Liking Call of Duty isn't very popular on GameSpot and similar gaming communities. If I didn't know better, just flipping through the comments I would get the notion that CoD isn't a very popular game. Well.. this is obviously incorrect. According to Nielsen, the new CoD is practically number 1 on 2012 holiday wish lists. It's just that some time along the way, this once celebrated franchise has gathered a pretty vocal opposition. I get the rant, it's not cool to like CoD nowadays. Holiday season means a new CoD title. Always the same recycled formula wrapped in a shiny PR bow. Activision only cares about profits. DLC is too expensive. Rant rant rant. Then why is it so damn popular?! Simple! The general public is a mass of brain dead zombies who don't understand what's true gaming is all about and swallow whatever Activision shoves their way. Hell, I like CoD and if that makes me brain dead.. so be it. Contrary to your beliefs, I'm not 15 years old.. I'm actually a bit over 30. I've been a fan of FPS for a better half of my life. I played the original Wolfenstein 3D and Doom when they were released, had after school Quake parties, Unreal Tournament, Half Life, Duke Nukem, Halo, MOH... And guess what, I still like CoD. For the sake of versatility, let me speak on behalf of the evil empire and tell you why I'll probably spend the yearly $60 on CoD BO 4 a few years from now. First, a few words about myself, just to help you label me under all the appropriate stereotypes: 1. I don't consider myself a core gamer. Playing about 5 hours a week, but can also go without gaming for months at a time. 2. I prefer consoles over PC. I'm just tired of chasing the hardware. I'm also lazy and they're easier to connect to my big screen TV. 3. I own both a PS3 and XBOX360. I may be a casual gamer, but I have my limits. No Wii, no kinect. 4. I suck at multiplayer. I can easily beat Uncharted 3 on hard, but I'm lucky to have more than 3 kills in an online match. I'm telling myself it's just because I can't put the hours into it :) I think CoD is great. I'm looking forward for every title. Never been too disappointed till now and I don't have any real complaints about Activision. How can that be? Here's how: 1. Change is overrated Or in other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I like the CoD formula. It works for me. Like many others, I'm a creature of habit, I don't like change. The most I can handle is keeping the graphics up-to-date. If I need my creative gaming fix, I don't turn to Activision. Two of my favorite games this year were Journey (PS3) and Machinarium (iPad actually). If I need fresh, I go there. If I want to shoot people, I just need my old reliable gun. 2. CoD is simple Gaming is an outlet for me.. that's how I blow off steam. I don't play competitively, and I'm not any good even if I were. I actually admire the simplicity of the CoD mechanics. The buttons never change. You can only equip 2 weapons. Just pointing and shooting. No brain surgery. Take the FIFA franchise as a counter example. The last FIFA I actually enjoyed playing was the 1998 France world cup version. Tried to pick up one of the recent ones, and I couldn't wrap my head around the controls. What happened to the good old pass and shoot? Why the hell can I do a 360 dribble and end it with a fake pass? 3. The campaign is satisfying The campaign is usually my favorite part. Every 6 months I get an urge to waltz around and shoot people. Virtually I mean. I grow tired of it after about 10 hours. Well, there's a CoD title out every 6 months (or some other clone). Campaign takes me about 10 hours (we've already established that I'm not super good at it). Me = happy clam. 4. CoD is popular I'm not really a "follow the herd" type of guy, but there's a big plus in a popular franchise. I want to play multiplayer with people who suck like me. The more people out there, the better chance I have of playing against others with my skill level. It's no sport playing against level 70 Uncharted 3 players with all weapon perks maxed out. I never play more than once a week, let me have my fun too. 5. I appreciate the investment in production I remember when games where all about the engine and gameplay mechanics. Unreal Tournament had no voice acting, no cinematics, no script, no plot. Nowadays, game engines are pretty much held back by the hardware, and they're pretty much all the same. I don't expect anything groundbreaking on this front. I'm also ok with the gameplay.. I don't think the human eye can even see 60 FPS, I'm happy with what we have now. I enjoy movies. I like big productions. A good production requires attention on script, casting, acting, locations, music. I kinda like that games like CoD have a long list of credits which is impressively focused on these aspects as well. 6. Big production = big money = big risk Keeping the movie analogy, I like big productions. Don't get me wrong, I do like an indie movie here and there, but there's a warm place in my heart for an over-the-top Hollywood production. Guess what, you can't do those without at least a 7-figure budget. It's no surprise that movie studios invest the big bucks in franchises that are less likely to fumble. That's how the world works. That's why we have 10 reboots of Superman, Spiderman and Batman.