However, when you look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, it becomes really, really hard to hate it. Along with innovating its multiplayer to include Specialist abilities which aren’t absurdly OP like Destiny’s Supers, not to mention adding wall-running and Prestige for guns, it managed to keep the gameplay similar enough to appeal to long-time fans.

"The series introduced a hybrid system of sorts with Call of Duty: Ghosts. This system uses dedicated servers when available but will fall back on peer-to-peer connectivity if they’re not available."

Also, for all the flak that the campaign received, it’s still extremely well-made with great production values and offers a lengthy, fun experience with plenty of options for customization. There are VR Horde mode missions to complete, a Nightmares mode which tells a new story with Zombies thrown in, a dedicated Zombies campaign with new mechanics, a free-running mode to practice your parkour skills. That’s not including all the modes in multiplayer or the camos, weapons, skins, gestures, etc. that can be earned by grinding Cryptokeys and buying Supply Drops. Treyarch even adds new unconventional weapons like a sword and a shotgun pistol on a regular basis.

It is very easy to hate Call of Duty for one thing though – the lack of true dedicated servers.

It’s probably important to explain this, especially in the case of Black Ops 3. The series introduced a hybrid system of sorts with Call of Duty: Ghosts. This system uses dedicated servers when available but will fall back on peer-to-peer connectivity if they’re not available. Sounds good enough to encompass a wide range of players, right?

"So the obvious question is: Why doesn’t Activision just go full dedicated servers for Call of Duty on consoles as well? The problem does come down to resources."

With Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Treyarch opted for 100 percent dedicated servers on PC while consoles used this hybrid system. The hybrid system has its problems though. Say you live in South East Asia. You’ll need to connect to, say, Japan’s server or rely on P2P. That means higher latency, which can result in lag. With the quick time-to-kill or TTK of Call of Duty, it can lead to matches where you’re wiped out in a millisecond while enemies take several rounds to die. Do you like getting hit-markers with a OHK sniper rifle? Because that’s what can happen.

This problem isn’t like Destiny, however, which only uses a peer-to-peer connection system and then throws in skill-based matchmaking to pair you with people all around the globe. But it does result in the biggest oscillation of match quality you’ll ever see. One match you could be absolutely wrecking but in the next, your deaths far outweigh your kills.

So the obvious question is: Why doesn’t Activision just go full dedicated servers for Call of Duty on consoles as well? The problem does come down to resources. Not every remote region is going to have access to a dedicated server. Then again, when you consider a “smaller” game like Titanfall which had dedicated servers the world over, it’s a little odd. It’s also especially odd when you consider games like Halo 5: Guardians which use dedicated servers and don’t encounter as many issues with lag.

Those games also have a higher TTK overall, so even if lag compensation does kick in, you won’t feel like you’re being shredded instantly. Of course, even when you consider the resources necessary, you have to remind yourself of this:

"But when you’re talking one of the most successful franchises ever and a request that’s pretty much been the standard for years, one has to wonder what the problem really is after a point."

Call of Duty is one of the most successful franchises in the industry, year-in, year-out, even when it’s in a slump. The amount of money garnered from Supply Drops, DLC and the base game is incredible. Heck, Black Ops 3 was the best-selling game in the United States according to the NPD, despite being on sale for two months in the entire year.

The series itself has topped 250 million sales worldwide as of January 2016. It’s one thing to say that not every remote region will have access to dedicated servers on consoles but an entirely different thing when heavily populated areas like South East Asia don’t.

With Call of Duty: Ghosts 2 apparently around the corner, it will be interesting to see what Infinity Ward does. Treyarch’s titles have usually been notorious for lag and honestly, the house that built Modern Warfare could go either way at this point. It would be nice to wish for something like dedicated servers the world over and be politely subjected to vitriol because of the resources required. But when you’re talking one of the most successful franchises ever and a request that’s pretty much been the standard for years, one has to wonder what the problem really is after a point.

Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch will be the company’s first multiplayer FPS but it will be doing enough to bring it in line with the best shooters in the genre. According to game director Jeff Kaplan and principal game designer Geoff Goodman in conversation with Kotaku, Overwatch will include both dedicated servers and custom games.

There won’t be private servers or LAN play but you’ll still be able to play with your friends or through specific set-ups. The addition of dedicated servers is obvious as Blizzard wants to ensure a smooth experience for players all around the world.

Overwatch has seen a fair amount of hype thus far thanks to its gameplay, visuals and the sheer pedigree behind it. It’s due to be released next year but it will have a beta taking place in the next few months. Sign up here if you’re interested and stay tuned for more information in the coming months on a specific date.

343 Industries executive producer Josh Holmes has confirmed on Beyond Entertainment’s forums that the upcoming Halo 5: Guardians will use dedicated servers for its multiplayer.

