Introduction[]
I have been digging into Call of Duty 2016 Speculation recently, and I know how it is; Call of Duty: Black Ops III came out and everyone apparently thought it was a little too over the top, similar to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, though some people loved it, and I see that a lot of people hated on Call of Duty: Ghosts, mostly because the multiplayer maps were sucky and the campaign was like, "Ugh! The story's lame!" Now, I have heard and done a little research on the "developer ctcle" thing, where a different developer team (Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Treyarch) would produce a new Call of Duty game each year and that now that Treyarch has made Black Ops 3, we are due for another game from Infinity Ward, the guys that made Call of Duty: Ghosts and the Modern Warfare series.
So we have a variety of possibilities here, concerning Call of Duty 2016. Either it will be Call of Duty Ghosts II, sequel to the terrible Call of Duty: Ghosts, a sequel to the Modern Warfare series (which everybody loved, apparently), or a reboot of the Modern Warfare series, or a remastered Call of Duty, or something else entirely. Now, you're probably thinkign, "Wait! Call of Duty: MW3 was supposed to end the Modern Warfare series! They're making another one?!" Bear with me here, okay, guys? This is all just speculation and guess work based on what we know about what's going on.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4[]
To start off, I’m gonna talk about a possible Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Let me tell you that I agree that MW3 was a great game in the Modern Warfare series and I can see how people think MW3 could be the end of the Modern Warfare saga because (spoiler alert) the main bad guy that you’ve been chasing throughout Modern Warfare 2 (Vladimir Makarov) is dead, at the hands of everybody’s favorite hero Captain John Price (and “Soap” MacTavish is dead), World War III is over, the Russian Ultranationalist government has united with the Loyalists, and everybody’s happy, etc. Now this is just me, but just because the main bad guy of the previous game is dead in MW3 doesn’t mean that the series is over. Not for me, anyway. Because there are tons of possibilities, right? I mean, killing the main bad guy of MW2 doesn’t have to mean it’s actually over for the Modern Warfare saga, because think about it this way: After Makarov is dead and the Russian Ultranationalist conflict is over, things look fine and dandy again, right?
Well, maybe so, unless a new war happens!
Now, this is all speculation at this point, but this is what we could see in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, if they ever go with this idea.
Here’s my idea in a nutshell: Civil War. To elaborate, in the year 2023, six years after the events of Modern Warfare 3 (the last level occurs in the year 2017), the United States of America has made significant progress in recovering from the Russian invasion six years ago. But there is a new threat, this time originating from the American homeland itself: a radical activist movement turned terrorist group calling itself the Soldiers of Liberty. Seeing the current United States government as corrupt and desiring to return America to its original heritage as a Judeo-Christian nation, the Soldiers of Liberty rise up and launch a daring mission to destroy the United States federal government and kill the United States President…unless former US Army Ranger James Ramirez and former Delta Force operative turned Task Force 141 operative Derek “Frost” Westbrook and their friends can stop them.
Now, this sounds a lot like the canceled video game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots, and this may have a lot of religious themes in it, but bear with me here: Call of Duty has never done a scenario involving a civil war before. At least, not on American soil, and certainly not in the future anyway. I am just saying that this was the best idea that I could ever come up with in terms of an idea for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. I have three reasons for this:
1. MW2 and MW3 both have plot holes involving what becomes of the main characters in each of those games. Namely:
a. After the MW2 level Whiskey Hotel, James Ramirez, the Ranger you play as in the US Army Rangers arc of the campaign, is never heard from again.
b. Likewise, Delta Force operative Derek “Frost” Westbrook is never heard from again after the MW3 level Scorched Earth.
c. Task Force 141 leader Captain John Price and his sidekick Nikolai are never heard from again after MW3’s campaign mission “Dust to Dust.” It’s like Price and Nikolai went off the grid for good after killing Vladimir Makarov. Come on!
2. Because of number 1, I think it would be unfair for the game developers to be left hanging and have the gamers never hear from either Ramirez, Price, Nikolai or Frost ever again for a long time. Even though the four characters never die, I actually miss them! They need to return!
3. Like I said before, killing Vladimir Makarov does not end the series. A new conflict is bound to arise, even after a lull in the storms of war.
