[Stu]

I've said it before but I really don't care at this point. For better or worse it's comfortably settled into being the Fifa of shooters. It's a yearly event and the people that do spend 2-3 hours a day playing in will get their moneys worth and have no problem spending on a new set of maps, weapons and scenarios a long with a few sparse mechanical changes.

It's the same thing sports games get away with year after year. Obviously the justification there is that you can't change the preexisting sport that much but by the same token there is only so much you can do with COD's format.

I wouldn't buy it myself in a million years. I have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever and do find it samey but whatever. It is what it is.

The only real dangers to come from it are the industry following. And I do miss when shooters had a sense of humor or big colorful planets or crazy rabbit hopping or ID software style old school gameplay [weapons and enemies increase in strength in linear order, gothic labyrinthine levels, music done by someone who knows Trent Reznor or who is Trent Reznor].

I think the series has gotten so old now though that other developers are going to try something new this generation and stop apeing on the military shooter bandwagon.