GameSpot's The Lobby: The Reactions to Battlefield 1 & Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

[MUSIC] Got your thumbs? I got thumbs and both are action. Thumb more, baby. Warm up your thumbs. Got that some more. I know where this is going. Yeah. Battlefield 1 has the highest thumbs up trailer in history of YouTube. Trailer. Yeah. In history of YouTube. And I pointed this out a couple of days ago. And also Call of Duty On the opposite side? Yes. It's one of the most thumbs down game trailers. So this could come from a variety of places. It's perfect click base for a video game website news story. It sounds great. But let's kind of talk about the reaction to both of these games, sort of outside of that, a little bit. First of all, let's talk about Battlefield One. We did sort of a breakdown after that announcement. You went down and saw some awesome gameplay stuff. We've already talked about that. You can check it out on YouTube and GameSpot. But the reaction to that trailer, were you surprised at all, Aaron, about how I refreshing or how into it people were considering it is it's a war we've not already seen much of. Yeah, I think what hasn't been done, all that while we're still American cinema. And I do know a lot of research after that came out and I'd notice there are quite a few British movies which makes sense And I think it also hasn't been that explored in video games just because of, probably the misconception that the weapons would be fairly boring. Yes. So yeah, I've gotta say that it caught me off guard. I thought that maybe they were gonna go back to World War II or maybe do Korea or Vietnam. Mm. It was surprising in a very good way just because now I'm excited. It's a campaign about a war that I don't honestly know a lot about. Right. And that's exciting. It means that you have an opportunity to not only enjoy yourself from a shooter perspective but also learn something or experience something that maybe you ever saw in black and white history class films or To me that's exciting, and it is new. it's weird that you say that actually because when I think about playing the original Call of Duty. And I remember feeling really upset when you [INAUDIBLE] and bring up like the Soviet flag and stuff. It is quite an effect. For me as a young sort of teenage boy, that was how I learned a lot about World War II. In the same way like Band of Brothers, and Saving Private Ryan taught an entire generation what happened on the Normandy beaches we might not have known otherwise. Do you think there is anything to be said about that? People have this sort of emotional reaction to something when it has actually happened and existed in a way that they don't, when we started going into the world of like sci-fi? Yeah, for sure. I mean, I was pretty young when the first Call of Duty came out and I remember my dad who's dad was in the Pacific theater in World War Two was actually pretty uncomfortable with me playing World War Two games- Really? Yeah because they hit close to home with him. Now I have a brother who's done Three tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan, he's completely fine playing like Battlefield 4, Modern Warfare 3 or whatever. And I think it could get close at home and that's why World War 1 itself, I'm really excited for the multiplayer. I'm actually pretty excited for, I've read about it in like, I actually took like a class in World War 1 cuz I didn't know much about it. Ow, right. I'm excited Actually the more I think about the single player, it's a cool opportunity to kind of shed light on it and I'm hoping they don't, video games play a huge part, I'm not saying I don't like war games. I play a lot of war games, play a lot of shooters, but video games in the modern day play a huge part in how we kind of romanticize war still. Right. And with so many people playing games now, and I'm hoping with this game they'll take the opportunity to kind of Show how World One I itself was like no one knew why. This was the war when we realized we need to stop doing this because World War II was very much more black and white. Good versus evil. World War I there was so many different reasons like sinking of the Lusitania. There was the Archduke Ferdinand assassination. There was the fact that Germany had the plan of attack, the Schlieffen Plan or whatever they called it, in planned out decades in advance before World War I. And I'm interested to see if they can actually use this setting to kinda push a good story. Good story as in not to make use of all the **** that went down, but- Yeah. Maybe kind of shed more light on it. Cuz a lot of people don't know about World War I now, it's overshadowed by World War II in terms of, like I said, how almost romantic it was. Yeah, I mean yeah, World War II was sort of Culturally its impact. I mean, we just, I don't know how to Star Wars movie and that's basically [CROSSTALK] not a glory for World War II. Yeah, it's fascinating to think that these are, you were like to shoot some film for years. Cinema is what's sort of emblazoning to be a cultural impression of what would be like. Of what we'd think to think about Vietnam and Apocalypse now and another movies like the guy like full metal jacket and stuff. And that's how we sort of remember these things. And video games have darted in and out. I sort of always felt uncomfortable playing some of the Call of Duty games set in the middle east. Because I thought they was sort of an attempt to create the same black and white That sort of idea we had of other old wars. The way we think about old wars and those sort of productive terms in a place where that really doesn't necessarily apply. Did you ever feel that way about some of the more modern Call of Duty games? Maybe More particular actually the Medal of Honor game that came out. War Fighter? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember, I was actually playing that while my brother was in Iraq or something Right. So that was weird. And he was in the Navy as well. Air Force. I was in the Air Force Air Force, sorry. Briefly, yeah. Yeah, I don't remember specifics about War Fighter. I remember it being definitely kind of doing that though, making it more of a Us versus them mentality, I mean from what I played. I don't know. I've had more issues with some of the ways film has portrayed modern war? I think it's been too much like rah, go America, everybody's evil. And it sort of undercut the complexity of the Middle East. And to bring that back around, the complexity of the Middle East, although that area of the world has always been complex, a lot of the modern complexity comes from the fall of the Ottoman Empire, from World War I. So going back to Battlefield 1, you have an opportunity to explore sort of the creation of the modern-day situations. A lot of the borders on the map in the Middle East right now were just drawn by some people After, at the end of World War I, they're just like, yep, here's a pen, yep. That looks good. Let's put a line here. They grouped together people who had no business being grouped together. I mean, you say Ottoman Empire to most people, they think of something that existed like, centuries ago. Are not less than a century ago. Yeah. And that's why people are always saying. There's like these what-if scenarios if the Nazis won World War II, but if you look back, our world today exists so much because of World War I. Europe would be unrecognizable if we, like, were to look at some other timeline where the Austrians took Italy or the Germans actually pushed into Paris like they They almost very closely did but screwed it up because someone made a bad decision from the strategic standpoint. But yeah the setting itself, I'm actually more I think about it the more I'm excited for the single player because A, the single player they said is going to be more like multiplayer in the sandbox structure. Yeah. Which I'm hoping they actually really go for that and it's not just a selling point. But I'm also really hoping they can tell the stories, like the Harlem Hell Fighters. That would be really Right. Really cool group to look at and see how, like, it affected them and how they kind of were this undersold story during World War I. I'm excited for that setting for sure. All right, we'll shift perspectives then from the past to the future. Call of Duty Infinite Warfare obviously got the jump on them by about a week or so I think. The trailer has had some thumbs down. Probably a lot of those Had to do with the Call of Duty Four pack end deal that they're doing? I mean that's gonna happen I guess. But do you think maybe people are, because I was intrigued by infinite warfare. I was at least thinking, at least they're trying something new. At least they're not like resting entirely on Another slightly near future, look this is the same gun you're using now but now it has a different magic future scope on it or whatever. I'm thrusting it into a new sort of plane and hopefully Like you were saying, Aaron, actually making good on in terms of game play and not just like having it be a story setting and basically be a normal first person game. When you put the two of them together now it looks like Battlefield One is so much more intriguing. What do you think of Call of Duty Infinite Warfare and are you sort of Do you think it's a step in the right direction for Activision and Infinity Ward or do you think it's not enough? Or are we just being jerks because all we've seen is two trailers and at least they show gameplay, kind of. I think it's a game that's become a little bit trapped by its own success. I think they've been not straying too far from their own formula, just because, that's what sells and they probably have been given Marching orders to not change it too much. That's why I'm a little bit worried that this one, it will be on other planets, sure. But it's just functionally gonna be the same thing. Now, I think it's pretty cool that it's got a million thumbs down because, to me, if I were making this game, I would go to my bosses and be like, look, this is a mandate from gamers. To change. Like we should try some new things, check out how many people don't like the fact that this appears to be the same game. I think it's a positive thing and I think if anything it could free them from having to do the same thing every year. Now I think you disagreed and said, and it's probably true, it'll just depend on sales. Right. If everybody thumbs it down and it sells the same, then sure. They'll just make another future future warfare next year. [LAUGH] I mean, I don't know how there's nothing beyond infinity, but they kind of put themselves in a corner there. > Yeah, I think you're right. It's like the success is a double-edged sword like we sort of talked about a bit last week. And how do you re-innovate a series which is selling so well, even if it is dipping a little bit. And looking ahead to the future even more, you gotta say that if Battlefield 1 is what we're talking about now, the chances are the next The next Battlefield is probably going to stay around that period of time. You'd imagine though, that's the perfect opportunity for them to roll back into World War II and not instantly be stuck, I wonder. It's sad to be talking about what they're going to do next after these. I guess it will all happen on the success of this, whether or not there's enough like game play change to make it worth while. Mike, what do you think of Infinite Warfare? Yeah, I'm really hoping, because I mean I think in the way they revealed the game is actually kind of telling. I mean it seems like DICE and EA showed us a lot more of Battlefield 1 than Activision, Infinity Ward did. In term of gameplay, at least I saw more gameplay. You saw more gameplay, I think their trailer was twice as long as what the public saw of Battlefield 1. Right, right, sure and I think I don't know I'm hoping it's not just a futuristic skin. I'm hoping they actually>>Right. make use of it. It would be cool, this is