How Many of these Call of Duty classics have you played?
Call of Duty has undoubtedly came a long way since it first launched. The original first person shooter was released in 2003. Limited to campaign and local play, it was set in primarily in the World War 2 era. Fast forward 13 years, we’re now running on walls playing with CoD fanatics from around the world. Not only has the graphics, gameplay and the mechanics of the game improved, but we can now engage in multiplayer battle online, earning our way up the ranks unlocking those prized guns and perks.
Let’s took a look from the beginning, at the images that show how Call of Duty has evolved in the past 13 years.
50. Roaming The German Streets
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Taken from Call of Duty (2003)
The very first Call of Duty was set in World War 2, the total gameplay matched the theme of the game. Take a look at this authentic semi-automatic Thompson. The olden-style gun was an absolute weapon at close range. From further out, it was renowned for its inaccuracy, due to hip fire.
49. Trench War Conditions
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Taken from Call of Duty (2003)
Brecourt, starred in the first Call of Duty. This Map embodies the World War 2 setting. Dull, forest, long grass and green everywhere. Trench like conditions was a great addition to the maps of the World War themed Call of Duties.
47. First Introduction To Tanks
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Taken from Call of Duty 2 (2005)
It wouldn’t be Call of Duty without the tanks, right?
They were there right from the beginning and rightly so. Tanks were one of the biggest advancements in war machinery in World War 2.
46. A Basic & Simple Heads Up Display
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Taken from Call of Duty 2 (2005)
Have a look at the player display. In the top left you see the timer and no. people killed per team. Bottom left we see the compass. Bottom right there is the frag count, along with bullets remaining in clip and magazine. A basic display setup you might think, but did we need much more?
45. An Advancement In Clothing - Camouflage Gear
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Taken from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
Out with the old and in with the new! Call of Duty 4 marked a new era for the franchise, the first time a non-world at war style game was released. But what were the differences in this game? I’m sure you have already noted the graphics in this image, but take a look at the display. A mini-map introduced in the top left, and a re-vamp for the score counter and equipment.
44. Come Find Me – I Dare You
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Taken from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
Ah – the good old claymore. These mini-mine bombs were any attacker’s pet hate. You could set up shop and snipe away in your tower, and let these bad boys watch your back. If anyone walked in range of the red lines, they were blown to smithereens.
43. At Last, Helicopters
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Taken from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
With no tanks in slight, Call of Duty 4 saw soldiers fly in style. Enjoy the campaign as you get an aerial view with your teammates. But watch out, those enemies are armed with lethal RPGs gunning to take you down, let’s take a closer look!
42. And Of Course, The Anti-Helicopter
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Taken from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
You don’t want to end up on the wrong side of one of these missiles, trust me. See what it can do to that helicopter? Imagine it was fired directly at you… I know, scary.
41. This Is MY Lobby
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Taken from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
Call of Duty 4 saw an advancement in warfare, one of the first games to stray away from the World at War theme and introduce these new modern lethal weapons.
A kill streak counter. Tear your enemies to shreds whilst the game keeps a count of your streak. But that’s not all, if you go on a 3, 5 or 7 kill streak you get rewarded. Check out the mini-map in the top left corner, look at the yellow horizontal line. It scans for your enemies and reveals them as a red dot on your mini-map, known as UAV. Get rewarded with this after 3 kills, after 5 you get an airstrike to call in. At 7, sit back and relax whilst your helicopter gets your skill. Be wary of those RPGers though.
40. Gun Camouflage
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Taken from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
CoD 4 saw the introduction of create a class and real customization for the first time. Look at all the features you get to decide. Guns, equipment and even perks. That’s not all, complete special challenges for each gun and you will be rewarded with a camo!
39. Bigger & Badder Tanks
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Taken from Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
World at War was the next installation of the CoD franchise, but wait. These looks kind of familiar, right? The name gives it away, but this fifth major CoD release saw us return to the World War setting, for somewhat of a remastered version. And rightly so, look how clean the graphics are compared to the first edition of CoD. Check out the tank, the detail. It was a modern world at war edition. Let’s take a look at what it brought to the table.
38. Burn Baby Burn
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Taken from Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
Burn baby burn. Oh yeah, light your enemies on fire with this new gear. Undoubtedly one of the very fun features of this edition, the flamethrower.
37. Killing The Undead
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Taken from Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
Welcome to Nacht Der Untoten, home of the zombies. World at War is famously known for its pivotal implementation of zombies into the game play. Play with your friends or go solo. Level by level you must defend your camp from the zombies, rack up score from killing and barricades to unlock your way through the map and get to the mystery box!
36. Mystery Box
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Taken from Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
If you hit the jackpot and get yourself a ray gun, you are more than certain to demolish those zombies for rounds to come. The most prestigious gun in zombies, everyone is hoping for one of these.
35. Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
When Modern Warfare 2 was launched, it brought a mountain of improvements. Take a look at these graphics, the detail. An immense improvement. Now, check out the gun. The attachment is a mini-radar, this shows you where nearby enemies and teammates are. Amazing
34. Customise Your Title and Emblem
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
MW2 brought about more personalisation and customisation to the game. You now had your own playercard! With an emblem and title to choose from. Create whatever design you wish to fit your online role. Completing challenges unlocked emblems and titles to use, which encouraged even more customisation.
33. Riot Shield, The New Bodyguard
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Riot shield. You either loved them or you hated them. With these bad boys, you could deflect your enemies’ shots. You could even melee your enemy and kill them. They were a brand new intervention to the game. Speaking of interventions…
32. Lining Up The 360 No Scope
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
This bolt-action sniper rifle changed the Call of Duty multiplayer gameplay for the better. The intervention was the first real sniper that was ideal for quick scoping, and one of the best for sniping in general. Gone were the days of camping in towers trying to pick of those kills. It was time to get in your enemies face and hit those collateral damage and even triple kills.
31. Change Your Class Mid Game Without Having To Die First
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Select one man army as your first perk, and you could change your class any time during the game. You could choose a sniper for your first class, rush to your sniping spot and pick off a few kills. Then switch over to your assault rifle or sub machine gun to lock down the remaining kills in a game of search and destroy. A great perk to use.
30. Introducing The Nuke
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Finally, choose from a number of killstreaks which you had to first unlock. You had the choice of three to enable. Take a look at the tactical nuke. The ultimate kill streak. Deploy this nuke and your team would instantly win, whilst you kill everyone on the map with your nuke.
29. It’s A Cold War
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
The next release, Black Ops saw the game take a look at the Cold War era. Quite like a jungle, this is one of the many maps that CoD introduced. Check out the gun in front with his dual weapons, oh yeah. Formally known as akimbo, Black Ops saw the introduction of equipping two weapons at once.
28. Nuketown
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
Now here’s a real fan favourite map, Nuketown. The funnest map in Call of Duty history – no questions asked. So good it made a return in a countless number of games to follow. This close quarters commercial map took the gaming world by storm, there was even a dedicated playlist introduced for it… Nuketown 24/7. Every map, Nuketown. Hours of fun.
27. One In The Chamber
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
1 in the chamber. A fun game mode introduced in Black Ops where every player has three lives, 1 bullet. Each kill gets you an extra bullet. Other games added include sticks and stones, gun game and sharpshooter. This new playlist was more than fun and added a new dynamic to the Call of Duty franchise.
26. Create Your Own Emblem
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
From MW2 we saw the introduction of the playercard. Black Ops brought about more customisation, you could create your own unique emblem using a range of shapes and letters. This was a cool feature that added to the personalisation of your character.
25. Unlock Killstreaks Earlier
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
But that’s not all. Killstreaks saw a massive improvement in this game. Killstreaks were improved and more customisation was introduced. You could finally choose the skill streaks that would best reward your skill. But with an added twist, you had to earn each killstreak using the scoring system.
24. Dog Tags
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
The next CoD release saw us back in modern warfare. MW3. Let’s begin with the new game type that was introduced -kill confirmed. Whenever a player was killed they dropped their dog tags. To get a point for your team you had to collect your enemies’ tags. And collect your teams’ tags to prevent the opposition from scoring. This was a great game mode and was a new dynamic that they added to the game.
23. Infected – Hide and Go Seek
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
Infected! Check out the mini-map, take a look at all the green arrows crowded together. Infected was a zombie type game mode. At the beginning of the game one person started as the infected equipped with a knife, his job was to infect others until everyone was infected. This was a majorly entertaining game mode, and a great dynamic that CoD introduced.
22. Resistance - Paris
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
It is safe to safe, gone are the days of playing in the trench like maps. The war replicated towns, ghost towns. With more dynamic and modern maps being introduced, the graphics also improved. As did the game play!
21. Strike Packages
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
Kill streaks were forever improving. Game by game. MW3 brought about strike packages. Choose from a category of 3 different packages that would best compliment your gaming style. Use these rewards to your advantage. It was all about offering the most opportunities to the gamer as possible.
20. Prestige Shop – Double XP
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Taken from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
Check out the prestige shop. Use your prestige tokens for an added rewarded. Every time you entered into a new prestige you earned a token to spend as you like. This encouraged the gamer to play more, level up and earn more tokens. A nice incentive added into the game.
19. Pick 10
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
Black Ops 2 implemented Pick 10 into its create a class system. You now had 10 slots to allocate to your guns, attachments, wildcards perks, lethal and tactical equipment. You could customise your classes how you want. This was a great feature in the evolution of CoD and allowed for real personalisation.
