COD, it’s no longer a game, it’s a freaking epidemic!
COD, eat, COD, sleep. Repeat.
By Ben Salter
”Period Pains?.. Try getting knifed in the back on COD!” This is one of thousands of groups to appear on Facebook about none other than the almighty COD. Call of Duty, including Modern Warfare, but more-so referring to the more recent Modern Warfare 2, has become an epidemic. No longer is it just a videogame, it’s a way of life. While the same can be said for games like WoW, COD is different. It isn’t played exclusively by dedicated gamers. Everyone knows what COD is.
COD is compulsory in a young man’s life. It seems that every male in their teens and twenties plays Modern Warfare 2. From the hardcore gamers, to the casuals, to siblings, relatives, friends, non-gamers and even the people who once ridiculed you for being a gamer. Yes, you’ll probably find the very people who called you a nerdburger for playing games in primary school are now addicted to COD. And to make things worse, if you’re a serious gamer, they’re probably better at it than you. Why? Because you play other games. I play heaps of games, all diverse and different to each other. As a result, I’m only just about to hit level 50 in Modern Warfare 2. At a party last week I talked to a couple of guys who’d probably spent a grand total of 10 minutes in their lives playing games before the Call of Duty phenomena, and to my surprise I found most of them were at least 2 times prestige.
Of course, most of these guys are playing on consoles. That said, a few that I spoke to were playing on PC - where the game is hated with a passion by serious gamers. Now, said gamers claim it’s all down to the lack of dedicated servers. I agree that this is annoying, but it’s no reason to completely boycott what is otherwise a decent game. As each day passes the PC gamers that boycotted MW2 are becoming increasing pleased with their decision. However, I believe this comes down to the COD epidemic. When a game becomes more than a game with the general public, outside of the gaming community, serious gamers must revolt. To an extent the same thing is happening in the console community. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a great game (albeit too many snipers for my liking), but I believe its fast take up is because COD is becoming too mainstream. Face it, you don’t non-gamers hanging out on your turf, and you especially don’t like them dominating. It’s one of the main reasons serious gamers love to hate the Wii. Sure, it’s got too much shovelware, but there are some gems that you won’t find on other consoles. A number of dedicated gamers are willing to overlook these because the Wii has become too mainstream for their liking.
COD, COD, COD, COD!The outbreak of Facebook groups relating to COD says more about its status in society than anything else. I’d wager that almost everyone reading this article had joined, or seen their friends join, COD related groups. I’m perfectly aware that first person shooters are played by girls. Apparently close to half of Halo 3’s online players are female. I don’t have any problem with that, in fact I think it’s great, but COD is not in the same boat. According to my stats page, I’ve played 20 odd hours of Modern Warfare 2 online. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d never played with a single girl. The COD epidemic is overrun by men. It’s taken gaming back to the pre-Wii and PS2 days, when it was considered to be a boys thing. In saying that, it’s still had an affect on better looking half of society. Most of my female friends have joined a group along the lines of “If a guy texts you while he 's playing CoD, he really likes you”. They’re all very much aware of the power of COD, and no doubt are under the impression all we do is play Call of Duty. You know, like how all males think girls strip down to their underwear and have pillow fights in their spare time (it happens!).
I could go on for days. COD has become more than a game; it’s a social requirement. Serious gamers are, or will start, becoming increasingly threatened by their turf being taken by a bunch of cocky non-gamers. As such, I think more and more will look to rival titles such as Battlefield. However, the pull of COD will be too great. We’ll end up heading back there as its stranglehold over the universe continues. COD - it’s a freaking epidemic!
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