spit-balling, what if you had a multi-player map and you're warping between different parts where time traveled differently, or there's different gravity in different areas. Mmm There's zero grav combat according to the trailer, and they're showing it, but how much of that is going to be what was at the beginning of Ghosts where you're floating and shooting people just like in Call of Duty. I want them to actually use the setting to kind of propel what they're doing forward, rather than just make the game and then throw features or paint on it, and just say, like what you said, this is what an AK-47 would look like in 50 years or something. I don't want that. I want them You can actually tell a story or you can pull the things from multiplayer that you couldn't do and do, like in Black Out III, with the wall running, reminds me of Titan Falls and the shooting in every other Call of Duty game, I want them to actually take the steps that they're purporting to be with this trailer, I'm hoping it's actually futuristic and not just painted to look like it. I mean, the other thing as well is that you can have a contemporary war Game be really good and provocative like Call of Duty Modern Warfare was, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. You just have to have a very well written game with interesting set pieces. I feel like we've had that in Black Ops 1, for instance, I thought had that and I think the two Modern Warfare games did. Personally I haven't really connected with any of them, like Advanced Warfare or any of those. They were sort of like Fun little diversion, like an action movie is. But I still remember so much of Call of Duty 4. Maybe it's just a case of we look at these games at this really superficial level. And actually, when we get to play them, that's the time for these studios to be able to deliver what they're actually trying to do. And maybe we judge this game too early because we expect it to do so little. Sure. And they've also been doing that for a couple of years. Although if anything they've set themselves up an environment where they could do amazing things. Again like Mike said with Gravity, give us the first multiplayer map set a spherical asteroid right? Throw a grenade and hit myself in the back of the head if I'm not careful. Or like again give me a space battleship where the multi-player combat takes place both inside and outside of the ship. Right, yeah. I mean there's things that again going back to the things at Battle Front, did a long time ago that we haven't seen since and we haven't seen done better in this level of details, so You know, again, if you're just gonna have the future AK-47 and a flat map with Earth's gravity Space evil. Yeah. Then you really haven't innovated- Like Doom. At all. Yeah. I guess we'll have to wait and find out. Yeah, I mean, I'm excited for the two of them. I'm Haven't been excited for Call of Duty in a little while I feel and I am actually excited about this one. Battlefield One obviously the sort of anticipation of what that could be is obviously very tantalizing as well. Mike what about yourself? What are you sort of looking forward to when you put these two games side by side? I'm looking forward to both of them as well. I think more so Battlefield One just because, mainly because That series hasn't been where I want it to be for a long time. I think every time it comes out, or they show it off, I'm hoping it'll get back to what I love about Battlefield. These prolonged, more multiplayer matches with more substance. [INAUDIBLE] becomes this twitch gameplay. Which I like. It reminds of, not in the same way that Counter Strike did, but I love Counter Strike because there's a very specific kind of shooter. Yeah. And I lover Over Watch because it's pulling from a lot of them. I'm hoping that Battlefield I does add more substance to, they say they're returning to their roots. I hope they return to the right parts. And Infinite Warfare I'm curious about, but Battlefield I is the one that kinda got me really excited. Yeah. Aaron you're a big fan of Battlefield. You cover Battlefield games here at GameSpot all the time. What are you looking for to be added to these? Battlefield 1 takes place in a point in history where a lot of warfare was not figured out. And I think that's an exciting setting, like I said they started with airplanes where they were spotting than some. bags of dicks, brought a shotgun with him- [LAUGH] [LAUGH] and then another guy brought a shotgun, and then another guy brought a machine gun, and the next thing you know you've got aerial duels. You know, they invented a tank, and drove it three miles per hour. [LAUGH] So you could just step out of the way if you really wanted to. And they just invented it to take on machine guns. Right, yeah. They didn't know how to use it. I think That's exciting, it's exciting to set a game at a point in history where it's not future AK-47, it's, we don't know what an AK-47 is, but let's try making a rifle semi-automatic, and see what happens. Yeah. So that, to me, is a fun setting, and still allows for a lot of the weapon customization, they'll sneak it in. Yeah. That they have in Battelfield already. All right. Well, in any case it looks like we're getting to interesting-looking military first-person shooters this year. Let us know, though, what you think. What are you most looking forward to? Call of Duty, Infinite Warfare, or Battlefield One? Put your thoughts in the comments below. Our good friends in the twitchat have all been screaming at me for Call of Duty Disney Infinity Warfare. Maybe solved those two problems at the same time. Maybe not. Probably not. Maybe that's what happens. They're just gonna kill off- Activision just bought Disney. It's all over. Yeah. Infograms bought Ubisoft, and then bought Disney, and then bought Activision. And they're gonna merge all together. We're done for. It's all syndicated. Yup. Rayman in your Call of Duty video game. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]