Soothsayer extraordinaire, Michael Pachter believes that Treyarchs’s soon to be released Call of Duty : Black Ops won’t fare as well with the gaming press as Infinity Ward’s latest – believing that the press is going to be overcritical of Black Ops simply because it isn’t Modern Warfare 2.
Odd. I’m looking quite forward to Black Ops, simply because it isn’t Modern Warfare 2,
“I don’t know whether the gaming press will suddenly become more charitable than they have in the past, but my read on them as a group is that they are a hypercritical and bitter lot, and I think that they have the potential to find many things wrong with Black Ops, chief among them that the game is not Modern Warfare 2,†he said to IndustryGamers.
Pachter also pointed out that a Treyarch COD game has never gotten the critical acclaim of Infinity Ward’s titles.
“The challenge is that Treyarch is called the ‘other’ Call of Duty developer for a reason; the top review scores for the franchise on gamerankings.com are held by Infinity Ward games, with Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2, the original Call of Duty, and Call of Duty 2 each receiving average scores of 89 or higher,†he said.“The best reviewed Call of Duty game from Treyarch (World at War) received an 85.7% score, while Call of Duty 3 got an 82 rating.â€
“A read through of the reviews on Medal of Honor will show you that the gaming press is just waiting to compare Black Ops to Modern Warfare 2, and although Black Ops looks phenomenal, I’m not sure it will get the benefit of the doubt.â€
“With that said, if the game gets a review score in the 90s, I think that the game has a chance to sell as well as Modern Warfare 2, due to a larger console installed base. However, competition is quite fierce this holiday, with competitive games like Halo Reach, Medal of Honor and Vanquish all in the marketplace, and anyone who buys one of those games will have $60 less to spend on other shooter games.â€
“Thus, I must conclude that Black Ops won’t sell as well as Modern Warfare 2, but I do think that the Call of Duty franchise will continue to sell very well.â€
Treyarch are taking quite a few risks with Black Ops; Mixing things up, introducing interesting new game modes, removing sniper quickscoping and the like – and I certainly hope it pays for them. They’ve been living in Infinity Ward’s shadow for far too long now.
Black Ops will be available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 9th – just a day before Xbox live launches locally. I expect the Black Ops multiplayer scene on Xbox Live to explode locally.
Source : IndustryGamers
Last Updated: October 28, 2010
Nick de Bruyne
October 28, 2010 at 11:41
Strange, unlike Pachter’s predictions or Geoff’s reason, I might not like it just because it might still be too much like MW2.
In my opinion, the game always launches so well but the multiplayer fun becomes more and more scarce as the hardcore douchebags get better and better at finding cheap hiding places or overpowered custom load-outs.
Don’t get me started on the Javelin glitch…
That said, I think Pachter is wrong. Even though I have many reasons for not liking Modern Warfare 2, I will treat Black Ops as its own game and as fairly as possible, it’s what we do.
Sure there will be a few unprofessional schmucks out there, but any journo or critic worth anything knows that you keep yourself in check when reviewing, and give the game a fair chance no matter what.
Karl Thomson
October 28, 2010 at 11:42
World at War wasn’t very good, but neither was Modern Warfare 2 IMO. Modern Warfare 1 was, by all accounts, _excellent_. As long as Black Ops avoids the heavy-handed melodrama and OTT’ness of Modern Warfare 2 while providing the same stellar shooting mechanics, I’m down with that.
Bobby Kotick for Dummies
October 28, 2010 at 11:58
I think I’m one of the few that preferred World at War over Modern Warfare 1, but I’ll agree with Karl, Modern Warfare 2 pales in comparison to its precursor. I suppose where MW2 truly shines is in multiplayer (and I suppose for this generation that is more important).
Nick de Bruyne
October 28, 2010 at 12:43
I also preferred World at War, especially the multiplayer. I didn’t like it that much at first as I felt it was just a WW2 version of COD4. Thing is that it started growing on me like crazy, and I think that I actually ended up playing it a lot more than COD4 or MW2.
Modern Warfare 2s stupid uber powerful loadout configurations make it feel more like a superhero game than a war shooter. Some guy sprinting around a battlefield really fast stabbing everyone, really?
Parker
October 28, 2010 at 12:58
While I don’t think Waw is as good as Modern Warfare 1, it sure beats the hell out of MW2. Overrated garbage.
And I actually agree with Pachter here, which doesn’t happen often. A lot of reviewers seem to have these double standards where a con on one game will be completely ignored on another. I remember them bitching about there being no co-op for Killzone 2, yet Modern Warfare 2 gets a free pass.
AC!D
October 28, 2010 at 12:59
Been burnt three times by Treyarch. I hated World at War, Web of Shadows was mediocre and the worst of the bunch had to be their pathetic Quantum of Solace game. Ill be waiting for Killzone 3 instead thank you very much. No Infinity Ward no COD sale.
Also how arrogant of Pachter to presume the press and i guess myself are bitter? When Trearch actually build their own engine, stop adding gimmicks like Zombie modes and most importantly create a game as good as Infinity Ward then maybe they will get the praise they desrve. Its not bitter when a developer clearly doesnt have the talent Infinity Ward had. They’ve been coasting off the back of Infinity Ward way too long. They seem to be the go to guys when Activision need games rushed and made fast for the holidays.
Bobby Kotick for Dummies
October 28, 2010 at 13:14
Don’t forget they included a zombie mode, when the whole zombie thing was still fresh and new. :devil: I really loved those nazi zombies 😀
Envy
October 31, 2010 at 05:41
How to make a CoD game by Treyarch:
Step 1: Take IW’s graphics engine
Step 2: Take IW’s physics engine.
Step 3: Take IW’s sound
Step 4: Tweak slightly
Step 5: Add a B-movie plot with “tacticoolz” theme.
Step 6: Add a tacky zombie mode
Step 7: Sell for the same amount as IW’s original work.
This copy paste style of making games is going to kill the game industry. Treyarch don’t deserve your money, but most are so illogically upset at MW2 (despite the fixes) and are willing to follow the loudmouths like lemmings.
If Black Ops were about 60 bucks less i’d buy it, but i’m not spending $100AU on what is essentially, MW2 in a different frock, and since i’m more than happy with MW2 (because i am one of the lucky few to not have experienced any of those supposed constant glitches that make the game supposedly horrid to play), I won’t be wasting my money.
But hey, give your money to Treyarch, just don’t come whining to me when the quality of games goes down the gutter.