Call of Duty

My negative review is not because of the game itself. The original Call of Duty is actually a very well made game with engaging gameplay and a story on-par for a WWII game in the vein of Medal of Honor. Plus, its multiplayer mode, while I've never fully explored it, has proven impactful in the world of multiplayer FPS games and I cannot deny its influence. My negative review is because of Activision. Without modifying the game's files, the experience you get playing is unenjoyable. You have to deal with brightness bugs, limited 4:3 resolutions, and even with the patches so generously given in guides, you could very easily run into other issues such as inverted colors or other graphical artifacts that ruin gameplay. This is expected with a lot of old games, and while developers are not required to update their games for modern systems, it's quickly becoming an industry standard. The killer is not just the bugs, however. The killer is also the price, which over 20 years after release still remains at $20. I know perfectly well of the notoriety of the Call of Duty series, how much money it brings Activision, and how in spite of seemingly diminishing returns people will continue to buy the latest installment of the series. This does not condone the price-gouging behavior apparent from Activision with this game. Buy a physical copy of this game second-hand, do your research on patches, and I think you'll enjoy the Call of Duty that started it all. Don't buy it for $20 or even on the measly -25% sale that I bought it on. Do as I say, not as I do. Total: 2/10 (scummy practices netted this a -6)