Key Takeaways
- Call of Duty’s campaigns are largely passable single-player campaigns with a decent narrative to boot.
- That said, the campaigns often rely on the same plot twist — the central villain managing to escape and outwit the heroes.
- Taking to Reddit, fans pointed out the sheer number of times that has happened in COD history and the fact that it has never made any sense.
Few things in gaming are as satisfying as a well-done single-player campaign. For several years, that crown belonged to Call of Duty, with each entry offering a tight first-person-shooter experience with a passable narrative to boot.
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That crown eventually shifted to Titanfall 2 in 2016, and it appears that 2024’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has now taken the helm as the best single-player campaign of this generation. Still, while these campaigns are great experiences, the narratives, particularly those in Call of Duty, leave a lot to be desired.
Taking to Reddit, Call of Duty fans discussed their displeasure with one of Call of Duty’s biggest campaign tropes — the villain managing to escape after being captured by the quartet of heroes.
Capture, Escape, Repeat
Spoilers for multiple Call of Duty campaigns to follow
While the trope isn’t part of every Call of Duty game, it’s a central point in several. Those who played COD Ghosts might remember that the central villain, Rorke, was captured in a pretty epic sequence, only for the heroes to have their plane destroyed and Rorke escape.
“Dude is the COD equivalent of Red Skull, always coming back despite clearly death causing events,” one user lamented about the Ghosts’ antagonist.
Black Ops 2 is equally guilty of this trope, with Raul Menendez finding a way to escape. In this instance, there is conveniently a mole inside the good guy’s camp to help him.
“At least Menendez had a plan when he got captured, unlike that d******* in the new MW2 campaign,” a user commented, pointing to Menendez outsmarting the heroes.
Speaking of the Modern Warfare 2 reboot campaign, the villain — you guessed it — manages to escape. Except, this time, the heroes willingly play a role in it for plot reasons. And then they manage to capture him again for good.
“This one was one was the worst of them,” the poster lamented. And they’re not wrong, either. It’s a tiring plot point that works to extend the game and add artificial tension.
“That’s why Price always has a Desert Eagle on hand lol,” a user replied in jest. It’s true, Price always has his trusty sidearm on hand for these reasons in particular. If only the other COD protagonists got the memo.
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