as an aggressive player. Enemies blended in well with their surroundings, and killstreaks were lackluster. Competitive play was heavily weighed on host connection, so many online games felt unfair.

• Read More: Black Ops Cold War players call for changes to Daily Challenge System

This was not helped by the Campaign, which had a confusing and hard to believe narrative, where South America defects against North America. To top it all off, the ending was even more impossible to believe. If you ignore the plot holes, the Campaign does have a few fun moments.

Ghosts is also the first Call of Duty where Infinity Ward attempted a third main game mode, this time in the mode Extinction. In this mode, you fight off waves of Aliens in an attempt to escape multiple scenarios.

Overall, it just felt Ghosts lacked direction. Much of the game went off in different directions. With a hard to digest storyline, subpar multiplayer and an aliens mode, it was tough to feel like this game knew what it wanted to be.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Following the launch of Call of Duty Ghosts, Infinity Ward set their sights on a futuristic sci-fi shooter set in space. After many years of jetpack Call of Duty games, fans were outraged by the decision for yet another year of jetpacks.

Infinite Warfare started off launch looking grim, amassing millions of dislikes on its YouTube trailer, becoming one of the most disliked YouTube videos ever.

Come launch, the multiplayer experience felt like an overall disappointment. The movement mechanics were fun and well-polished, but the Infinity Ward signature gunplay did not translate well into a jetpack title. Hitting targets at range felt unsatisfying, and the chaos of players darting around through the sky led to another year of frustrating gameplay. Since multiplayer is the main component of Call of Duty, much of the player base had a strong dislike for the game without giving Zombies or the Campaign a chance.

Speaking of those modes, Infinite Warfare actually does offer one of the greatest campaign experiences in the history of the franchise. It’s fun, unique and well designed. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s well worth going back for. The character cast is full of personality, and the unique side-missions are a treat.

Zombies also explores a fun twist between the future and the 1980’s, which makes for interesting crossovers between the future and the past.

While Infinite Warfare was negatively received for its multiplayer, its hard to not wonder if things would have went differently had it come out another year, when players weren’t burnt out of the jetpack gameplay.

Call of Duty: World War 2

Sledgehammer Game’s second attempt at a Call of Duty game, World War 2 was met with mixed fan reception. Some were excited to go back to World War 2, while others wanted a modern setting to return.

World War 2 was a solid Call of Duty experience, but that’s just about it. It didn’t introduce many new mechanics to the franchise, something that Sledgehammer previously did with Advanced Warfare. If anything, it felt safe…. too safe.

The multiplayer got stale quite fast after the initial launch of the game, resulting in repetitive matches with little to no variation. Killstreaks felt underwhelming to use and earn, which further resulted in burnout. Players were also initially punished for rushing for the first few months after release, with weapons having aim-down-sight delays after sprinting for several months until player backlash resulted in Sledgehammer Games overhauling the game.

As for the Campaign, it was surprisingly unmemorable for a game that takes place during World War 2. It has a very strong opening, but then quickly turns into a Hollywood blockbuster movie. Many scenes are either exaggerated or plain hard to believe. There are a few unique stealth missions, but no mission ever tops the intensity and beauty of the strong D-Day landing mission the game opens with.

Zombies also makes an appearance in World War 2, but fails to have any flair much like Treyarch’s zombies. Most environments are dull and depressing, and the mode gets repetitive fast. All of the DLC maps also suffer from this exact same issue, which is a shame.

Ultimately, World War 2 just seemed like an uninspiring “play it safe” addition to the franchise. It failed to interest us much after the launch, and since then we’ve yet to go back and replay it.

That’s it for our Call of Duty tier list. Be sure to tweet us @CharlieIntel and let us know your picks!

Image Credits: Activision

One of Call of Duty’s greatest ever characters and the man who truly began the Call of Duty that we know today. Here are 5 of his most impactful moments that still resonate in the CoD community to this day.

People always identify Captain Price as Call of Duty’s most iconic figure, and yet it was Soap who paved the way for much of the historic franchise’s success. His no-nonsense badass approach to everything made him a memorable and endearing figure, particularly once he became a Captain in Modern Warfare 2.

John “Soap” MacTavish’s accomplishments and legacy have been honored with a new Soap Operator Bundle in Warzone. But we thought we’d take it one step further and pay tribute to one of the best first-person shooter protagonists in recent memory.

“What the hell kind of name is Soap?”

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is now very much a seminal piece of craftmanship that paved the way for the future of FPS games. But before CoD descended into a game of one-upmanship on the multiplayer front, the game’s campaign used to be a must-play component.

