Call of Duty: Ghosts is a first-person shooter set in the near-future after a nuclear attack on the United States.
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Story & Themes
Call of Duty: Ghosts starts out in 2017 and involves a super-weapon attacking the southwest United States. After that, there's a decade-long war between U.S. soldiers and the Federation, which is comprised of oil-wealthy South American nations. The Ghosts, a special combat force allied with the United States, must fight against the Federation, which continues to invade the United States after taking over Central America.
Save Points
Every Call of Duty game saves at automatic checkpoints throughout each level. You will be returned to the last checkpoint upon restarting the game after quitting. The player usually can't control when the game will save, though it's possible to save after each completed mission.
Heads Up!
Violence The violence is on par with any R-rated action movie.
Scary Imagery There are no horror themes in Call of Duty: Ghosts, but some of the imagery can be disturbing. The battle experience is visceral and gets the player's heart pounding. The situations the characters get into might be unrealistic compared to real warfare, but they are nonetheless intense. Many teenagers are probably accustomed to the level of violence in these games, but the intensity of the experience could stress anyone out.
Strong Language All of the Call of Duty games feature strong language, though it's nothing a teenager won't have heard before. Parents should know that the M-rated Call of Duty games will generally feature stronger language than the T-rated ones. This applies to single-player mode. If you play online with a headset, all bets are off. You will hear lots of bad language from other players.
Substance Use There are references to drug use. The ESRB says that some of the badges that players can choose to represent themselves in multiplayer, "are suggestive of marijuana."
Discrimination There are playable women in the multiplayer mode, but no female characters are playable in the game's story mode.
Online Community
Call of Duty has very lively multiplayer, and if you have voice chat you will definitely be exposed to vulgar and harassing language.
Conversation Starters
- What are the issues surrounding the use of weapons of mass destruction, even in self-defense?
- Is killing for revenge ever justifiable, even in war?
- People in the game undergo torture and brainwashing. Are these methods ever justifiable?
- Can you relate Call of Duty: Ghosts to anything going on in American politics today?
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