List of "Call of Duty Clones"

[40oz]

I see this term being thrown around very often. It seems like everything is a wannabe Call of Duty franchise. I decided to search google and youtube for the term, and mostly found articles from some video game developers calling out CoD for destroying innovation and creativity in the FPS genre. I've seen some images panning screenshots of FPS games that are all seperate games but look virtually identical to each other. However I haven't quite found a list of examples of exactly what they are talking about -- so I figured we'd create one.

First thing's first: We need to verify the common features of Call of Duty games that constitute a game that "borrows" it to be a clone. I know we have a large population of seasoned video game players here whom will probably be better at indicating those features than I am. To be fair, I think a legitimate call of duty clone would need to feature at least four or five of these items to be considered a clone. I'm suggesting things like regenerating health, two/three weapon swap system, short single player campaign, aiming through iron sights, class-based multiplayer, terrorists/russians as the antagonist, etc. More suggestions are welcome!

Over time I'll edit this post to properly list features of call of duty clones and soon create a list of games that fall under the Call of Duty clone category.

[DoomUK]

So you like games again, 40?

Anyway, you forgot ultra linear level design as one of it's defining features. Whether Call of Duty was the first perpetrator of this though is another matter.

[Use]

Remember to list any game that uses photo-realistic textures. Or any game that uses 3d models, or high res sounds, or characters that talk. Fuck it, every game made after the first CoD is a clone.

[Wagi]

Using those features to call something a "Call of Duty Clone" is extremely misleading seeing how COD didn't exactly invent those features.

Most of the free shooters that have been plauging the internet are actually CounterStrike clones. They are characterized by no aiming down sights, insanely small amounts of non-regenerating health, boring level design with no height variation, tan levels filled with nothing but boxes, overly simple combat system where the winner is whoever jumps around the most, and a terrible usage of spawn points that encourages players to spam grenades in the air at the beginning of each match in order to score free kills. Such games include Combat Arms, Operation 7, War Rock, and another one that I'm forgetting the name of right now.

[Bucket]

Instead, let's make a list of "Quake clones".

[Use]

Just like the early 16-bit era when every 2d game was shrugged off as a Mario clone. Different generation, same stupidity.

[Du Mhan Yhu]

Here's a short list.

Glorious Mission (china only)
Medal of Honor
Homefront
Battlefield

They seem close enough.

[Blastfrog]

skaman86 said:

Modern Warfare

I'm pretty sure that is Call of Duty.

[Du Mhan Yhu]

Sodaholic said:

I'm pretty sure that is Call of Duty.

It's gone, happy?!

[Phobus]

Off the top of my head, games that are derided as CoD clones can include, but is not limited to:

-Any CoD not made by Infinity Ward
-Any CoD not set in World War 2
-Halo gets lumped in with CoD, even though they're quite distinct
-Battlefield gets this, even though I'd not be surprised if the first Battlefield predates the original CoD
--In particular Battlefield: Bad Company and it's sequel are very strongly associated with CoD: Modern Warfare and it's sequel
--CoD: MW3 and BF3 are pretty strongly in competition and are quite similar in setting and theme
-Medal of Honor and it's sequels tend to get a similar treatment to the Battlefield series as well
-Duke Nukem Forever gets this with CoD and Halo due to the weapons limitations, linear levels and need to take cover a bit more than people from the 90s would prefer
-Brink has been called this at least once in my experience due it's class-based, weapon-loadout-altering, FPS multiplayer nature
-Pretty sure Homefront got a bit of this
-Killzone 3 featured in one of the images for how all FPS games look the same
--By extension, the other two Killzones would probably get this, even though I'm fairly sure the first Killzone may have predated the first CoD. I was certainly only aware of Killzone at the time
-Resistance: Fall of Man and it's sequels get this a bit, even though they're more of an obvious rival to the Halo and/or Gears of War series due to their being PS3 only
-F.E.A.R. and it's sequels have been called "a bit like CoD, but horror" by somebody I know before... except F.3.A.R. which is instead fairly ridiculous to play and certainly not scary

Basically any modern shooter with a limit of 2 carryable weapons + inventory, regenerating health/shields and a reliance on cover, in my experience. Even Third Person Shooters don't get away with it all the time from what I've seen.