Hopefully my reasons are enough for a continuation of the Modern Warfare series, even though MW3 supposedly ended the series.
Call of Duty: Ghosts II[]
My next theory is Call of Duty: Ghosts II. This one, a lot of people say, makes the most sense because if you remember (Spoiler alert), at the end of The Ghost Killer in Call of Duty: Ghosts, you (as Logan Walker) and your bro David “Hesh” Walker are in a train and you fight the main bad guy, former Ghost leader turned brainwashed Federation operative Gabriel T. Rorke. You watch Hesh fight Rorke, Hesh tells you to grab Rorke’s gun, which you do, and then you shoot Rorke. Thinking he is dead, you and Hesh escape the train and watch the hijacked LOKI satellite (from the previous campaign level, LOKI) destroy the Federation of the Americas’ naval ships and military personnel.
Then the kicker comes in: Rorke reveals himself to be still alive when he ambushes you, breaks your arm, and declares that he is going to brainwash your character to become a Federation operative like him and help Rorke kill the Ghosts (Rorke: “We’re gonna destroy them together.”) He then grabs you by the leg and drags you away while Hesh screams bloody murder. Then the credits roll, and an extra cutscene shows you being kept prisoner in a pit in the ground in a thunderstorm at night, which ends the game.
A lot of people have been saying that this is a good cue to start a sequel, and I have been told that the developers of Call of Duty: Ghosts didn’t expect it to turn out so bad (mostly because they were writing Call of Duty: Ghosts II before Ghosts was even released). They most likely didn’t have time to read gamer feedback and were probably taken by surprise when they found out how bad it was. But anyway, a lot of people agree that Ghosts II, if they ever decide to go that direction, makes the most sense.
If they ever decide to go for Call of Duty: Ghosts II, then here’s what I think should happen: Since Ghosts occurs in 2016 (with no connections to the Modern Warfare universe) and goes into the 2020s, it would make a lot of sense to have Ghosts II take place in the 2040s or 2030s or something like that. The United States of America has managed to repel the Federation invasion in the first game, but now has to fight a new war against the Federation overseas. But this time they will have a little bit of help from China. China, which is ticked off at the Federation for destroying the Middle Eastern oil fields that China so desperately depends on for fuel, declare war on the Federation and decides to launch a full-scale invasion of the Federation of the Americas. Meanwhile, Russia is starting to consider joining the war against the Federation too, but they really go for the war option when Federation sleeper cells attempt to assassinate the Russian President, but fail, therefore bringing Russia into the war.
In terms of game-play mechanics, Ghosts II could go for the “sandbox” option used in Black Ops II, where the player can make decisions throughout the campaign that affect the storyline, which I thought was genius for a game like Black Ops II. I was waiting to see if they would do the sandbox gameplay option for a future Call of Duty anyway.
Then there’s the subject of what happens to Logan T. Walker. Well, two things could happen here:
1. Logan is successfully brainwashed into becoming a Federation soldier and helps Rorke command his own cadre of soldiers to counter the Ghosts: Los Diablos (Spanish for The Devils), a special ops unit that is part of the Federation and the Federation’s counterpart of the Ghosts. You help Rorke find and kill Hesh, but some major plot twist happens that makes Logan snap out of his brainwashing and betray the Federation, rejoining the Ghosts.
2. The player could have the option of resisting the Federation’s torture techniques and at some point, Logan is rescued by a new organization of soldiers called the Black Ravens, an anti-government guerilla movement seeking to fight against the Federation and remove the dictatorship government:
a. The player alternates between playing as Logan and playing as Hesh, who assumes that Logan is still in Federation captivity and is unaware of the fact that he has been rescued.
b. Everyone’s favorite: Either Logan or Hesh kills Rorke. Whether the player (as Logan) kills Rorke or Hesh kills Rorke is up to the player’s choice.
