Complete Guide: EVERY CALL OF DUTY Ranked, Reviewed

Returning home for Thanksgiving break, sitting in my chair wishing I had Red Dead 2, I decided to pass the time by playing all the sci-fi-futuristic Call of Duty campaigns. My brother kept buying them throughout the years, but I had avoided them for the most part. Surely, they're awful, like everyone says.

This initiated a quest in my deepest heart to play every Call of Duty. See how the oldest hold up against the nostalgia. See how the newest handle their stuff.

Below, I'll detail the broad strokes evolution of the franchise. Nostalgia put aside, we're taking a modern look at how each feels to play today. Here's Call of Duty through the years.

I'll give my final ratings at the end.

CoD Classic - 2003

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Ported over to the 360, it's still a hard play with dark and dull graphics. Controls and feedback feel limiting. No plot or dynamics and not much of a story, though there is skilled voice acting. Unremarkable.

United Offensive - 2004

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The one that got away. It's technically a DLC, and it's only for the PC elite. Unattainable.

Finest Hour - 2004

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Perhaps the 360 port of CoD classic saved it some because going back to play United Offensive on Xbox original is a process we should all be uniformly offended by. It sits in the minds of gamers as, rather than regurgitating basic WW2 scenarios, it takes its missions straight from movie scenes. There are too many Call of Duty games worth looking at, so it's fortunate for us they failed in this effort. Taking scene ideas from movies without taking any of the heart, skill, or characterization, and as a result, this game is plainly dull and static. Don't fool yourself with the fun Hollywood trailer. As a video game, this game is awful at everything it does. Unplayable.

CoD 2 - 2005

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The campaign is a slog to control, but this time, it's interesting to look at. Everything is a little more refined, too. The Devs stepped up the room-by-room scenario storytelling, which would later be a cod staple. Bit of a spoiler for this blog, but out of the first seven Call of Duty games, this is the only one worth going back to. Added points- The multiplayer is an extinct breed, existing between classic arcade games and modern arena shooters. It remains a delightful couch+friend game. Classic.

Big Red One - 2005

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This is baby CoD really gaining some footing. The formula is coming into place with snappy pacing and archetypal characters who die off dramatically. Continues the room-by-room scenario storytelling, although, with actual characters, it does a better job of feeling like a story overall. That's not high praise, saying a game actually has a story, considering Halo 2 came out the previous year. CoD 2 had more in-game space and grander settings. That loss is felt here. Reconsiderable(but in a bad way).

CoD 3 - 2006

-- -- --

Starts to actually feel like the era of video games I grew up with, where video games decided they wanted to be movies and, for the most part, played that awful idea out well. It's the first CoD to hire a writer for character and story, and it actually like… has tension. Gameplay's kinda smooth as opposed to all CoDs before this. And the multiplayer has vehicles. Also, you can shoot your friends, revive them, then keep shooting them, reviving, shooting- infinite fun. So now we have a proper CoD video game formula. Influential.

Roads to Victory - 2007

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Okay, so this is a couple years downgraded. But if we pretend it came out in 2003-2004, right after CoD Classic- it's uglier, but it's generally an all-around upgrade. Thanks, PlayStation. Portable!

Modern Warfare - 2007

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Here's where things turned in two notable ways. For one, this game took a franchise of seven mindless WW2 games and pulled a 180 with story and themes. No matter how dated the gameplay and graphics get, this game will still say something worth hearing. It's more or less the only Call of Duty with artistic substance. Secondly, it's actually a really well-designed Video Game. It's gamey, it's balanced, it's addictive. This game changed the gaming landscape for years to come. Everyone wanted to be MW1. Revolutionary.

World at War - 2008

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CoD had blown up like nobody's business, and an entire generation of children and man-children got their hands on WaW at release. So it's a hard-baked nostalgia cake. But this is another step back for CoD. It's easier to pretend this released before Modern Warfare. From that lens, this is CoD perfecting their games as movies style. That's a significant landmark, but in a post-MW1 world, this game is absolutely dismal to play. It's repetitive, ugly, and far too much is slow and boring. Overhyped.