[Phml]

Ironically, the one good feature of the CoD series (60 FPS) is the one so-called CoD clones keep missing. :)

[Mithran Denizen]

Phobus said:

-Halo gets lumped in with CoD, even though they're quite distinct

On another minor point, Halo also predates the Call of Duty series by like two years, though people still identify it as a "CoD clone" often enough that one might think otherwise.

[Phobus]

Just looked it up to confirm for myself:

-Medal of Honor is 1999
-First Battlefield game is technically Codename Eagle (1999)
-First game actually titled Battlefield is Battlefield: 1942 (2002)
-Halo: Combat Evolved is 2001
-Call of Duty is late 2003
-Killzone is late 2004

Obviously they've all evolved over time. I've not played the original MoH or CoD, so I can't vouch for them, but Halo seems to have been the first one doing the "Primary weapon/Secondary weapon" thing in an FPS that I'm aware of. Might need to check Counter Strike (another game I have no experience of) and question whether SOCOM: US Navy SEALs comes into the equation too, as they both do similar things to the current "CoD clones" but predate the original CoD.

[Scripten]

Mithran Denizen said:

On another minor point, Halo also predates the Call of Duty series by like two years, though people still identify it as a "CoD clone" often enough that one might think otherwise.

The original Halo also had fairly large, sprawling levels, though it did have a few parts where it suffered from corridor sickness. Keep in mind, also, that it had non-regenerating health, and weapons were plentiful enough that you could approach situations in quite a few different ways. Of course, the later entries lost those features, but it's worth pointing out that the original was, by and large, not what you could call a "CoD clone" even ignoring the time of release.

[Xaser]

Regenerating health is the key point, IMO. Any 3D shooter that has it is quite likely to get the label (hence the lumping of Halo in such a category). It is, broadly, the "games where you have to take cover a lot and are simply a sponge for bullets that you can never dodge" category.

Granted, this category by itself is super-broad and not really fitting of the "CoD-clone" label that's often applied to it, since this also (by association) includes Halo, Gears of War, and a bunch of things that either pre-date CoD or are different enough in mechanics (i.e. Gears) to deserve distinction.

For fun, though, I looked up some videos of Killzone 3, and indeed, at a glance it looked indistinguishable from a Modern Warfare game. Guess it's a pretty clear sign where the trends are at. :P

[Chow Yun Thin]

Phobus said:

Obviously they've all evolved over time. I've not played the original MoH or CoD, so I can't vouch for them, but Halo seems to have been the first one doing the "Primary weapon/Secondary weapon" thing in an FPS that I'm aware of. Might need to check Counter Strike (another game I have no experience of)

The first MoH was more in line with Goldeneye for the N64 (mission objectives, able to carry all of the weapons you find in the level, health/armor pickups, able to fine-tune your aiming by holding down a button).

CS is more restrictive about weapons. Primary weapon was always a shotgun, SMG, assault rifle, sniper rifle or LMG and Secondary weapon was always a handgun. You can't carry a Primary weapon as a Secondary like you can in modern iterations of CoD. And there's an earlier example of this kind of weapon restriction in Action Quake 2, where you only could carry a unique weapon (SMG, assault rifle, sniper rifle, Shotgun, Sawed-off or 10 knives) and a sidearm.

[yellowmadness54]

Crysis 2 is the biggest CoD clone I've seen recently.

Resistance 3, unfortunately, following the same path.

[Xeros612]

Xaser said:

Regenerating health is the key point, IMO. Any 3D shooter that has it is quite likely to get the label

Which is funny considering Halo 2 did regenerating health almost a year before CoD started using it. (Funnily enough, the Call of Duty 2 that was released for the PS2 and Xbox 1, Big Red One? Health kits. No regeneration.)

[Craigs]

-Pretty sure Homefront got a bit of this

Homefront is basically the very definition of CoD clone. I've actually had people mistake this screenshot for a screenshot of CoD.
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/577796269347410685/352665E41AC821C7815A10B3F216096675D8751B/

Also just throwing it out there but that's what the game looks like completely maxed out.

Battlefield, I'm not sure whether or not to consider that a CoD clone. It's got similar mechanics yes, but it plays considerably differently from CoD.

[Megamur]

Limited sprinting that only works when moving forward and doesn't let you fire is another common element attributed to CoD clones.

