How to save COD5 from crapness

[Rs0n1sT]

We don't want WWII again - we want this

Rumour has it that the next game in the awesome Call of Duty series will be taking a step backwards, returning to the over-used World War II setting after its glorious foray into contemporary conflict with the 10/10-rated Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It seems an illogical step, but when you consider that CoD3's developer Treyarch is back in the saddle as opposed to Infinity Ward, and that a Pacific location has been hinted at, it all starts to sound more and more likely.

We really, really don't want to see that happen - not only because the WWII scenario is now as interesting as grandad's old war stories (and just as frequently told), but because we've yet to see some of the best real-world weapons in the series. No, not 'vintage' weapons - but those from the cutting edge of arms development. We've had a dig around the net to bring you the future of Call of Duty as we see it. After all, which would you rather use in your shooting games? A crappy old Tommy gun, or a state-of-the-art military prototype? Thought so. Check these babies out...


Above: It's not an imaginary gun - it already exists. We want to play with it in Call of Duty 5. Who's with us?

First-up is a gun we can't believe hasn't been used in Metal Gear Solid, let alone an FPS. The Corner Shot APR (pictured) is a hinged gun with the power of an assault rifle, which lets you shoot around corners. How cool would that be? It's all thanks to a high-res LCD screen and a camera on the front. Perfect for those moments when you realise you're outgunned and prone, so you dive behind a wall and wait for the inevitable appearance of your foe around the corner. Imagine instead being able to whip this baby out and see the look of puzzlement on his face via the LCD viewer as he sees a gun barrel pointing straight at him with not even a hand holding it in view.

The perfect weapon? Not if you've got the next one to deal with it...

The XM25 Advanced Airburst Weapon System is like a grenade launcher, only with a super-high tech twist. It can be set to detonate accurately without impact. Yup, laser targeting will calculate distance to a target, so you can aim at the structure the enemy is using as cover, fire over it (or past it), then watch as the detonation occurs in just the right place to take out your target. Not even the Corner Shot can avoid this one. Bang. It already exists - so why can't we play with it yet?


Above: Think Bomberman's kick/stop command, only it detonates too. Awesome

The AA12 is an automatic shotgun. Forget the pump-action shenanigans of CoD4's W1200 - this baby will accept cylinders and standard magazines. And we would'n't bet against there being a belt-fed version soon. Ever since Doom II's double-barreled baby, the shotgun has been one of the most satisfying weapons in gaming and the idea of it pumping out shell after shell after shell without reloading all the time just sounds too good to be true. Alright, it's hardly standard-issue, but just look at it and imagine it in shiny 3D.



Above: It might seem excessive, but the scarecrow had it coming

The Barrett XM-109 is no ordinary sniper rifle. Try imagining the accuracy of a regular sniper rifle in your FPS, only with the attack power of an Apache helicopter. Yup, the equivalent of a Hellfire missile from Desert Strike in your hands. With a scope on it. That's not just a bang, that's a frikkin' KABOOM. Packing enough punch to destroy even lightly armoured vehicles at 2,500 metres, we reckon we'd save it until we met one of the inevitable racist idiots on Xbox Live. Hey, Dickweed - eat this.



Above: Yup - a helicopter's worth of attack power with every shot. Aim carefully, now, we don't want any accidents

The M32 is a grenade launcher, but with a pleasant stat to throw around in any game of Top Trumps. It's capable of firing all six rounds from that ammo cylinder in three seconds - known as a 'six-pack attack'. Imagine the damage that would cause just by squeezing R1... It's also got a unique quad rail system which means you can attach FOUR accessories to the front. So you could add a laser sight, flashlight an extra grip and still have room for fluffy dice if you wanted. Tasty.



Above: No wonder he looks so calm - that's some serious firepower in his hands

The PHaSR (Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response) is a non-lethal weapon designed to 'dazzle' personnel with lasers. The idea being you can temporarily blind someone without actually hurting them. While the more violence-loving gamer may scoff at this, the possibilities for online play are good. If you were given just a few shots per match, or a long reload time, 'blinding' a human player during online play could get you out of a bad situation, eliminating those moments where two players face each other and just hold 'fire' until someone dies. A more tactical approach would result, making for a more interesting - and realistic - game.



Above: Looks like whoever designed the gun also designed this guy's watch

How about being able to fire one million rounds a minute? Sound stupid? Ly fun? Thought so. While this 36-barrel prototype is hardly likely to be light enough to carry during battle, that doesn't mean games need to pay attention to the rules. Even if we only get ten seconds' worth of ammo, please let us play with this in CoD5. Watch this YouTube video and listen to the sound the bullets make as they get faster. First it's a rattle, then the airwaves phase with the close-proximity of the detonations, before sounding in what may as well be unison as one massive bang. Impressive. Oh, one little safety tip - don't ever walk in front of it. Ever.

YouTube - 36 Barrel Prototype Gun


Above: Think that looked destructive? Just wait till you see the next page...

We've been playing with railguns for a while (remember exploding people with one shot in Quake III Arena?) but using them in Call of Duty 5 would be ace. They work by using massive electrical charges to propel a projectile forwards at stunning velocities - so unstoppable, in fact, they needn't be warheads at all. This is just dustruction by force. And, although you obviously couldn't carry this one (below) on your back, it's fascinating stuff. Worrying, but fascinating.

YouTube - Demonstration of the Navy Electromagnetic Rail Gun prototype



Above: Call of Duty 3. It's important we 'never forget' the atrocities of WWII. But we don't need another game about it. Ever.

[504BANGA]

Co sign, but they'll never put any weapons like that in the game becuz of "Balance" thats why we cant use the weapons from the campaign in call of duty 4, like the auto g3, or the reflex sights, combined with silencers

[In$anity]

if i had the job of COD5, i would say look, things we need to improve on:

1) storyline
2) length of game
3) better lobby for online multiplayer

In COD4, i never really felt like i NEEDED to do things, the storyline was jus there, it wasn't gripping, we need something that's gonna MAKE the player say fuck yeah i wanna kill the enemy...

length, obviously, COD4 was stupidly short imo. Took me one week to complete it. Sure, i can complete it on harder modes but really, its a cheap way out, its a short game, fix it.

the way you get into a match on COD4 was CRAP. needs to be like Resistance Fall Of Man and it'd be perfect.

COD5 would be another 10/10 game if they fixed that. That's the ONLY problems i have with COD4

[504BANGA]

One week? it took me 2 hours lol

[In$anity]

Originally Posted by BangaMike

One week? it took me 2 hours lol

i only play it when i get home from work for about 30 mins - 1 hour lol

[Bathing Ape]

This was my first COD game

I was disappointed, i wanna touch on the points that Insanity brought up cos he's basically correct

The single player campaign is awfully short and the multiplayer lobbies are fucked up

[bigaza2151]

ive used the xm_25 in graw 2 and the barrett is already in cod 4 but a lot of these weapons would be a cool addition. that whole ww2 things been used way 2 much i hope they dont do that

[jigga]

are they implying COD 4 a failure ? because from what I know, its a success, especially since it took majority of the users from Halo 3.

[XIII]

c/s i play cod4 nw b4 i pik up halo

[NBS]

Nice Read.
If COd Is WW2 Again.