18. Advanced Scorestreaks
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
Out with the old, and in with new. Scorestreaks replaced kill streaks. As the name suggests, you no longer had to worry about staying alive to earn your streaks. Whenever you tallied up the required score, you would be rewarded with the specific streak. Regardless of your K:D, this saw a huge switch towards to the objective of the game. Rather than simply trying to kill everyone. A great introduction to the Call of Duty game.
17. League Play
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
Welcome to league play. Check out this match report, it shows the player’s points, his division and respective sub division, his rank and even his win streak. League play was undoubtedly the best feature of BO2. You could finally play in a competitive game setting, in a 4v4 match up and get ranked for your performance.
16. Incredible Gameplay
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
Study this picture, take everything in that is going on. Check out the weapons, the score streaks, the characters, the graphics…the detail! The multiplayer gameplay was improved yet again. Look at the dragon fire up in the air, firing down at enemies. The teammate in the right hand side is controlling it. Incomparable to the war settings of the first CoD titles.
15. Horseback Travel
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
Oh yes, horseback. Campaign saw many major improvements, one being transport. I mean riding around in the dessert on horseback, come on, that’s incredible. Take a look at the aircrafts above in the sky, the contrast is quite funny. And very entertaining.
14. Falling Maps
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Taken from Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
Onto CoD Ghosts. Here we see the map Free Fall. This map is one of many that would change during gameplay. You are dropped into a shattered skyscraper that is on the brink of collapsing. How the map changes during gameplay is a new dynamic and very entertaining.
13. Aliens
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Taken from Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
A futuristic twist on Zombies. Extinction involves up to 4 players battling to fend of the incoming aliens. The goal is to destroy all of the Cryptid all over the map, while defending yourself against these aliens. A new game mode that was quite futuristic, introduced into the franchise.
12. Customise Your Character
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Taken from Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
Customise your character how you want, from head to toe. Completing challenges to unlock new gear, and using your squad points to purchase what items you want. You could really create a unique in-game character for yourself.
11. Headshot B****
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Taken from Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
As always, multiplayer gameplay was continuously being revamped. In Ghosts, when you zoom in using your sniper rifle, you can still see the surroundings and it is no longer a blacked out area. Have a look at the smoother display, everything clear. With your score board, KD ratio and gun/equipment/streaks all detailed.
10. Juggernaut Maniac
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Taken from Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013)
The juggernaut maniac. This beast of score streak could be used in Ghosts multiplayer gameplay, after 10 consecutive kills. Destroy enemies with your heavy artillery and protective clothing.
9. Exo Suits
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Taken from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
Advanced Warfare brought about the biggest change CoD has seen to date. Let’s start with the exoskeleton. These exo suits increase your character’s physical capabilities. Whether it be speed, movement or tactical improvements. These suits totally changed the gameplay.
8. Is He Flying?
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Taken from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
No, he isn’t floating in the air. He is using a combination of boost, dash, double jump or other mechanical movements that were implemented into the game. This propelled AW to a whole new futuristic level.
7. Is He Flying Too?
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Taken from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
Walking was now a thing of the past. Why walk, when you can hover? This highlights the change of movement that CoD had undergone. You could soar above players and shoot down from the skies. The contrast with the first release of CoD is unreal.
6. Improving Aerial Scorestreaks
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Taken from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
As always, scorestreaks were developed. The majority of these streaks were aerial orientated. Which made sense, as even the players were taking to the skies now. The scorestreaks still continued to replace the original killstreaks.
5. Return Of The Zombies
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Taken from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014)
Zombies made a return, in a weird fashion. With this Advanced Warfare title, I suppose it was only fair the zombies got some upgrades. Some even had increased movement and speed. As well as exo-like abilities.
4. Black Ops 3
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015)
Back down to reality – somewhat. Black Ops 3 was a less futuristic model than Advanced Warfare. And this change was welcomed. Though, there was still plenty of improvements introduced. The movement had also changed. Check out this crossbow, and olden style piece of equipment with advanced technology. A real weapon of destruction.
3. Specialist Characters
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015)
Choose from 9 different soldiers. These specialist characters brought with them a unique ability or special weapon to be deployed and utilise in multiplayer game play. A brand new feature CoD has never before seen.
2. Paint Shop
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015)
Traditionally camouflages were used to give a unique feel to your weapons. Now, use paint shop. And truly customise the weapon the way you want. Draw the designs you like, to make it your own.
1. Wall Running
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Taken from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 (2015)
Wall running – oh yeah. This dynamic fits perfectly into the game and adds something new never before seen. To run up against the walls whilst taking out your enemies, you need great movement, and precise shooting.
Which Call of Duty era was your least and most favourite? Comment below and let us know which game you enjoy the most!