MW2 - 2009

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Capitalizing on its predecessor the exact same as Rambo 2, this game steps the fun factor up in every way it can. It's fast, it's epic, and unlike Rambo 2, it tells a story with guts. That might sound cringy, but I encourage you to put what you know about CoD aside and read the story breakdown. It's nothing short of phenomenal. CoD was now a household name. Fathers bought this game, where you mass shoot a civilian airport, for their six-year-olds. Pinnacle.

———

Let's hit a coffee break, reanalyze what's come before. If you're playing along to this article, it's now been 66 and a half hours since we started.

The franchise has had time to ground itself as a cornerstone in the FPS genre. Then, it reinvented itself. Finally, it pushed that reinvention to the highest creative peeks of fun. It's the golden age; if you're not playing Call of Duty, you're nobody.

Many childhoods have been formed on the titles to come, but dark turns aren't too far away.

———

Black Ops - 2010

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Multiplayer is to live for. Looking back at the campaign, it's clear the story is interesting, but for its year of release, it's the classical CoD with the worst aging gameplay. Want to enjoy the campaign? Try playing it on easy. It's not difficult. It's just tedious and functions better as a thoughtless, easy-mode action game. Each black ops is only suitable for one thing, and for the first, it's the multiplayer. Deteriorating.

MW3 - 2011

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In some ways, we were starting to go overboard. But… MW3's over-the-top angst helped it hammer down the only thing it had to do- bring an ending. Hey, what an ending, ladies and gentlemen. Multiplayer also gets an upgrade, and as far as couch co-op goes, this is still one of your best options on a 21st-century console. Finalizing.

Black Ops 2 - 2012

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Feels like a right and proper call of duty, possibly the last to be so. That's no compliment, though. Its gameplay and story aesthetics are just another in a sea of first-person shooters in 2012. If it weren't for zombies, you would never play it again. Blackening.

Ghosts - 2013

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Rushed and poorly thought out. It does have some good gimmicks and concepts. If polished, the story wouldn't be half bad, but it is half bad. This is the most "we made this as an afterthought for our multiplayer game" campaign in the whole CoD series. Which is a problem that took root in Black Ops 2 and will continue indefinitely for each game hereafter. Unmentionable.

Advanced Warfare - 2014

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Every aspect except the guns has baseline polish. The maps and missions are beautiful. Characters are nearly something. Gadgets are continually engaging. The real kicker here is the campaign's premise and plot. Pre- Kevin Spacey allegations, the game features the line "Mr. Irons has taken a shine to you." Then he betrays you, and you spend the rest of the game hunting this supervillain down. So that's a fascinating thing that happened in gamer history. Amusing.

Black Ops 3 - 2015

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Okay, hear me out. This is the only Black Ops game with a good campaign. The companion character is dynamically written, and the campaign, although plot-stupid, actually produces emotion. Its focus on compelling protagonist/antagonist dynamics creates this line of golden tension that runs through this otherwise ass campaign. You can successfully ignore everything that's not the main driving story, and it's highly enjoyable. Thankfully, it's also not a slog to get through, as gunplay excites here more than you'd think. Reconsiderable(but in a good way).

Infinite Warfare - 2016

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It's full of itself, its story is uninteresting, and it brings nothing particularly new to the table. However, this is CoD going full-on sci-fi, with all the benefits of their budget. That's kind of amazing. I wouldn't recommend going back for a replay. But I would recommend to CoD- just make games for existing sci-fi IPs. This could have been a Star Trek game, and people would've loved it. It's not fun to play, it's not awful, but it's certainly missing identity and heart. Misunderstood.

———

Take a breath, reel back in. It's been a grueling half-decade, but My Mission was nearly done. With five Call of Duty titles left until my final ranking, are there any cards for the Devs to play, or is it all just pain?

