Official Gamer Trigger Warning. This MAY not include your favorite Call of Duty game. You have been warned.
1) Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
Any Call of Duty fan will argue what the absolute best CoD was and surely it comes down to personal preference for roughly the top 3. In my opinion however, Call of Duty: Black Ops was the best CoD game they ever released.
Set in the 1960s during the Cold War, the original Black Ops campaign mode was easily one of the best as you got to play characters that resembled a combination of Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. Its greatness should come as no surprise however when you learn that it was co-written by David S. Goywer, who was responsible for film trilogies such as The Dark Knight and Blade.
The multiplayer mode was also revolutionary with the addition of Gun Game, where every kill you get forces you to use a different weapon. Black Ops also introduced gamers to some of the most beloved maps in CoD history such as Firing Range, Summit, Villa, Havana and of course, Nuketown.
2) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
It was difficult not ranking Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as the best CoD ever made. Honestly, if someone wanted to arguing that it is ranked above Black Ops I would totally understand. Breaking away from the tradition of historical first-person shooter games, CoD 4 brought near-future terrorist action to the homes of nearly every gamer, revolutionizing the shooter genre.
In probably the greatest moment in CoD campaigns, All Ghillied Up was one of the tensest missions to date and therefor, not easily forgotten. With the addition of customization and killstreaks, Modern Warfare set a multiplayer precedent that developers have been eager to replicate ever since. CoD 4 also introduced some of the most memorable maps in Call of Duty history with Overgrown, Crash, Pipeline, Shipment, Crossfire and Vacant. The fact that developers had to push the Modern Warfare remaster as a reason to buy the Legacy Edition of the disappointing Infinite Warfare, just proves the deep passion CoD fans have for the original Modern Warfare.
3) Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (2012)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 continued to evolve from the positive experience had in 2010 with Black Ops by offering branching narrative paths in the campaign mode, a revolutionary CoD concept in 2012. Unlike the disaster futuristic tech of jetpacks in Advanced Warfare, Black Ops 2 offered players excellent future gameplay with the addition of missions featured in the Cold War as well.
The multiplayer option of a Pick 10 loadout system that was easily customizable, created an online shooter haven that still holds up today. With some of the most memorable and fun multiplayer maps ever introduced in Call of Duty, Standoff and Hijacked were excellently crafted small maps for fast-paced action that still allowed for sniping and the creation of sections. Something rarely seen even to this day.
4) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
There was a time when Call of Duty would release a game that wasn’t quite as spectacular as the original yet still amazing. This was the case for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Released two years after the original Modern Warfare, CoD did the absolute best they could to recreate the memorable experience had in 2007. Nevertheless, Modern Warfare 2 had one of the best campaign modes with excellent missions like No Russian.
Although it might not have had quite the amount of memorable multiplayer maps as Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare 2 still had its fair share. There is no telling how many hours were spent on the excellently designed maps of Favela or Estate. Let us not forget, Modern Warfare 2 also delivered arguably the all-time best multiplayer map in CoD history, Rust.
5) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
In all fairness to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, it was released just a year after one of the greatest online shooters of all time. It may be hard to image now but Call of Duty use to release nearly flawless games, one after another. This was the case with Modern Warfare 3.
The campaign of MW3 offered the long-awaited finale of series protagonist Vladimir Makarov as you were finally able to play with Captain Price in an epic showdown. Not to mention the gripping tension from the mission, Escaping the diamond mine. Although it didn’t helm the extent of memorable multiplayer maps as its predecessors, Mission and Dome are excellent additions to the expansive list of great Call of Duty multiplayer maps.
6) Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)
This will probably be the most controversial seeding to my ranking of the 7 best Call of Duty game. It’s hard to rank a new game among such greats but the fact is, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a really good game. As a CoD purist, I was initially very skeptical based on the consistency CoD has delivered over the past 5 years. Not to mention, the lack of a campaign mode further increased my initial doubts. Considering that however, its high rank should then prove just how enjoyable this game is.
Rather than offering a half-assed attempt at a flimsy campaign mode, Black Ops 4 focuses on enhancing what nearly every online shooter cares most about today, online multiplayer. Sure, the new Blackout battle royale is a clear rip-off of the PUBG formula but Black Ops 4 does it so much better. What good is the past if you don’t expand on it anyway? We are living in the age of battle royale games so it should come as no surprise CoD chose to take this route but at least they did it well. All-in-all, Black Ops 4 is a fun game and I did not originally expect to say that.
7) Call of Duty: WWII (2017)
If you thought my Black Ops 4 addition wasn’t controversial enough, maybe this will do the trick. I’m aware Call of Duty: WWII wasn’t a perfect game but I also don’t believe it was as bad as others make it out to be. The CoD fan base had made it extremely clear that we had enough of the futuristic halo-wannabe Call of Duty games. WWII was a product of this revolt and I for one was pleased with their decision to return to the classic Call of Duty setting.
I’ll admit that the Call of Duty: WWII campaign wasn’t the best but I think that was the reason they chose to completely remove that option from Black Ops 4. When it comes to an online WWII first-person shooter however, this game holds up. It wasn’t revolutionary by any means but it got the job done. I’m aware a majority of the multiplayer maps didn’t feel as original as the older game but I still had a lot of fun playing on USS Texas, Ardennes Forest, Gröesten Haus and Shipment 1944. This game even dabbled in eSports, which is something Call of Duty has seemed to struggle with. Even if most of us left this game for Fortnite long ago, I still find myself playing Call of Duty: WWII more than I probably should.
Excerpt:
I know this list surely triggered plenty of Call of Duty fans. By leaving off the beloved World at War and Call of Duty 2 for the controversial Black Ops 4 and WWII, there are probably angry gamers already typing hate comments instead of reading this. I’m aware those were great games that helped build the Call of Duty franchise to what we have today. The fact is however, although I respect what they were, I never actually find myself going back to play either of them.
Regardless, I gave you the trigger warning a head of time and mentioned this list was based on personal preference. At least I didn’t include Ghosts, Call of Duty 3 or God forbid, Advanced Warfare. Not even I am that delusional.
