Nearly every game enthusiast has come across the fabled Call of Duty series. Years ago, military shooters were an exclusive right to the Medal of Honor franchise. But when CoD launched, it managed to redefine the FPS genre. It was that revolutionary. And it continues to do so to date, despite some hard-earned criticism here and there.
About 15 years later, and 18 games in total, Call of Duty remains one of the most impressive FPS games in the market that exhilarates millions of gamers per year. However, in case you missed the previous installments, or you need a quick revision, keep reading, as, in this article, I comprised a chronologist list of all the CoD games:
1. Call of Duty
Release Date: 29th October 2003
Platforms: PC, Mac OS X, Nokia N-Gage.
Call of Duty was the first-ever CoD game released. It was developed by Infinity Aware and published by Activision.
The game focused on World War II events from the British, American, and Soviet perspectives, as they fought against the Third Reich and the Nazis. It was an incredible shooter for its time, with crystal-clear graphics and realistic sound effects. And it had a team-based approach. You help out your team, not just run-and-gun to the end of each mission. It featured three campaign modes: American, British, and Soviet, and offered single and multiplayer options.
2. Call of Duty: Finest Hour
Release Date: 16th November 2004
Platforms: Playstation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
This Cod entry was a sequel to the first game but made exclusively for consoles. The story revolves around World War II, again. It offers six storylines to choose from. Each of these is based on real-life events experienced by soldiers during the bloody war. Finest Hour, like the first installment, had single and multiplayer modes.
3. Call of Duty 2
Release Date: 25th October 2005
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC, Mac OS X
Call of Duty 2 made the jump to the HD era and was released as a flagship title alongside the Xbox 360. The game featured four characters, four campaigns, and 27 missions. Plenty of good stuff, then! Apart from a complete graphical overhaul, the game included grenade indicators, new maps, and, the now-staple, regenerating health.
As always, the game offered single and multiplayer modes. Multiplayer maps could support up to eight players, including deathmatch, capture the flag, and headquarters modes. These new features made FPS fans pleased.
4. Call of Duty: Big Red One
Release Date: 18th November 2005
Platforms: Playstation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube
This was a sequel to the CoD 2 and was released only on consoles. Even though Call of Duty: Big Red One was pretty much an expansion, it came with differences compared to the previous entries. First, it focused only on one group of Allies instead of featuring multiple storylines. Also, it featured open-ended chapters where players could complete the required goals on multiple paths. In other words, it gave freedom to players to choose how they wanted to complete each mission. Finally, similarly to the Medal of Honor games, the Big Red One allowed players to watch real World War II footage from the American military archives.
5. Call of Duty 3
Release Date: 25th November 2006
Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii
Call of Duty 3 was the first game in the franchise produced by Treyarch Studios. It continued the World War II saga but featured some changes too. Some of these included different gaming modes, where players could choose multiple paths to complete missions. Another addition was the ability to grab the grenades and throw them back right at the face of the enemy. Players could play 14 campaign modes and choose up to three soldiers as their character. The multiplayer mode offered six modes and six characters to choose from, with gamers working together in teams of up to 16 soldiers.
6. Call of Duty: Roads to Victory
Release Date: 13th March 2007
Platforms: PSP
Roads to Victory was released on the Playstation Portable only. Like all of its predecessors, the game was about World War II events. The countries involved were Britain, Canada, and the United States.
It featured fourteen levels, and each of those had different missions to complete. Players go access to nine maps that cover real-life historical locations where soldiers fought during the war. There was also a multiplayer mode available.
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Release Date: November 2007
Platforms: Playstation 3 Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac OS X
Modern Warfare, as its name suggests, was the CoD title that abandoned the World War II concept, adopting a modern approach to conflict with contemporary firearms. On top of that, it had a new game engine, incredible graphics, and smooth controls. The game was set in Britain, Russia, the Middle East, and Ukraine.
But what Modern Warfare did was to revolutionize multiplayer with the addition of a leveling system. Players connected online each time they played collected XP (experience) points, unlocking new items and ranks. This new system was enough to make Modern Warfare the top-selling game of 2007.
8. Call of Duty: World at War
Release Date: 11th November 2008
Platforms: Playstation 3, Playstation 2 (World at War – Final Fronts), Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Wii
World at War was the first entry of the famous Black Ops series. It was also the eighth installment in the Cod franchise.
In this one, players return once again to World War II. This time though, the campaigns are focused on the Soviet front. The multiplayer ranking system is the same as in Modern Warfare, while the FPS portion remained solid. Some improvements over the past games were the audio and visual effects and the content, which was more violent and mature.
The beloved Zombie and Co-Op mode were introduced in World at War together with other multiplayer modes.
9. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Release Date: 10th November 2009
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Modern Warfare 2 is a sequel to Modern Warfare and continues the story from where the first one left it. A Special Force unit is on the hunt for the leader of a Russian extremist organization.
Two new playable characters are introduced together with features such as death streaks and killstreaks. The multiplayer mode remained virtually unchanged, despite players having access to new firearms and gear. That said, the fun was still there, and gamers devoured Modern Warfare 2 from the first day of its release.
