I’m probably not the only MERC-fest gamer out there to realize this, but I’m likely going to ask Santa for another Call of Duty game for Christmas this year.  I don’t think it’s the kids that are realizing the publishing methods of Activision, but rather the parents when they arrive at their local game store to pick up another CoD game for their aging son, who unfortunately still lives in their house, thinking, “Which ‘Duty Call’ thing did he want again?”

Call of Duty is important to people and I think it has a lot to do with kids, kids at heart, mature ratings, and unwrapping presents at Christmas-time.  I’ve enjoyed killing Nazis, terrorists, traitors and innocent bystanders every Christmas now for about 5 years under the glow of red and green tree lights.  Why break the tradition now?  I believe some households are huddling close to the fire and yelling at kids on Xbox Live rather than upholding some much lamer traditions like caroling and hay rides.

I think everyone can agree that the games are good, but they could still be better.  At this point, however, I think Activision is being very smart in getting its product out by Christmas regardless of networking issues, play testing issues, glitchy bugs, or shorter campaign lengths.  Because it’s not so much about the game anymore… but about when we get to play it.
Let’s go over some of my favorite Christmas moments!

• Call of Duty 2, released November 15, 2005 for the Xbox360…  Oh man oh man, it was the next gen and I was ready to tear it up!  They had me at hello and never let go.  This was possibly one of the first FPS games that allowed you to fill the shoes of soldiers from across the globe during the WW2 offensive; it was fresh and innovative.

• Call of Duty 3, released November 7, 2006.  This was the “In your FACE” CoD that added some intense moments like grappling with a Nazi and slamming his face into a broken French stove somewhere.  There were some “bleh” reactions to this release because I guess people were getting tired of WW2…  Like that’s possible.

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, released November 7, 2007.  The HALO-killer, stole all my friends from me and made me jump into the scary World of Today.  The hometown favorite and the milestone that Activision sans Infinity Ward will never be able to recreate.  This was the phenomenon.

• Call of Duty: World at War, released November 11, 2008.  I think it featured Jack Bauer going back in time.  I never played it, but I got it for Christmas…  I think I had ham for dinner.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, released November 10, 2009.  Super stoked for this one; all of my friends came back, then javelin-bombed me.  I opted to make sure that I would not see anything bad when I played the single player.  I am a fragile boy.

• And now, Call of Duty: Black Ops, releases on November 9, 2010…  Right on time, Santa.  This one was just confirmed last week and is set in Vietnam.  I don’t really care, just as long as I get some AXE Body Spray from my grandma, my gets house filled with the aroma of noble fir, my carne asada-stained Snuggie gets wrapped around my expanding gut, and a new Call of Duty is put in my Xbox.  Christmas would be complete.  Thanks for upholding the tradition, Activision.  Just make it playable.

Also, don’t be so short-sighted; Christmas never dies.  Call of Duty 8 (working title by Sledgehammer Games) has been announced, which will “extend the franchise into the action-adventure genre”.  Did you say Zelda Duty!?  GOODIES!  But wait, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is also in pre-production, which is mentioned in the long-winded suit between Activision and Infinity Ward.  Don’t worry, we’ll see that for Christmas in 2011.