The top 10 Worst Call of Duty Campaigns Ever Made
Campaigns such as the Modern Warfare trilogy raised the bar for COD games and showed just how good Call of Duty could be not just in its multiplayer mode, but also in its campaign mode.
Although multiplayer mode is the core of all Call of Duty games, the winning formula for a great Call of Duty game is to also include a great COD campaign.
Each Call of Duty campaign is different; unfortunately, not every COD game lives up to expectations. These are our picks for the worst 10 COD campaigns ever made, ranked in descending order.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (2011)
As an overall game, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 really isn't that bad. The gunplay is tight and reasonably fun, and it was definitely one of the better first-person shooters released in 2011.
Unfortunately, its storyline completely fumbled the ending for Soap and the gang. Despite some great level design and awesome set pieces, all in all, this Call of Duty campaign is very forgettable.
Despite its failings, much of Modern Warfare 3's failure comes from its comparison to two of the best Call of Duty games ever made, Modern Warfare One and Modern Warfare Two. For that reason, this Cod game kicks off our list, and can't be placed any lower.
Call of Duty (2003)
Unfortunately, upon reflection, this Call of Duty game's campaign mode leaves much to be desired.
Clunky, painfully difficult, and lacking many of the fun or useful game mechanics now long established in Call of Duty titles, Call of Duty OG is lacking the polish that many of the later games possess.
It would be counted amongst war crimes to place this original Call of Duty game any lower on our list, although we certainly wouldn't recommend its campaign for any newcomers to the series.
Call of Duty Vanguard (2021)
Call of Duty Vanguard tried to go for something different and fresh, and unfortunately, it absolutely failed.
Although the overall game is decent, it is a short campaign with essentially no character development and no suspense, as the player already knows which players die and which survive.
Despite some ok gameplay and level design, Call of Duty Vanguard's gunplay cannot save a truly boring story, placing it onto our list of the worst Call of Duty games.
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare (2016)
This is by far the most controversial Call of Duty campaign of any of the Call of Duty titles. Some reviewers rave about the unique and refreshing gameplay of Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, while others decry the strange gameplay.
Infinite Warfare, surprisingly, does actually have solid character development and a respectable story arc. Unfortunately, many of the mechanics that make it feel refreshing also take it away from the roots of Call of Duty.
Without the name on the front of the box, it would be hard to tell that Infinite Warfare is at all a Call of Duty game, and for that reason, it makes it onto our list of the worst Call of Duty campaigns.
Call of Duty World War II (2017)
Bringing it back to the second world war, the COD WWII campaign is almost more a movie than a game, and not in a good way.
From the very first beach landing at Normandy, all the way throughout this Call of Duty game, control is taken away from the player to play intrusive and counter-intuitive cutscenes.
Along with jarring and bloated cutscenes, this COD campaign is barely long enough to fill 5 hours of playtime. All in all, this campaign is significantly worse than previous entries and struggles to engage the player in any meaningful way.
Call of duty Black Ops II (2012)
Playing as David Mason, son of Alex Mason from the first black ops game, Call of Duty Black Ops II simply tries to pack too much into one campaign, leaving everything sloppy and unsatisfying. In short, Call of Duty Black Ops II fails to continue the Black Ops storyline.
Unique ideas about branched storytelling, RTS elements, and an interesting take on future warfare much like Advanced Warfare, all feel unfinished and unpolished. All in all, it is only the decent gunplay that saves this campaign from falling further down our list, with later entries such as Black Ops Cold War greatly surpassing it.
For more awesome RTS content, check out our articles on League Of Legends, arguably the most popular RTS ever made.
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare (2014)
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare botches the basics of a fun modern conflict shooter, having an overall bland campaign.
If you want to learn more about the best Call of Duty weapons, check out our article on the top 10 best Call of Duty guns of all time.
Even worse, the now-reviled Kevin Spacey stars as the primary villain, putting even more gamers off. All in all, this Call of Duty title has not aged well, and although its story begins as a good concept, it is not particularly well executed.
Call of Duty 3 (2006)
Following closely from the first COD and second COD games, Call of Duty 3's biggest failing is its forgettability.
The third instalment of Call of Duty set in World War 2, and one of many other FPS games set in that era, the Vietnam war era, or similar settings at the time, Call of Duty 3 struggled against fatigue for this setting.
Yet even upon replay, this campaign from the first mission to the last is simply very bland.
Call of Duty Black Ops III (2015)
Players can tell when a studio no longer wants to create single player campaigns, and unlike Infinity Ward, it's clear from Black Ops III that Treyarch much preferred working on Black Ops Zombies mode and multiplayer.
This game's obsession with robots, awful and overused Sci-Fi plot, and unending cutscenes really ruins the gaming experience, making it easily one of the worst COD campaigns ever made.
Of course, Treyarch would get their wish with their next game, skipping the campaign completely, which really solidifies exactly why Black Ops 3's campaign flopped so hard: zero passion.
Call of Duty Ghosts (2013)
Worse than Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 3, or Advanced Warfare. Almost every COD player agrees that Call of Duty Ghosts has the worst campaign of all the Call Of Duty games.
Set in a world where the Middle East has been devastated by nuclear war, and the US is subjugated by a united South America, cultural insensitivity is the least of Call of Duty Ghosts' issues.
The gameplay, at its core, is extremely repetitive and boring - the word uninspired comes to mind.
Call of Duty Ghosts simply takes every bad aspect from the Call of Duty series and combines it into one campaign.
