Call of Duty fans name their favorite game in the franchise

There is constant debate as to which Call of Duty game within the franchise was best. The franchise has split the fanbase entirely as to which game has been the most loved, but now the fans have spoken.

In a recent series of Twitter polls from Modern Warfare News (@CODMW_News), over 5,000 votes were cast as people chose their favourite Call of Duty game from the entire series. In a knockout-style competition, fans whittled away some of the less popular games, until it came down to the final between Black Ops 2 and Modern Warfare 2. Here’s how the results unfolded as to which CoD is the best.

Bottom tier

• Infinite Warfare
• Call of Duty 1
• Call of Duty 2
• Call of Duty 3

For some obvious reasons, some games were omitted from the polls, as they well and truly flopped. Infinite Warfare is almost a swear word in the Call of Duty community. The Lord Vol – he who should not be named – of the CoD world. Abhorrent jetpacks and map design meant that IW is by far one of the aspects of CoD that should be completely forgotten about.

The polls also omitted Call of Duty 1, 2 and 3, as CoD 4 was where the franchise really picked up. A lot of credit does have to go to the early games, as they set the tone for what CoD has become now, but they’re not the greatest games ever.

Out in the first round

• Advanced Warfare
• World War II
• Ghosts
• Black Ops 4

Sledgehammer Games’ two titles fell at the first hurdle, which is unsurprising. In recent Call of Duty news, SG was dropped by Activision as a lead developer, meaning that they won’t be designing any further CoDs, but will assist Treyarch and Infinity Ward in their games, such as they did with Modern Warfare (2020). Advanced Warfare and WWII were eliminated by fans at the first opportunity.

Ghosts, which was popular at a competitive level, was clearly not favoured by fans, as that also fell at the first hurdle, probably because of the unpopular campaign and many of the guns being insufferable. Let’s not trigger ourselves with the Honey Badger.

The final game to be eliminated in the first round was Black Ops 4, whose only real positive was Blackout; although the first instalment of a Battle Royale game in CoD was merely a learning curve for Activision to build on to create Warzone.

Quarter-Finals

• Word at War
• Black Ops 3
• Modern Warfare 3
• Black Ops

In the clash of the olden but golden between Call of Duty 4 and World at War, CoD 4 proved more popular. WaW deserves great credit for the introduction of Zombies. Endless hours of people’s lives were spent camping in the upper levels on Nacht der Untoten. The campaign was also impressive and set up the success of the Black Ops series. The multiplayer mode was also good but didn’t quite live up to its competition, CoD 4, in this department.

This round also saw that the third instalments of the Black Ops and Modern Warfare franchises get outvoted by their predecessors. There wasn’t much wrong with Modern Warfare 3 in honesty. The multiplayer was good and the campaign was decent, but living up to the hype that was left by MW2 fans hindered this game massively, and it just couldn’t compare. Black Ops 3 was caught up in the ‘futuristic’ era, and although it was the best CoD in them years, people still preferred ‘boots on the ground CoD’.

The final game to fall at the quarter-finals was Black Ops. Again, Bo1 was a good game, great zombies, great multiplayer and a good campaign. The maps on multiplayer were brilliant, but the gunplay was probably the downfall of Bo1. Trying to figure out how to quick scope on this game was like trying to crack the Da Vinci Code.

Semi-finals

• Call of Duty 4
• Modern Warfare (2020)

Both games at the opposite end of the chronological spectrum were outvoted here. CoD 4 was arguably Activision's most successful Call of Duty ever, as it spiked interest in the franchise, and lead to the success of every CoD since. With a great online multiplayer experience, CoD 4 had fans gripped by brilliantly crafted maps and weapons, albeit the gameplay was a little clunky compared to what we have now.

The current Modern Warfare has also revitalised the franchise after the futuristic era. Stripping the game back to basics MW is a great game and has rebooted the campaigns that we love so much. Adding more mystery to the character plot, the campaign was crafted excellently.

Warzone has also been a record-breaking game mode, seeing over 50 million players since it was created. The negatives lie within map design on multiplayer, and the intolerable Warzone cheaters, but ultimately, MW is loved by the fan base.

Final – Which Call of Duty is the Best?

Black Ops 2 vs Modern Warfare 2

Black Ops 2 was an incredible Call of Duty, and League Play helped put this game on the map. Including some of the best maps CoD has ever seen and a brilliant concoction of weapons, Bo2 had a quick and smooth game-play, which led to a plethora of players falling in love with the game. League Play was also the franchise's best ranked mode, which players have been calling for ever since. Bo2 also had a good Zombies mode, with maps like Tranzit and Nuketown to leave you occupied for hours upon end. However, it isn’t as adored as Modern Warfare 2…

Winner – Modern Warfare 2 is the best Call of Duty ever made

MW2 had it all, and you can’t argue with the fans at all. Maps such as Highrise, Afghan and Favela boasted some brilliant gameplay and saw players develop an incredible amount of skill within it. Weapons such as the Intervention and the UMP are adored within the fan base, and it’s not hard to realise why. Everything about MW2 just oozed class. People all over the globe used to rush home from work/school to jump on with their mates and try and get that 360-throwing knife off the crane of Highrise.

The campaign was also brilliant, with Task Force 141 in its prime. Killing Shepherd at the end was one of the best moments of any Call of Duty campaign we have ever lived through. Overall, MW2 is a worthy winner.

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