Call of Duty: Ghosts

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Players: 1-2 Co-Op / Competitive (Local Split-Screen)

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: Activision Blizzard

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Review:

Call of Duty: Ghosts is a First-Person Shooter released on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U in 2013. As with Call of Duty: Black Ops II before it, this is a pretty feature-complete port of the version seen on other platforms, meaning it includes the entirety of the game’s Campaign mode, Multiplayer mode, Squads mode, and Extinction mode… although of course as I write this in 2022, the multiplayer is going to be pretty much only via local split-screen.

And I know I’m repeating myself (copy-paste has a way of doing that), but Ghosts looks fantastic even by today’s standards – its environments aren’t as lush as Black Ops II’s were, but its character models are even more detailed, its setpieces are even more explosive, and its depiction of a post-apocalyptic American hellscape are amazingly vivid. Even though this game was originally touted as a showpiece for next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it is no less a showpiece for Wii U, and even nearly a decade later it still looks absolutely incredible. The game sounds great too, with fast-paced music to highlight the action, and solid voice acting for all the characters. And unlike Black Ops II, this time around I didn’t notice any slowdown.

And of course the gameplay holds up, because this is Call of Duty, even if Ghosts isn’t generally considered to be one of the better games in that franchise. Players on the Wii U can opt to use the Wii U gamepad, the Pro Controller, or a Wii remote and numchuck, with all of these feeling great except the Wii remote, which I found to be absolutely terrible. In addition, each of the game modes brings something great to the table.

As I mentioned before, this game’s campaign takes place in a future America that has been laid to waste when a united federation of South American nations hijacks an orbital weapon and blasts the nation’s major cities to pieces. Much like the Black Ops games, the weaponry in use here is often futuristic, but this game still has a very different feel due to this post-apocalyptic setting. This game also places a major emphasis on using a canine companion to assault enemies, which makes for some nice variety.

However, the old issue with Call of Duty campaigns once again rears its head – once again, everything is largely linear, which does allow for some excellent showpiece storytelling that makes this game an absolutely fantastic adrenaline rush of a roller-coaster ride, but you definitely feel how “on-rails” everything is – if you don’t go or do what the story wants you to do at any given time, you’ll inexplicably fail even if you think you’re doing what you should. This is a minor complaint overall, but it still caused frustration here and there.

Extinction mode takes the place of Zombies mode, and I think I prefer it, with players fighting an infestation of alien creatures rather than staving off hordes of zombies. It’s still not quite on par with the main campaign, but it’s worthwhile.

Then of course there’s the multiplayer mode and… well, don’t expect to find anyone to play against online these days, and unfortunately in the time since Black Ops II the local multiplayer has been chopped in half, only allowing for two players locally (or you can find a separate Wii U to make a System Link connection, I suppose). Given that multiplayer is one of the main attractions of a Call of Duty game, this seriously feels like it’s cutting the heart out of the experience, and while it’s unreasonable to expect a game like this to still be online nearly a decade later, the fact that it lacks a local substitute is disheartening.

Well, there is a substitute of sorts – the Squads mode is effectively a scaled-down version of the online multiplayer with bots. For Wii U owners in 2022 who want an idea of what the Call of Duty online experience was like, this is probably about as close as you’re going to get. Of course, it’s still no substitute for the real thing, but I suppose it’s something.

In the end, Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Wii U is still a solid port of a Call of Duty game, and that means you’re in for a well-crafted action-packed experience with a presentation that few games can compare with, even a decade later. In fact, in some ways, this is even a more impressive experience. However, with ever fewer multiplayer features than its predecessor on Wii U, and the bot-centric (at this point) Squads mode, this feels a lot like a “two steps forward, one step back” sorta’ situation. However, even being a mixed bag as far as Call of Duty games go, this is still a phenomenal experience well worth playing… at least, if you don’t have another platform to play it on.

tl;dr – Call of Duty: Ghosts on Wii U is a solid port of an excellent First-Person Shooter that once again translates the experience of the game to Nintendo’s platform wonderfully. Unfortunately, with dead online lobbies, only two players supported locally, and the bot-filled Squads mode in its place, this feels like it’s sadly lacking in its multiplayer, and the campaign still feels as “on-rails” as ever. This is still a phenomenal First-Person Shooter, but this is neither the best game in the series nor the best platform to play it on.

Grade: A-

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