“We only have dedicated servers for MP in Halo 5: Guardians. That’s true for matchmaking AND customs. There is no P2P.”

While peer to peer (P2P) hosting is often considered a more affordable way of connecting during games, it’s dependant on the quality of other players’ connections. One player with an excellent connection could dominate the others. Dedicated servers eliminates this by having a physical data centre for players to connect to, resulting in the same connection quality all-around.

This will be the first time the series has used only dedicated servers. Previous games relied on P2P matchmaking while Halo: The Master Chief Collection featured a mix of P2P and dedicated servers.

What are your thoughts on Halo 5: Guardians at this point? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for more information.

In an e-mail conversation with a community member, Respawn community boss Abbie Heppe indicated that TitanFall won’t have dedicated servers in Australia.

On being asked if TitanFall would have dedicated servers in Australia, Heppe responded that, “It’s really a question for Microsoft. There are servers that gamers in Australia will be able to connect to and we’re testing builds there to make sure they won’t have an unacceptable connection (it has been playable in our tests). I hope that helps a bit!”

As for whether the servers themselves would be located in Australia, Heppe stated that,“They aren’t Australian and I don’t know the exact location (sorry, not the server expert )…but we continue to advocate for Australian servers while making sure Australian gamers will have the best experience we can offer them.”

Considering that TitanFall is online-only, this is a pretty big concern. TitanFall launches on March 11th in North America and March 14th in the UK for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.

(Source)

Titanfall has been the center of its fair share of controversies since being revealed last year. Respawn Entertainment has managed to quell most discontent related to the game, including the decision to go with an always-online approach. However, a new video highlights how the PC version requires user-run dedicated severs – as opposed to Cloud dedicated servers – in order to keep the FPS market running smoothly. Check it out above.

Titanfall is unlike most other first person shooters. Not simply because of the hulking Titans running around or the jetpacks for soldiers, but with how it incorporates single-player elements into its online game. This includes NPCs, cut-scenes and even slightly branching paths.

Published by Activision and the first game in a proposed series, Titanfall will be releasing for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC on March 11th 2014 in North America and March 13th 2014 in Europe. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

“We get dedicated servers. Now we can get dedicated servers on Xbox 360, but you have to do the work – now, we can just tap in and get dedicated servers, which gives you better quality of service as a racing gamer.”

Other advantages of the Xbox One’s new systems, particularly updates to Live which come by way of match-making and the reputation system, are also apparent in Forza 5. “We also get Smart Match, which puts you together with other gamers from your region, or who speak your language, or who play games the way you play them, so you’re paired with fewer cheaters and fewer jerks. Unless you’re a cheater or a jerk, and then you get to play with cheaters and jerks all day. Have fun!”

While it hasn’t been made clear whether it will indeed take advantage of dedicated servers for free, we’ll probably find out when Forza Motorsport 5 launches for Xbox One on November 22nd worldwide.

Counter Strike: Global Offensive is a latest title in the Counter Strike franchise from Valve. It features an updated engine and is scheduled to be released next year.

Expected features:

Battlefield 3 will not have any mod tools included in the PC version on day of release and when released, they will not be released the way that they were delivered for Battlefield 2. DICE has confirmed dedicated servers for the PC and are working on them for the console versions of Battlefield 3. The news comes from DICE producer Patrick Bach in the latest issue of ‘Game Informer’. Battlefield 3 comes out this fall for 360, Playstation 3 and of course the PC.  There is currently a beta for the game that can you can only get access to if you purchased Medal of Honor new.

Tiberium Twilight will not support these features due to the global player progression system.

Lead Designer Sam Bass told Destructoid, “[The system] has single-player, multiplayer and skirmish and all the information stored in a server. So if you go to another machine, friend’s house, Internet cafe, whatever, you can log-in with your profile and all the stuff you’ve unlocked is accessible to you there.”

EA also claims to have invested in a multiplayer system that is, “a lot more solid, a lot more modern” than previous ones. “There’s a really solid networking and just sort of getting into a game is much easier then it was in the past.”

It was also recently announced that C&C 4 will appeal to fans of both FPS and RTS games, possibly suggesting a lighter take on the strategy franchise. The game will be the last one in the series, and aims to tie up some of the loose ends. In this game, it appears that the Global Defense Initiative and the Bortherhood of Nod (led by the unkillable Kane) have joined forces in order to combat the Tiberium threat.

And we can see why the developers have drawn some parallels with FPS games; when you enter a mission you will be asked to choose one of three classes to play as- offense, defense or support- and your choice will affect the kind of base you can have, the units you can recruit and of course your play style.

It seems like a lot of changes are being made to the standard C&C formula, what with classes and character development. Lets hope these changes pan out for the best, eh?

Command and Conquer 4 is due out on March 16th.

Stay tuned to GB for more information in the coming weeks.