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops
Release Date: 9th November 2010
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac Os X
If you ask gamers to name a Call of Duty title, that would be Black Ops. And for a good reason, as this game is still considered the pinnacle in the CoD series.
The story puts players to follow a CIA operative through the Cold War era in the 1960s when the United States and the Soviet Union pretty much threatened daily to nuke the planet. Black Ops improved many gameplay elements over the previous titles. It also added interactive characters that could speak during gameplay. Well, some players, though, used to turn on their mics and bash at each other, but that is an entirely different story altogether. Gamers could purchase new weapons with in-game money and customize their characters to their hearts’ content.
The addition of 14 playable maps, including Cuba and Russia, and several new multiplayer modes, was welcomed. Further, tweaks to killstreak rewards, load-out choices, and weaponry were included as well.
11. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Release Date: 8th November 2011
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC
Modern Warfare 3 is the third sequel to the Modern Warfare CoD series, and story-wise, it continues where the previous entry left off. It focused on Task Force 141 and introduced some new gameplay tweaks. For example, the player’s health only regenerates if they take cover away from enemy bullets. Previously health could regenerate during a gunfight but not anymore. Furthermore, micro-transactions were introduced too. Players could buy weapons or other upgrades through the use of real-life money.
A new survival mode was added, too, while the killstreaks changed to point-streaks, making it more challenging for players to unlock goals.
12. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Release Date: 13th November 2012
Platforms: Nintendo Wii U, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
The sequel to Black Ops II allowed the players to jump between different time dimensions from the 1980s to 2025. On top of that, Black Ops II added a competitive mode where players with the same skill level could participate together in league competitions. Also, Zombie mode was reintroduced.
Black Ops II was about futuristic warfare. And the type of weapons players used to complete each mission affected the storyline. This change made a very immersive experience. In multiplayer, players could try out the Pick 10 system and choose up to 10 skills for their soldier class, including weapons and perks.
13. Call of Duty: Ghosts
Release date: 5h November 2013
Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii U, Xbox 360, PC
CoD: Ghosts took place, again, in the future. This time a nuclear bomb threatens to destroy the Middle East. In Ghosts, players were treated with the addition of 20 new killstreaks. They could build a team, new weapons, and battle in up to fourteen multiplayer modes. Furthermore, players now could customize their soldier avatars with, get ready for it, up to 20,000 character options.
14. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
With over 400 different weapons to choose from in multiplayer and one playable character in the single-player campaign, Advanced Warfare made players realize that long were the days when the Call of Duties focused on the single-player portion. Further, in this entry, the Exo Survival mode was an interesting addition.
15. Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Release date: 6th November 2015
Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
Black Ops II takes place 40 years after the Black Ops II events in 2065. Climatic change and advanced war technology destroy the world, as players used for the first time a cybernetic character who has unique robotic features. The Zombie and Nightmare multiplayer modes were designed for players yearning for more action and thrills.
16. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Release date: 4th November 2016
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
This Cod installment was set around forces attempting to take over the solar system. Even though the story wasn’t its greatest asset, Infinite Warfare included hundreds of new primary and secondary weapons. Plus, players could even upgrade their weaponry, creating new and exciting weapon combos. Further, the classing system was revised and was known as the Rig system. However, it was similar to Black Ops III’s mechanics, despite the name change.
17. Call of Duty: WWII
Release date: 3rd November 2017
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
After eight years of continuous releases, CoD returned to its World War roots with Call of Duty: WWII. In this entry, monumental wars in history are relieved through the perspective of an infantry division. Players travel across Europe to take down enemies in real-life locations. As such, the game featured World War weapons, leaving technological advancements behind. Still, an exciting CoD title, though!
18. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Release date: 12th October 2018
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC
Black Ops 4 introduced the Battle Royal Mode, capitalizing on the success of the exploring game genre. It featured three zombie maps with territories like the Alcatraz prison or even the Titanic cruise ship. Unfortunately, the single-player mode was removed from this edition, as it focused entirely on multiplayer.
19. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
Release Date: 2019
Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC
In CoD: Modern Warfare (2019), the FPS series rebooted everything Modern Warfare-related, and with an expansive single-player campaign mode, it was a treat to old-school Call of Duty fans. It was the first CoD title also to allow cross-platform gameplay between consoles.
20. Call of Duty: Cold War
Release Date: 2020
Platforms: Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Call of Duty: Cold War is the seventeenth and the latest installment in the overall CoD series. The short campaign takes place between Black Ops and Black Ops II. It is centered around the pursuit of a Soviet spy whose purpose is to subvert the United States and tilt the balance toward the Soviet Union.
Multiplayer featured new and returning game modes, such as the traditional 6v6 format. It introduced the game mode Fireteam, which supported up to 40 players. Like Modern Warfare, Cold Ware supported cross-platform play and cross-platform progression. The Zombie mode is available in this entry too. And for the first time, players could opt to exfil the map, which would challenge them with increased enemy spawn.
Conclusion
The Call of Duties is one, if not the most, influential FPS franchise in video game history. And with so many amazing entries, it’s hard to choose a favorite. The only thing remaining is to patiently wait and see what the 2021 edition will bring to the table. Until then, remember to jump right back to Cold War as Season Two just launched!