• Read More: Top 5 CoD maps we want to see return in Black Ops Cold War

The game’s first mission was the famous assault course where Price first laid eyes on Soap. As a lowly recruit, you had to run the course in the quickest time possible and people are still trying to perfect it to this very day. It was an introduction to the game’s mechanics, a solid time to be had, and Soap was officially on his way.

The student becomes the teacher

Fast-forward a few years for Soap and he’s no longer a newbie finding his feet, he’s a Captain of the SAS and a true leader. The snowy “Cliffhanger” mission reintroduces us to an old flame and it’s now Soap leading the player in a mission.

It’s a terrific juxtaposition with COD4 and a sign of how far Soap has come along from knifing fruit in a training course and being ridiculed.

Never forget your roots

Soap may be a teacher in MW2, but a student doesn’t forget the person who taught them. This leads to a rather brief but touching moment in a suicidal Gulag rescue operation.

• Read More: Ranking the Top 5 Call of Duty Campaigns

The team is tasked with freeing a prisoner, but not knowing the identity of the person. It turns out to be Captain Price and those one or two seconds when Captain MacTavish is taken aback by seeing his old mentor is about as emotional as Call of Duty storytelling gets. The moment is also enhanced by Worm asking “Who’s Soap?”.

Soap kills Shepherd to save Price

In the scintillating climax to Modern Warfare 2, the traitorous General Shepherd has severely wounded Soap with a military knife and is now pummeling Captain Price to death.

Soap seems to be on the brink of death when his instincts and adrenaline kicks in and he performs the most incredible knife throw imaginable. It kills Shepherd, he saves Price, who then saves him by getting Soap extracted.

Captain “Soap” MacTavish’s final hour

A truly tragic and somber moment that still ranks as one of Call of Duty’s most emotive and impactful to this day. Soap is fatally wounded from a combination of an explosion and falling several stories through a host of metal and construction.

• Read More: Top 5 tips to dominate The Pines in Black Ops Cold War

Given that several of the moments on this list basically document the father/son relationship between Captain Price and Soap, it’s only fitting its ends with this. Soap, a soldier at heart, even manages to divulge major information with his final words which sets up a fascinating premise in Modern Warfare 3.

That concludes our list of Soap’s 5 greatest and finest moments in CoD history. It’s a testament to the makers of the game that they keep bringing him back because he’s been such a vital part of the Call of Duty franchise.

Did we miss any out? Be sure to let us know.

Image credits: Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games

A Call of Duty custom map creator is taking on the task of remastering iconic Modern Warfare 3 maps.

While players have remained hopeful about the dwindling possibility of a Modern Warfare 2 Remastered Multiplayer experience, one popular Call of Duty modder has taken the task upon himself to remaster the next best thing – Modern Warfare 3.

Modder @ramijayd on Twitter is already relatively deep into the project, as you can see from the work-in-progress screenshots below.

These images show off the maps Intersection and Boardwalk, both from the DLC pool of Modern Warfare 3 maps. The left images show Modern Warfare 3 gameplay, and the right shows the updated visuals.

MW3 Remastered (WIP) pic.twitter.com/MYVC7r87rn

— Rami (@ramijayd) November 19, 2020

MW3 Remastered pt. 2 pic.twitter.com/WW7FtEehqh

— Rami (@ramijayd) January 3, 2021

Currently, it appears Ramijayd has mostly completed development on these two maps. He plans to expand development to other iconic maps from the game, while also porting over player models and weapon models from various Call of Duty games. It appears the MP7 model he chose comes from Modern Warfare 2019, while the UMP45 comes from Modern Warfare 3.

• Read More: Rumors claim Sledgehammer Games developing Call of Duty 2021

This mod will be available only to PC players, as it is built in the Black Ops 3 mod tools. The maps will be available in the future through the Steam Workshop. Ramijayd has shared his interest in hosting public servers for these maps, so hopefully, there will be enough interest when the full mod releases for small servers to be hosted with the MW3 Remastered mod.

With any player-created game mod, this is subject to change at any time and most likely will only include fan-favorite maps from Modern Warfare 3. While it won’t be an exact recreation of Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer, it could be a fun throwback to older Call of Duty gameplay.

Unfortunately, mechanics like Modern Warfare 3 point streaks like the Juggernaut, AC-130, and Predator Missile seem unlikely to be added.

We can only hope to get some sort of release of this mod, as we are still awaiting info from the seemingly halted Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Remastered Mod, which was being developed in the Black Ops 3 engine by community modders.