New ‘Call Of Duty’ draws harsh reviews after rushed development

A filepic of a gamer looking at the display for 'Call Of Duty: Black Ops II' in Universal City, California on Nov 12, 2012. 'Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III', which came out Nov 10, has been roundly panned by critics for its rushed storyline. — AFP

The latest entry in Activision Blizzard's popular Call Of Duty video-game series was made in half the time of previous iterations, a fact that may be contributing to a spate of bad reviews about the game’s storyline, according to people familiar with the development process.

Critics have panned the game, the first big release since Microsoft Corp closed its US$69bil (RM323.78bil) acquisition of Activision last month, saying the storyline feels rushed. Most Call Of Duty games are developed in around three years, but the bulk of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which came out Nov 10, was made in less than a year and a half, said the people, who asked to not be identified because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly. The abridged production schedule proved stressful for the development team, they said.