In either case, after Rorke is killed, the Federation is severely weakened and the Ghosts and the new anti-government guerillas called the Black Ravens could work together to destroy the Federation government and remove it, leading to the demise of the Federation. The player and Hesh could possibly lead the United States military, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the Russian Ground Forces, the Ghosts, and the Black Ravens in the assault on the Federation’s capital city of Caracas. Then I guess the player could either choose to aid Hesh and the Chinese\Russian strike force in laying siege to the Federation’s main government building as a diversion for the Black Ravens to go inside and kill the Federation’s High Command, or the player could choose to assist the Black Ravens in infiltrating the Federation’s government building. Either way, the player (or Hesh) could kill the new dictator of the Federation, Manuel Almagro (son of Diego Almagro, the bad guy who led the Federation prior to Rorke’s brainwashing in the first game) and the dictatorship in the Federation collapses. As for the Federation itself, it falls over the course of a few weeks (or months, give or take).
Sounds great, right? I mean, it has everything a Call of Duty gamer would want in order to fix the problems of Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Now in regards to the sucky multiplayer that everyone complained about, I have some suggestions for improvement:
1. Bring back the old days. Don’t use exoskeleton suits like they did in Advanced Warfare, which pretty much ruined the game for some people. Go back to ordinary “Boots on the Ground”, you know, soldiers who use ordinary gameplay mechanics.
2. Better hit detection. A lot of people apparently complained that the game had bad hit detection. One YouTuber put it this way, “If you’re shooting marshmallows, you won’t be able to kill them, no matter how good the…maps are.”
3. The maps are too big. SHRINK THEM:
a. Some people complain that the maps are too big and some are so big the whole map seems like a war zone.
b. Bring back the old maps, but re-mastered. Don’t remake them, for goodness sakes!
Now, let ask you: Are the maps in Ghosts a huge problem, or do people act like sheep and complain because their buddies complain?
Let’s think about this: Some maps in Ghosts are huge, but everything else is medium. People say to stay away from Ghosts’ big maps. Do you agree?
Now, about the Killstreaks: they suck! A lot of people complained that the killstreaks suck. Well, the killstreaks were boring, I would have to admit. The killstreaks, according to others, aren’t that bad. Good ones include the dog, the LOKI, the IMS, the assault Juggernaut, the Maniac and Vulture. Bad ones include the Attack Chopper (some may disagree), the Trinity Rocket, and the Chopper Gunner. Those killstreaks, some people say, were garbage. My point: some people say that the killstreaks should’ve had been more powerful. If Ghosts II happens, they need smaller maps and better killstreaks!
So, recapping: Two things Ghosts II needs to improve on are better maps (smaller ones), and better, diabolical killstreaks. Otherwise, the game ain’t fun. Anybody agree?
Other improvements I suggest are the same create-a-class system, new (and creative) weapons, an improved scoring system, better map dynamics (not that the existing ones aren’t fun; they just have better potential), and rewarding players a full point for completing an objective, and take out thermals for LMGs and Snipers. No sound hoarding too. That’s just unnecessary. Also, get rid of the exosuits. Some people thought it ruined the experience of gaming. Also, bring back the old game matches, like Sabotage, 3rd Person Cage Match, 3rd person Team Tactical, Old School Free-for-All (from COD4) and some party games like they had in Black Ops I.
Another note: Keep Extinction. I liked it. I thought of it better than Zombies. Just throw in a more imaginative storyline besides aliens being awakened by the ODIN satellite. It sounds too much like Crysis 2.
A remastered Call of Duty
This one looks interesting. The first Call of Duty game, if you remember, was made back in 2003. I looked at the game-play for that one a long time ago, and frankly the graphics looked ancient! They need to take that game and re-make it with better audio, better sound effects, and for heavens’ sake they need better graphics! If you ask me, primitive gaming graphics and stuff like that will kill the game for everybody. Also, get rid of the medical kits lying around the map and just use the ordinary health generation system that every game from Call of Duty 2 onwards has been using. I like those better (just saying).
Now I am not saying that a remastered Call of Duty is bad. I think it might be a little interesting, though to others it may be boring because of lack of imagination, but bear with me here: a remastered Call of Duty to me is an improvement because it gives people a chance to give older Call of Duty games a well-deserved makeover, makeovers that wouldn’t have existed back in the day (though I am pretty sure that they could’ve just used the knife for a melee instead of the gun-bashing thing for Call of Duty 1 and Call of Duty 2). No offense, but when Infinity Ward started out, they were probably lazy in terms of gameplay mechanics. A remastered Call of Duty with a new engine would be great. Just saying, though. It’s better than ancient graphics and lazy gameplay mechanics if you ask me.