[Captain Red]

DISCLAIMER: I only really do Singleplayer nowadays so all my opinions of what is and is not a "CoD clone" reflect that:

When I think of what defines a "CoD clone" one of the major things to my mind is the constant presence of highly scripted AI, and very tightly controlled pace. The inability to tackle a given situation outside of one tightly controlled path is what I find annoying about the Call of Duty games. Charge NOW! Shoot NOW! Hide NOW! I said NOW and don't you dare do otherwise! THAT is what Makes CoD CoD. I'd say Quake 4 is a lot closer to a Call of Duty game then some of the suggestions in this thread.

I don't think it's right to nominate games like Halo, Crysis 2 and FEAR as CoD clones. These games actually allow a bit of wiggle room in there maps and strategies. Halo and Crysis 2 in particular really let you mix things up when it comes to dispatching a mob of enemies with either suit powers, big guns or the odd tank. FEAR is a bit more tactical-lite, but it does at least let you move at your own pace. It might be vaguely proto-CoD but they don't really 'feel' alike.

The idea that Iron Sights, limited sprinting and a two weapon limit are what makes a CoD Clone is dumb becasue that would make games like STALKER, ARMA and SWAT 4 CoD Clones. Call of Duty is an action FPS that lifts things from tactical shooters to make you feel like a humble soldier. But it is its level design is what defines it.

[Planky]

I remember when Call of Duty was a MOHAA "wannabe"

[wildweasel]

Planky said:

I remember when Call of Duty was a MOHAA "wannabe"

Which is pretty hilarious when you learn that Infinity Ward was comprised mainly of the dev team that made MOHAA. =P

[Phobus]

See I have played MOHAA, and I'd definitely say the dev team thing is pretty obvious with CoD3 (which is the earliest CoD I've played).

@Craigs: It looks a bit ugly for a modern CoD game, but it also definitely looks like one from that screenshot.

[Captain Toenail]

Eh, I wouldn't call Resistance3 a CoD clone. It has gained true iron sights on the weapons, but it has ditched health regen in favour of health packs and you can carry all the weapons at once, like in the first game. Resistance2 is closest to CoD in the series. Homefront however, is a blatant CoD clone.

[AirRaid]

They're all Wolf 3d/Doom Clones anyway.

Seriously guys, you run around in 3d maps, shooting a variety of bullet based weapons at moving targets styled as soldiers, you have a limited supply of health and ammo, you can find secrets, and must progress from the start point to a definable end point in a series of levels.

Just because things share features, does not make them "Clones" of a given game.

Stop being fucking retarded.

[Planky]

WildWeasel said:

Which is pretty hilarious when you learn that Infinity Ward was comprised mainly of the dev team that made MOHAA. =P

Which is why I said wannabe, not clone. I've a fondness for MOHAA that COD never earned.

[Xeros612]

Phobus said:

See I have played MOHAA, and I'd definitely say the dev team thing is pretty obvious with CoD3 (which is the earliest CoD I've played).

Call of Duty 3 was actually a Treyarch CoD, and a bad one at that, aside from Joel Goldsmith's great orchestral score.

@Airraid That's why I hate the term "clone" being used to describe such things.

On a semi-related note: Why are Rogue "clones" called "Roguelikes" instead of Rogue clones? I don't see why Rogue-style games should get some sort of special treatment that "Roguelike" implies while other games that are similar to a particular game are simply called clones. Consistency, how about we have some?

[Phobus]

Xeros612 said:

Call of Duty 3 was actually a Treyarch CoD, and a bad one at that

Just checked, and you are indeed right. In that case I'll say that the theme set up by Infinity Ward certainly gives a similar impression to MOHAA (to me at least).

[Koko Ricky]

AirRaid said:

They're all Wolf 3d/Doom Clones anyway.

Seriously guys, you run around in 3d maps, shooting a variety of bullet based weapons at moving targets styled as soldiers, you have a limited supply of health and ammo, you can find secrets, and must progress from the start point to a definable end point in a series of levels.

Just because things share features, does not make them "Clones" of a given game.

Stop being fucking retarded.

This. I'm reminded of a video game article I read maybe 15 years ago, called "Daughters of Doom." It showcased a number of Doom clones, that is, 2.5D shooters that either used the Doom engine or something similar.