Another year, and another Call of Duty will grace our consoles and PCs. Advanced Warfare promises the usual FPS action and adventure, but should we fork out our hard-earned cash for another Call of Duty title?

A good judge of future actions is looking at past behaviour, and what better way to gauge what a new title may be like, than to look at its predecessors?

Take a look at the games that made the Call of Duty franchise what it is today, and decide if the next installment will be all its cracked up to be.

Call of Duty (2003) – PC

Genesis. The original Call of Duty was released on PC in 2003, published by Activision and developed by Infinity Ward.

The original Call of Duty included a multilayer mode that consisted of sixteen maps and six modes, and laid the foundation for one of the most popular FPS franchises in history.

Call of Duty: United Offensive (2004) – PC

Call of Duty: United Offensive was the expansion pack to the original Call of Duty – developed by Gray Matter Interactive and Published by Activision.

The game followed a World War II setting and included eleven new multiplayer maps, bringing the total count to 27 maps.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour (2004) – PC, PS2, GameCube, Xbox

Call of Duty: Finest Hour was the first title in the franchise to be released on consoles.

The game followed three campaigns in which the player could be part of the Soviet Army, American Army, and the British Army.

The game featured multiplayer mode for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox online, but not for the GameCube. Finest hour was developed by Spark Unlimited and published by Activision.

Call of Duty 2 (2005) – PC, Xbox 360, Mac OS

Call of Duty 2 was based in World War 2 and contained four campaigns that were split into 3 stories.

The multiplayer portion of Call of Duty 2 was the most popular online game of the Xbox 360 for two years after its release, able to hold up to 8 players per map, while the PC version able to accommodate 64 players.

There were 13 maps included in the game and 4 factions to choose from.

Call of Duty 2: The Big Red One (2005) – PS2, Xbox, GameCube

Call of Duty 2: The Big Red One was released for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube in 2005, and featured drivable tanks in multiplayer mode over 11 maps.

The multiplayer mode was excluded from the GameCube, though. The game was developed by Treyarch and published by Activision.

Call of Duty 3 (2006) – PC,PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, Xbox

Set during the World War II era (again), Call of Duty 3 was the first in the series to be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

It was also the first title to receive exclusive maps on Xbox Live. Call of Duty 3 was Published by Activision and Developed by Treyarch.

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (2007) – PSP

Developed by Amaze Entertainment and published by Activision, Roads to Victory was only released on the PlayStation Portable and was set during the World War II era.

The game featured wireless multiplayer for up to six players online, had 9 maps, and six playing modes.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) – PC, Mac OS X, Xbox 360, PS3, DS

Sub-releases:

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: Reflex Edition – Wii

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the first release in the franchise to break away from the World War II setting, taking place in what we consider the modern era.

It featured an interlaced storyline form the perspectives of Sergeant Paul Jackson and Sergeant MacTavish, and had more of a movie-like plot. The multiplayer mode feature a Hardcore setting, which was a first, where the players health was reduced from 100 to 30, and the HUD was removed from your screen.

Call of Duty:  World at War (2008) – PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Mobile, DS

Sub-releases:

• Call of Duty: World at War Final Fronts – PlayStation 2
• Call of Duty: Zombies – IOS

Even though Call of Duty: World at War moved back to the World War II era, it was actually the first game in the Black Ops timeline, and the first World War II title from the series set in the Eastern front.

The game featured 14 multiplayer maps and received three map packs upon release, each of which included three new multiplayer maps and a zombie map. The game was also the first to ever include the legendary Nazi Zombie mode.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) – PC, Xbox 360, PS3

Sub-releases:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Force Recon – Mobile
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Mobilized – Nintendo DS

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was set five years after the events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and was a direct sequel. It was the sixth main game in the franchise, and had raked in over $1 billion (R10 billion) as of January 2010.

The game features a Special Ops mode which allows players to complete cooperative missions which were not related to the main campaign.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) – PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS

Sub-releases:

• Call of Duty: Black Ops Mobile – Mobile
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies –IOS

Call of Duty: Black Ops pitched as the direct sequel to World at War due to the storyline based on the events of Viktor Reznov after World War II.