Call of Duty: Operation Northwoods []
Okay, this one is purely my speculation. Call of Duty: Operation Northwoods is something completely random that I think Infinity Ward could potentially do. Before you bash on me for this, let me say that this is not in the future. Rather, it takes place in the Black Ops timeline (call it a prequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops I, if you wish). Now, this one is a little crazy because I was kinda disappointed that the Masons (Alex Mason, his son David, and company) were not returning in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Furthermore, I was a little disappointed they didn’t bring Viktor Reznov back, which is understandable because Viktor Reznov is supposed to have died by now, though they could’ve at least put him in that World War II simulation in one of the campaign levels (Demon Within, I believe).
Either that, or Operation Northwoods is a prequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and tells of the events of the Cold War in the perspective of characters from Infinity Ward’s games.
But in all seriousness, I think Call of Duty: Operation Northwoods would be a great idea considering the fact that it was a rather close call between the United States and Cuba concerning a new war. The idea came from a YouTube video I watched detailing an alternate history scenario where, instead of President JFK finding out about it and terminating the project, Operation Northwoods went ahead, behind the President’s back (for the sake of realism, JFK would never condone such an act in the first place).
Just a little bit of background information for ‘ya: Operation Northwoods was a proposed false flag operation proposed by none other than Lyman L. Lemnitzer, who was put in charge as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the year 1962. The plan was to have the CIA or other US government operatives commit acts of terrorism against American civilians (yeah, you heard me: American civilians) and then pin the blame on the Cubans and Castro, giving the USA a reason to invade Cuba. In other words, you have the CIA and other government operatives attacking American civilians in a false flag op against Cuba. Think of it as the Modern Warfare 2 campaign mission No Russian all over again, except this time on a national scale. Thankfully, President John F. Kennedy, in a startling display of what I call “heroism”, terminated the project. But how would the world change if Operation Northwoods actually happened, either (unrealistically) with JFK’s approval, or, more realistically, behind his back? Sorry if I’m redundant here.
My idea is in an alternate historical timeline, “Sandman” (whose real name is revealed in the game to be Alvin Finch), the character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, in the year 1991 (he would be 22 at this time, born October 10, 1969) being told about how Operation Northwoods was actually carried out behind JFK’s back. The storyteller is none other than Alvin’s father Preston Finch, a veteran soldier and CIA operative who had participated in the Cold War. The game alternates between Alvin Finch’s experiences in 1962 in an attempt to uncover and stop Operation Northwoods from being carried out against the United States of America’s own people (and becoming a wanted fugitive in the process) and Alvin “Sandman” Finch’s own attempt to stop Operation Northwoods Reloaded, a reinvention of the original Northwoods plot, only this it’s a plot meant to start a war against al-Qaeda, the Islamist terrorist group responsible for 9\11 (which hadn’t happened yet) and to eliminate the organization.
Sound farfetched? Well, let me justify my decision: if Call of Duty: Ghosts occurs in an alternate timeline, then what’s wrong with a prequel to one of the Modern Warfare games occurring in one too? I mean, alternate timelines are fun and enjoyable, right? You can always imagine what would’ve been if such-and-such had actually occurred (or not occurred) as opposed to actual history. Now, I could’ve had “Sandman” try to stop 9\11, but that’s a no-go, since doing so would most likely get Sandman killed before his the game of his actual death (MW3). Still, it’s worth a shot, right?
Conclusion[]
Like I said before, all these ideas are just speculation about Call of Duty 2016. I am a little rusty when it comes to epic game plotline ideas, since I hadn’t done so in a long time (or so it seems, since the only thing I ever do is come up with plotlines for my own online stories). If they do happen, then by golly, I must be a prophet! If they go for a different direction entirely, well, that’s okay too.
Personally, though, I think the last one-Call of Duty: Operation Northwoods-is a little farfetched now that I think of it. Yet, they may still do it, even though this one is just my imagination going wild and not based on any rumors or anything like that.
Feel free to comment and tell me what you guys think concerning all this speculated content.
PS: Sorry if I offended anyone with any of these ideas. They were just thoughts that I had off the top of my head and were not meant to be offensive.