For nearly two decades, Activision's Call of Duty has been a tentpole franchise in the gaming world, with many entries being among the highest-selling of their years of release. Although some entries are derided for lack of innovation, poor multiplayer, or a disappointing story, others are acclaimed because they deliver on those and other fronts.
Critics' opinions are one thing, but what are the top 10 games in fans' opinions? Thanks to IMDb, s can rate each game and as a whole determine the best entries of the series. (Note: remasters and Zombies packs are not included.)
Call Of Duty: WWII (2017) - 7.8
After years of the Call of Duty franchise entries being set in either the future or an alternate present (i.e. Ghosts), 2017's Call of Duty: WWII returned the series to its origins, putting players on battlefields during the Second World War. Its lack of regenerating health also stood out (something that hadn't been featured since the first Call of Duty).
Although it may not be the best World War 2 Call of Duty game, developer Sledgehammer definitely deserves credit for what it did deliver, even if the end result is a middle-of-the-pack experience when compared to the whole franchise.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops II (2012) - 8.0
The sequel to the highly-acclaimed first Black Ops game, Black Ops II splits its time between the 1980s and 2025, telling a story about the rise of Raul Menendez from gunrunner to revolutionary, and how two generations of the Mason family are intertwined with his quest for vengeance.
Although not the first future-set game in the series, it started the 2010s trend that culminated in the backlash to sci-fi entry Man of Steel writer David S. Goyer which innovatively had multiple endings.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011) - 8.1
The Modern Warfare sub-series was a breakout hit for Infinity Ward, which made the 2011 threequel, Modern Warfare 3, one of the most highly-anticipated games of that year.
Releasing to incredible fanfare and financial success, the finale of the original Modern Warfare series went down okay for players who went to IMDb to give it a rating. The biggest issue, really, is how high a bar the game's two predecessors had set, both for gaming as a whole and the series in particular. It's a little telling, too, that a reboot came along in 2019.
Call Of Duty: World At War (2008) - 8.2
Newer Call of Duty fans may not know that the Black Ops series actually began with World at War, a 2008 entry that takes place 18 years before the start of the first Black Ops game. With an American campaign set in the Pacific theater, WAW also provided a Soviet campaign that introduced the iconic Viktor Reznov, voiced by Gary Oldman.
The last World War 2 game for nine years, World at War is few players' favorite Call of Duty game, but it's a solid entry in a series that has not always met player expectations. It looks better in hindsight precisely because of the Black Ops and Zombies series it spawned.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops (2010) - 8.3
What happens when you combine the conspiracy culture of the 1960s with the Call of Duty franchise? You get an instant classic, and one of Call of Duty's best campaigns. Featuring high-quality voice acting from Sam Worthington, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, James C. Burns, and Ice Cube, this Cold War-era spy thriller was engaging from start to finish.
It's a real shame that the original voice actors for Mason and Woods, Sam Worthington and James C. Burns, didn't return for 2020's Cold War; it just doesn't feel the same without them, and IMDb's rankings agree.
Call Of Duty 2 (2005) - 8.5
A sequel to the original game and released a few years before sub-franchises started forming, Call of Duty 2 still holds up as one of the best installments in the series for IMDb's s. This game not only introduced the standard auto-regenerating health feature, but also gave several compelling campaigns, one each for the American, Soviet, and British perspectives.
While Call of Duty 2 has definitely been eclipsed by later entries in the memories of gamers, it still deserves its due.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) - 8.5
Hollywood has a well-earned reputation of relying on recognizable franchises to sell tickets, but the video game industry is no different. With 2019's Modern Warfare reboot, Infinity Ward was definitely using the popularity of the brand to draw in players.
However, the good news for them was that it worked, and gamers on IMDb responded to it more favorably than they had to Modern Warfare 3, which is a good sign for the future of the reboot. Infinity Ward needs to make sure to learn from its mistakes while also providing a new experience to players if they want this success to continue.
Call Of Duty (2003) - 8.6
Sometimes the original manages to outshine much of what followed it, and considering that the original Call of Duty was a 2003 PC game, its high rating says a lot about the original's quality. Sure, it did spawn a massive franchise, but one that eventually moved far away from its origins. COD 1 stands here on its own merits.
Having a Soviet, American, and British campaign was an incredibly innovative idea that several subsequent games would copy in some way. This feature allowed players to get a sense of the Second World War as a whole, rather than just from an American perspective.
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) - 8.8
While Modern Warfare 2 has several of the best Call of Duty multiplayer maps, it also managed to provide a story that kept players engaged. Riding off of the first Modern Warfare, MW 2 follows the main characters as they face a threat in Viktor Makarov, a Russian ultranationalist who seeks to draw the U.S. and Russia into a war.
Although that premise may sound uncomfortably familiar right now, and the "No Russian" mission generated its own controversy, Modern Warfare 2 still holds up incredibly well overall after almost 13 years past release.
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007) - 9.0
It was a risk for Call of Duty, the World War 2 combat simulation game, to break its brand formula and devote its fourth entry to a depiction of "modern warfare." As is almost always the case, there was no guarantee for success.
However, what resulted from the risk was (1) a sub-franchise, (2) a bestseller, and (3) a complete reinvention of the Call of Duty franchise, which would have definitely gone stale had it continued making World War 2 games without any variety. COD 4: Modern Warfare shifted the landscape of video games entirely, and for IMDb, is the series' best.
