OccamRazor

I played maybe 20 matches during the beta. Great fun. Only one complaint: How the hell do I kill titans? I seem to always be on the losing end of a titan v. titan battle.... Anyhow, I preordered the game and am looking forward to March 11. Do I think its a COD killer? No, but it is nice to have a second FPS to play when I get tired of or frustrated playing Ghosts. As to XBox exclusivity, my understanding is that the deal was only for the first game and any subsequent games will likely be on XB, PS and PC.

I found that it really did freshen things up on the XBox One. 3/4 of the maps are medium to small and therefore more fun to play than some of the larger, original maps. The Maverick is a decent gun to use, and the Michael Meyers killstreak is pretty cool.

Techno, thanks for the info on the DOM scoring, I was not aware that only the first player on a flag got credit on his score streak for it. I guess I don't notice because I'm often the first one on. I have no problem with that as it rewards aggression and unselfish play. Spending a squad point for new operations doesn't bother me. I bought new operations 8 times before the one I wanted came up. I like that when you buy new operations, the ones you are close to don't go away. I agree, the overall numbers playing Ghosts are way down. I'm on Xbox One and in the evening (8-10pm Central time--I think we are GMT -6) there are between 30,000 and 40,000 on XBL. When I was playing BO2 on XBox 360 there were often 300,000+ on and sometimes 400,000. I think this will continue in the coming years until the 360 and PS3 are retired. Four consoles and PC make a pretty fractured game base. None of that matters though if they can keep reducing lag. I played last evening and heard some Spanish, so I know with the lower numbers we are getting put into games with players from much further away. Anyhow, none of these issues are big deals to me. I bought my first Xbox (a 360) to play BO1 a few years ago, and other than Skyrim (awesome) and Far Cry 3 (pretty good) I really only use the game system for COD titles. I try to take the strengths and weaknesses of each title and adapt my game to them. For example, in Ghosts, I know the first to get on target and fire will often win the gun fight, so every class has stalker and my go to ARs, R5 and AK12 have dead eye. Also, maybe because I'm old and don't care, as long as my KDR stays above 1.00 I don't get too bent out of shape. I figure I get as many bullshit kills as I receive bullshit deaths. It all evens out. Plus I tried BF 3 when it came out and I just find that I prefer the arcade shooter to the more tactical one. God bless those of you who have the mind and feel for the BF series, I am just not one who does.

Thanks, I will try! Looking forward to Titanfall!

I have over nine days into Ghosts. I enjoy it a lot. First, three truths about online gaming, whether COD, BF4, and even TItanfall: One, every lobby will have some douches in it, but that's what the mute button is for. Two, online gaming is always better when you roll with your friends, no matter how good or bad the game is, the experience is better with friends. Three, people will camp. If you accept it as a given, it becomes less frustrating. Anyhow, My two cents after all those hours into Ghosts: PROS: Connection is better than the last game, but not perfect. Good weapon balance. I can use a wider variety of weapons and still fell competitive. DOM scoring took a big step up for me in this iteration. I am a decent player, but in spite of my KDR I enjoy DOM the most. In this game you are rewarded with caps counting toward streak bonus. Pair this with hardline and run the squad mate support streak (he gets YOU an additional CAP credit when he's on a flag with you). Not unusual for me to get double digit caps in a game and near 9/10k XP each game. (A special treat is playing DOM on Whiteout where the B flag is in the little cave in the middle--a C4 tossed in off the spawn can generate a triple kill--"XBox record that"). The ability to deal with campers. When I play, I often use a kastet grenade launcher as my secondary and C4 as my lethal. With a little practice, the kastet and C4 can be effective and humiliating tools to deal with campers. I am to the point that I can be VERY accurate, even at distance and elevation, against campers and snipers. I used to get frustrated with both snipers and campers, but with a little practice, you will turn your frustration into grins. No one in Ghosts has ever accused me of being a "noob toober" in a lobby after a game and I must have hundreds of kills with the kastet. I guess they don't want to bait me into exposing them as campers. C4 deserves its own entry as a "pro." What a fun piece of gear. Toss it into windows! Toss it on flags! Toss it around corners where a wounded enemy is waiting for you! Weapon variety. I covered weapon balance above, but the variety of weapons is a definite pro. I used all of the weapons until I found at least one (and in the case of ARs, FIVE, that I like. I now have classes that include each weapon type, including shotguns, SMGs, ARs, LMGs and even a sniper for occasional change of pace. Perk variety. Every bullshit tactic now has a counter. You don't like dying from random IEDs? Run blast shield, run sit rep. There are so many options that any tactic has a counter. Streak variety. I prefer the support streaks, but in each of the streak packages there are many options. Operations. In order to level up as fast as possible, I always pay attention to operations. I don't ever run canister bombs, but I saw recently that if I get 30 kills with it I will unlock a new uniform that looks pretty bad ass. So now I'm running canister bomb for a few nights. Player and weapon customization. Literally thousands of combinations. I love running difficult to earn uniforms and headgear. Map Packs. I have the ability to buy all the extras and I usually do. I understand the frustration of the "nickle and dime" argument, but I paid $60.00 for a game I've already played for 13,380 minutes. With the cost of the map pack, the Sgt Price character (yes, I did), the extra slots for each character (1.99), I'm up to 9/10 of a cent for each minute played (or 56 cents per hour). CONS: Several of the maps suck. I will not play on Siege. I will not play TDM on Overlord. Scoring in KC took a step backward in this iteration. My KDR is the lowest its been in any COD. I attribute this to the quick deaths. But to be fair, this is really not a con in the sense that I'm still above 1.00 and I really judge a game on fun rather than KDR. Anyhow, I really enjoy Ghosts. I will keep playing. If you don't care for it, I hope you find something you do enjoy. I have ordered Titanfall and will give it a go. Looks promising. I enjoyed the beta.

Ghosts complaints: Really no major complaints except one, as others have said: spawns suck. I know its a balance, but I seem to die two to three times a game within a second of spawning. Not fun. No other real complaints that are specific to Ghosts, but rather the XBox One generally: Cant use my $300 headset to chat yet, party creation a slow and cumbersome process. I find the XBO not intuitive and not quick to do anything. The 360 was so easy to use, esp. in terms of party invites, game invites, etc. Graphics are excellent but interface is cumbersome.