———

WW2 - 2017

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Spiritually a modernization of Big Red One. A cute character-driven WW2 story. It's trudging along as the newest game to hold over the decade-old cod formula. Still clean-cut and enjoyable, yet is it worth your time? Yes…if you use the slow-mo sniping feature. Questionable.

New Modern Warfare - 2019

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Respectably pretentious because it knows it's the biggest thing since MW2 2009. Thematically, it's a little confused in identity, wanting to be hardcore while also inoffensive. The gunplay got a revolutionary changeup, and even writing this in 2023, it's some of the best gunplay in video games. The creators were full of ideas, so there's a ton of New and Great they packed with love into this campaign. Though pretty basic story, writing-wise. It's phenomenal to play, though not without flaws. Fresh-ish.

Cold War - 2020

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There is a grappling hook in the Zombies mode, which I'm infuriated wasn't just in the rest of the game! This campaign benefits from the advancements of New Modern Warfare but feels rushed and low budget. As far as a spiritual successor to Black Ops, it does a great job- both games are mediocre in most ways. But Black Ops' story was interesting, at least. Unfinished.

Vanguard - 2021

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Lads and Lasses, It's been 20 games and the existential mental anguish of learning I'd never play them all(because those PC bastards getting United Offensive). I'm tired, so forgive me. I've forgotten everything about this game right after playing it. I know It felt smoother than WW2. It's totally smooth. But at that point, if you're not going to be anything, not even bad, why get made.

New Modern Warfare 2 - 2022

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I'm working on a separate article for this one. So, I'll say nothing here and just leave my final ranking as a teaser of my thoughts.

Final ranking

I've still not played United Offensive, so it's old ass is spared my wrath. Black Ops 4 has no campaign, and neither do the Mobile games, or so I can only blissfully pretend. So, on to the final matter of rating the campaigns. Just the campaigns are in contention here. There will be three lines in this ranking: one separates legends from viable plays, one separates viable from forgettable, and another divides mediocre from EVIL.

CoD Campaigns Reanalyzed 2023

=============Carve their place by Mario and Pong in Gaming History.

MW2 - Capitalized on its predecessor telling a Rambo 2 story with actual guts.

MW1 - Took 7 mindless war games, pulled a 180 on story and themes.

=============You have my permission to enjoy these Campaigns

COD 2 - Out of those 7 games, this is the only good one.

MWN - Confused but amazingly designed, tries new things to much success.

BO3 - Confused and awfully designed but ambitious ideas and actual emotions.

MW3 - Massive fun and perfect ending, but doesn't evolve anything.

Black Ops - Sooo bad as a video game, but trying new things with a shooter story.

AW - A bad game, yes, but shorten it, and you got just hella dumb fun.

==============It’s okay to let go of the past.

IW - Glimpse at a better world where Activision licenses out like Lego games do.

WOW - Infuriating to play, but CoD perfecting it's games as movies style.

COD 3 - The first cod to hire a writer for characters and story.

BO2 - Tries new shit, shit hit. Smoother to play, but the start of homogenization.

Vanguard - Flat middling, just not enough of anything to be worth being made.

WW2 - Solid character journey dragged by CoD mission formula, hard to enjoy.

==============Brain Initializing memory liquidation

Cold War - disingenuous aesthetic, unfinished, uninteresting. 3rd best zombies, btw.

Big Red One - smooth pacing, enjoyable jaunt, baby cod gaining some footing.

Ghosts - Confused and chock full of great ideas wasted by its nothingness.

RtV - Like Classic but portable. Uglier, though, otherwise effort-bumped.

Classic - Easy to be better and hard to be worse than something so barebones.

MW2N - Utter bastardization of a sequel with a story written by the US Military

Finest Hour - Novel movie scenarios, but mostly awful at everything it does.

---So that's it, Every Call of Duty ranked, signed, sealed delivered. Play MW2 again.