Trevor Houston
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COGConnected Latest Reviews
Modern Warfare III received a bad rap. You might think that with a Metacritic average of 56 out of 100 (based on 71 reviews), nobody is playing it, and it would be universally regarded as the worst Call of Duty game of all time—banished to bargain bins and deep discounts. However, that wasn’t the case at all. While the single-player experience was underwhelming, the multiplayer aspects were as strong as ever. I really enjoyed the open-world zombies experience, and that addictive battle pass kept me coming back daily. C’mon man, it certainly didn’t deserve a 56 Meta-score.
While I am enjoying my return to the Madden-verse, I have to admit, I expected a little more. Most of the modes from the past few years are here and they play out largely the same. Franchise, MUT, and Superstar are all back. It’s clear EA Sports is all about yearly incremental changes. That is fine, I have come to terms with it and recognize EA Sports isn’t ready to alienate their fan base any time soon with sweeping changes. They have a good thing going, sell a metric f*ck ton of copies and its popularity continues to rise. Yet still, it does feel a bit bare-bones.
One year later, I am happy to report Madden NFL 22 feels like a complete experience. Those bugs, glitches, and half-baked modes from Madden 21 are not present this time around. It is a vastly improved gridiron game from the one I played one year ago.
Several months ago, in the middle of the first wave of the global pandemic, I felt Activision should have just delayed Call of Duty this year. Modern Warfare was still going strong. Everyone was still playing it and the season pass model seemed to be working like a charm. Meanwhile, studios everywhere were sending their workers home to work. My feeling at the time, why rush another Call of Duty game out the door? If there was any time Activision had an excuse to delay a Call of Duty game without any blowback, it would be now.
It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Activision and Infinity Ward ever since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was revealed back in May. There was outrage over the rumored use of White Phosphorus and anger over the child soldier’s sections. The internet was also fuming over the Spec Ops mode being made a timed exclusive for PS4 owners and there was some controversy over rumors you would be able to kill unarmed civilians. It seemed as though Modern Warfare just couldn’t escape the heat.
Admittedly, I am torn when it comes to Madden NFL 20. On one hand, I’m enjoying it. The gameplay is fluid, passing feels great, the animations are impressive, and MUT is as addictive as ever. I am having a hard time putting down the controller. On the other hand, there is little in the way of true innovation this year. It feels and plays almost identical to Madden NFL 19. I’m left with this overwhelming feeling that the development team at EA Tiburon played it far too safe this year. Perhaps maybe we’ve just hit the hardware limitations with this generation of consoles. Maybe there is just no room to make any big enhancements. Either way, I feel like I’ve been to this dance before.
When’s the last time fans have been genuinely satisfied with a Call of Duty game? When you really think about that question, it is a difficult one to answer. Sure, we all have our favorites but there’s no way 2016’s Infinite Warfare could be on many lists. Have you seen the number of dislikes the game received on Youtube? Black Ops 3, Advanced Warfare and Ghosts (largely considered the worst in the series) aren’t the first CoD games that come to mind when nailing down the best in the franchise. My point being, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen a Call of Duty game generate some serious excitement with fans. Call of Duty: WWII, on the other hand, has been greeted with a warm reception. Folks seem thrilled to go back to the deadliest conflict in human history. But is WWII the best Call of Duty in the series? Not by a long shot. Still, there’s plenty of reason to reunite your squad and head back to Activision’s juggernaut franchise.
Last year, I was down on EA Sports’ powerhouse NFL franchise. I had an overwhelming sense of disappointment with Madden NFL 17. Sure, the gameplay was as tight as ever and all the hardcore Madden fans seemed genuinely satisfied, yet I didn’t feel like there were any significant innovations. It felt more like an expansion or an upgrade. This year, however, is a different story. Madden NFL 18 feels fresh. They’ve ditched the Ignite engine in favor of the Frostbite engine and the implementation of a compelling single player story mode is something the franchise has never done. I finally feel like Madden has made a meaningful leap and I haven’t been able to say that for quite some time.
Any idea what 3,332,441 represents? That is the amount of dislikes (at the time of writing) the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer received when it dropped 5-months ago. Think about that for a second. That is more than the entire population of Vancouver, where the bulk of our writers live. It’s a massive number and one that speaks to the amount of internet anger directed towards the franchise on a yearly basis. You just need to look at our YouTube page and, as you would guess, CoD vids have the most dislikes. I have my theories why that is but I don’t try hard to understand it. It is what it is. Regardless of your thoughts on the CoD juggernaut, Activision’s mega-franchise is around to stay and is back again with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. With gameplay that largely feels like past entries, Infinite Warfare is a tad thin on innovation but is super thick on plain old fashion fun.
Let’s get this out of the way right now. I have zero experience with the Naruto franchise, which is quite remarkable given how long the franchise has been around and the many years I’ve been covering the industry. This could be viewed as a good or a bad thing. Good, if you are like me who is evidently late to the party, jumping into a series that has come to an end. Bad, if you are fan looking for the kind of review that compares this Naruto game with others in the series. Regardless, you’re getting my impressions of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 from the perspective of a Naruto noob.