Welcome To The Revolution

by sweep

For the past 12 months my gaming rituals have remained predominantly the same. Call Of Duty 4 remains my ever-faithful weapon of choice - it's multiplayer proving far more versatile than many others of this years releases. My alternative gaming experiences over the past year have either involved smaller titles such as Castle Crashers or Braid - or my attempt at hacking and slashing with Ninja G...

For the past 12 months

my gaming rituals have remained predominantly the same. Call Of Duty 4 remains my ever-faithful weapon of choice - it's multiplayer proving far more versatile than many others of this years releases. My alternative gaming experiences over the past year have either involved smaller titles such as Castle Crashers or Braid - or my attempt at hacking and slashing with Ninja Gaiden 2 (a phase which did not retain my attention for long). The only real impact was GTA4 - but that remains an offline delicacy, as my internet connection lags like a tasered grandmother. What I mean to say is that, I have been playing the same game for the last 12 months, and now my routine is about to be smashed.

The games that are to be released over the next several weeks are being held in eager anticipation by... well everyone. I find myself exhilarated at the concept of LittleBigPlanet - despite the fact that I wont get my hands on it for some time to come. Fable 2, Gears Of War 2, Dead Space, Far Cry 2, Prince Of Persia and Left 4 Dead are currently sitting on my wish list. So it looks like Call Of Duty 4 is finally going to reach it's retirement.

Call Of Duty 4

To be honest, I'm surprised it lasted this long

As a Call Of Duty superfan (COD1 on PC made my GCSEs a lot more interesting) I am genuinely, eye raisingly, surprised that my mind has not been drawn elsewhere online in the past 12 months. Call Of Duty 4 is a great game, clearly with more depth than meets the eye - but is there really that much variation in terms of playing styles and level manipulation?

I think the answer for this is also linked firmly into what I consider to be the greatest attribute of the Xbox 360 - The friends lists and leaderboards, and mostly - the headsets.

I am in the peculiar position of not knowing anyone on my friends list on XBL. I have never really felt that this was an issue that needed rectifying. I have always found it both easy and rewarding making friends and forming partnerships with strangers online. Being involved in a small group of worldwide shooters and being held in consequent fear and reverence by our competitors (post Team Deathmatch of course) is gratifying in the extreme. This is the reason I have stuck with Cod4 for so long - Because I can always count on being able to hop into a game with someone I have met and gamed with before. The aspect of competitiveness gains actual meaning when placed in the concept of familiarity. It is worth making that special effort and winning if you are then able to laugh at the feeble attempts of your friends - even more so if your victory doubles as a revenge over a humiliating defeat.

More than anything

I felt this is the reason I have stuck so long with Call Of Duty 4, as with many other games that I have played in the past. Without the friendships and experiences I have gained with the people I have met, my gaming adventures would have felt much more empty. Being able to joke with the people you are cooperating with promotes these other players from random geeky avatars to real people, occasionally with personalities.

But it's time for the revolution!!

There comes a time when we have to admit that we had a good run, and move on to the next step. Call Of Duty has done it's time, now its time for something Bigger, Better, More Badass. Its not far off.
I don't know about you guys, but i'm EXCITED.

Thanks for reading.
Love Sweep