The game was set in two countries, Russia and the USA, but only had one American campaign.

Zombies returned to the franchise with the release of Back Ops, as well as a new top down shooter mode called Dead Ops Arcade. This was unlocked by entering a code on the PC at the start screen of the game.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) – PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii

Sub-releases:

• Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3: Defiance – Nintendo DS

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the direct sequel to Modern Warfare 2 and the eighth game in the franchise.

The game was the first to feature Call of Duty Elite, a lifetime statistics and social networking integration built for the COD universe. There was a free version of Elite and a pro version which included monthly DLC and real-life prizes.

Special Ops mode made a return in Modern Warfare 3 as well as the usual multiplayer modes.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (2012) – PS3, PC, Xbox 360, Wii U

Sub-releases:

• Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified – PlayStation Vita
• Call of Duty: Strike Team – IOS

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was the direct sequel to Black Ops, and was the first modern CoD developed by Treyarch. It was also the firat CoD to be released on the Nintendo Wii U.

The multiplayer portion of the game was set in 2025, and introduced wildcards for the first time which allowed players to break the rules of create-a-class by either having three attachments, two perks, or more lethal grenades.

There were 55 levels and 10 Prestige levels for multiplayer. The Zombie mode also returned to in the title.

Call of Duty Online (2013) – PC

Call of Duty Online was only released in China, as a free-to-play game with micro transactions. The game was fully developed by Activision Shanghai and Raven Software.

The game features maps, characters, models, and guns from both the Modern Warfare and Black Ops series.

Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) – PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC

Call of Duty: Ghosts was developed by Infinity Ward and Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was a launch title for the PS4 and Xbox One, and gave players a completely new setting and cast of characters.

The game‘s story revolves around the Ghosts, a US force trained to conduct missions behind enemy lines.  CoD: Ghosts featured an all-new game mode called extinction, where players’ objectives is to kill the alien, destroy their hive, arm a bomb and get away safety.

Call of Duty Advanced Warfare (2014) PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360

Set in the future, CoD: Advanced Warfare is about a private military company called ATLAS and focuses on their fight against the United States government for failing to install democracies across the globe.

Below is a table displaying all of the Call of Duty titles, and their specifics.

Call of Duty – The Franchise
Game	Developer	Metacritic	Modes	Engine	Copies sold
Call of Duty (2003)	Infinity Ward	91	Campaign, Multiplayer	Id Tech 3	1,75m
Call of Duty: Finest Hour	Spark Unlimited	76	Campaign, Multiplayer	Renderware	400,000
Call of Duty 2	Infinity Ward	86	Campaign, Multiplayer	In House	2.5m
Call of Duty: Big Red Ones	Treyarch	77	Campaign, Multiplayer	Treyarch NGL	2.67m
Call of Duty 3	Treyarch	82	Campaign, Multiplayer	Treyarch NGL	1.25m
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory	Amaze Entertainment	64	Campaign, Multiplayer	In House	N/A
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Infinity Ward	92	Campaign, Multiplayer	Proprietary (IW 3)	13.5m
Call of Duty: World at War	Treyarch	83	Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombie, Co-op	Proprietary (IW 3)	11m
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2	Infinity Ward	94	Campaign, Multiplayer, Special Ops	Proprietary (IW 4)	23m
Call of Duty: Black Ops	Treyarch	81	Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies	Modified IW 3	21.5m
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	Sledgehammer Games	88	Campaign, Multiplayer, Special Ops	Modified IW 4	26.5m
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2	Treyarch	81	Campaign, Multiplayer, Zombies	Modified IW 3	24.2m
Call of Duty: Ghosts	Infinity Ward	78	Campaign, Multiplayer, Squads, Extinction	Updated IW 4	14.5m
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare	Sledgehammer Games	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

So, with all this knowledge now firmly in your brain can you predict how good Advanced Warfare will be? Let us know in the comments and forum.

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