Over a month after it was first released on PlayStation 4, the Variety Pack DLC for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is finally available on Xbox One and PC.
Oh, to be a second-class citizen.
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As I complained last year, Activision dropped Xbox (and PC) gamers like a bad habit starting in 2015, and it forged a deal with Sony so that PlayStation 4 owners would get map packs and other DLC (downloadable content) first. This has been tough on me, as about 90 percent of my gaming time is spent in Call of Duty.
As such, I’ve considered switching my loyalties, and I’ve spent a lot of time (re)evaluating PlayStation 4 over the past year or more. It’s a fine console, and the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro, which offers better graphics in the Call of Duty series and other games, almost got me. But as I noted in I’m Sticking with Xbox, Microsoft’s strategy and superior overall experience—which today includes the Xbox One S and the Xbox One Elite Wireless controller—has kept me from bolting.
And yet, each time there is some Call of Duty milestone, I buckle a bit. In early March, Activision released the first DLC for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered … on PS4 only. Dubbed the Variety Pack, this DLC includes four classic Modern Warfare multiplayer maps—Broadcast, Chinatown, Creek, and Killhouse—and thus performs the same basic service of any map pack: It makes the multiplayer experience better by adding diversity, and something “new” (in this case, with air quotes because these are in fact old maps, of course). This type of new content is what enables me and others to continue playing any given game over the course of the year.
There’s been some controversy over the $15 asking price. Because there is always some controversy about everything these days. Frankly, I couldn’t care less: I will throw whatever amount of money Activision requires at it, and I will now do so on both PS4 and Xbox One because that is how much I enjoy Call of Duty. So, yes, I bought the map pack on PS4 when it first shipped on that platform.
And now I’ve bought it again. Last week, while I was between trips and home for one full day, I purchased the Variety Pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on Xbox One too. This week, now that I’m actually home for a few days, I’m looking forward to playing it on the console (and controller) that I actually prefer. And … geesh. I really wish I didn’t have to do this.
There’s probably something profound that could also be said about how a game from 2007-2008 is still superior to modern titles in the same game series, or to other recent shooters. And of course, with the news that Call of Duty is foolishly returning to its World War II roots for what everyone should assume is another one-off waste of time, I’m also wondering about the future.
And thinking the obvious: Modern Warfare should be the future of this series, not WWII.