Call of Duty: Ghosts is a 2013 first-person shooter video
game developed by Infinity Ward, with assistance from Raven Software, Neversoft
and Certain Affinity. Published by Activision, it is the tenth primary
installment in the
Call of Duty series and the sixth developed by Infinity
Ward. The video game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox
360, and Wii U on November 5, 2013, with Treyarch handling the port for the Wii
U. The game was released with the launch of next-generation consoles
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
According to review, score aggregator Metacritic,
Ghosts
received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with most praising its
multiplayer gameplay and introduction of the new game mode Extinction, but
criticizing it for its single-player campaign, rehashing of familiar concepts
and general lack of innovation.
Story
The game starts in the year 2017 with U.S. Army Captain
Elias Walker (Stephen Lang) telling his two sons, Logan and David
"Hesh" Walker (Brandon Routh) the legend of how the Ghosts, an elite
coalition of all US Special Operations units, first appeared. Meanwhile, in
space, Federation soldiers hijack the controlling space station of the Orbital
Defense Initiative (ODIN), an orbital superweapon that utilizes kinetic
bombardment, and practice it to destroy several cities in the southwest United
States. The surviving American astronauts, Baker and Mosley, sacrifice
themselves to self-destruct the space station and prevent the other ODIN
satellites from launching their payloads further inland. Elias and the teenage
Logan and David narrowly escape the devastation of San Diego.
Ten years afterwards, the United States has fought the
Federation to a bloody stalemate along a front that comprises the destroyed
cities, also known as "No Man's Land", but it has become a war of
attrition as more Federation invasion forces set about to break the Frontlines.
Nevertheless, the Americans stand their ground, fighting about the former
US-Mexico boundary line. Logan and Hesh are part of a U.S special unit under
the command of Elias and are accompanied by their loyal military-trained German
Shepherd, Riley. During a patrol, they spot an American is turning with the
Federation, named Gabriel Rorke (Kevin Gage). Shortly later, the comrades are
ambushed by wolves, but rescued are Thomas Merrick and Keegan Russ, members of
the wraiths who are proposing to rescue their companion Ajax, who was captured by
Rorke. Logan and Hesh join the charge to rescue Ajax, but arrive too late to
rescue him as he is obliterated by the Federation.
The brothers come back to Santa Monica, California, where
the Federation forces invade the city as U.S forces hold out against their
violation. As the Americans counterattack, Hesh and Logan reunite with their
father, who discloses himself as the leader of the wraiths. Recognizing that
his sons are qualified to bring together his special unit, Elias recruits them
into the wraiths, and they ascertain from him that Rorke was once their leader
and Elias' best friend. Nevertheless, during a successful mission to
assassinate General Diego Almagro, then president of the Federation in the
capital city Caracas, Elias is forced to abandon Rorke, who was assumed dead,
but instead turned traitor after being captured and brainwashed by the
Federation and began hunting down members of the wraiths.
The Ghosts track down and capture Rorke, but while flying
back home, Rorke's men attack their plane and deliver him. The team is then
thrust to land deep into the Amazon Jungle, where they see a rocket being
launched for an obscure use. Once reunited and rescued, the Ghosts raid a
Federation laboratory in the Andes and obtain data regarding a classified
information in a factory at Rio De Janeiro. To guarantee a track to the
manufactory, the Ghosts destroy the Federation's Atlas oil platform located in
Antarctica to lure the enemy fleet away from their objective and slide down a
destroyer guarding the Brazilian coast. Once within the factory, the squad
learns that the Federation had scuffled and reverse engineered ODIN's
technology and produced their own orbital bombardment system code named
"LOKI". After putting down the factory, Elias and his sons regroup at
a safe house in Las Vegas, but are captured by Rorke. After Rorke kills Elias,
the brothers manage to run away along with Merrick, Keegan and Riley.
Once the
Federation's LOKI becomes operational, the United
States's defeat will be inevitable. In response, the United States decides to
pool all their remaining strengths, including the last aircraft carrier, the
USS Liberator, in a synchronized all-out assault to hold down an enemy space
center in Chile, while a modest squad of soldiers boards a shuttle to bring over
the Federation satellites in place. Once both objectives are completed, Hesh
and Logan pursue Rorke to avenge their father and are seemingly successful,
only to find out during the aftermath that Rorke survived the confrontation. Logan
tries to fight back his wounded brother, but holds his arm broken by Rorke, who
declares his plans to brainwash Logan into killing the rest of the Ghosts
before kidnapping Logan.
In a post-credits scene, Logan is seen being kept in a pit
in the hobo camp, presumably passing through the same torture methods that
Rorke went through.