COD4/COD:W@W - MP rant

I loved the Single Player campaign in COD 4, and thought the SP in COD:W@W was good, but the MP in both games kinda suck. Now I know I've ranted about the cheating that goes on in COD:W@W, well the same kind of nonsense also goes on in COD 4 too. But as annoying as the cheating is, that is not the only reason I hate the MP in COD. After all, there is plenty of cheating going on in other games. The main reason I stopped playing COD4/COD:W@W - MP, is the system they use to rank players and unlock special weapons.

First of, I hate the whole EXP bullsh*t system. If I'm a mediocre player, I shouldn't have rank a higher than an Elite player. The whole thing smells like EXP mining in RPGs, and that is the worst part of RPGs. The EXP system rewards people with no lives that have endless free time (ie. Timmys) , and punishes people who have lives and responsibilities (ie. Adults). This is unfair.

Secondly, I hate the Perks and the Perk System ( the way they are unlocked through EXP ). Perks really unbalance the game. Sure they are unlockable, so theoretically not everyone will have all of them available at the same time, but that's part of the problem. Some players will have some of the more effective Perks, along side of others who don't, in the same match. Because Matchmaking isn't perfect. When I started playing COD:W@W, I kept running into Bouncing Bettys, a perk I wouldn't unlock until ranks later. It made the matches very frustrating. It wasn't until I unlocked the Bomb Squad perk that the game became less frustrating to me. But it wouldn't have been so frustrating in the first place, if from the start Bomb Squad was made available. I really don't know how they can balance the Perk System, so it could be better. So in my opinion, they should just get rid of it completely.

I don't mind having some of the more powerful weapons locked-up, but I just don't think they should be unlocked with EXP. What if they were unlocked by rank, but rank wasn't earned through EXP? What if rank was earned through some of the Barracks Challenges + Death/Kill Ratio + Win/Loss Ratio? Some kind of formula like that. Though I have to admit, in Battlefield: Bad Company the more powerful weapons are unlocked through EXP and it does work. Mainly, 'cause all the unlocked weapons are pretty powerful too.

The only thing that works in the MP is the Kill Streak System. They should just scrap the rest of the MP and keep the Kill Streak System. It's the only thing that works. 'Cause you don't need Rank, EXP, or a certain Perk to use it.

The all time best MP was in Quake 3 Arena for the PC. When you would get a certain type of kill streak achievement ( ie. ten kills with a RailGun) , you'd get a cool icon floating over your head, letting others know of your accomplishment, and sometimes making you a prime target. :-) You could view other peoples achievements in the past or in the current match, and see their overall world ranking in the leader boards. My favorite achievement, was when you'd kill someone with the weakest weapon ( I think it was some kind of blade ) you'd get an icon over your head and the other person would hear " HUMILIATING DEATH!!! " from the game announcer over their speakers. :-) Talk about a punch to the nards.

BTW, the only reason I still play either COD4 or COD:W@W is because my clan mates sometimes play them. Personally, I'd prefer if we only played in Private Matches against each other. That way, the whole "cheating" issue would be eliminated, and playing against clan mates is always more fun. I also have to add: If COD 4 had bots for Offline or Private Online matches, I'd definitely play it more. I can't tell you the number of times, I just grab the GOW2 or UT3 disc throw it into the X360, to play a few bot matches when no one else is online, or my connection is acting up.