The recent release of Black Ops 6 has seen a lot of people return to the best selling FPS game series of all-time, especially with it being available for free to GamePass subscribers. But a franchise dating back 21 years, a lot of older fans are finding it somewhat frustrating. The good news is that if you’re tired of Call of Duty, it might be time to try MilSim tactical shooters and experience videogame combat in a different way.
Having started playing Call of Duty with the original back in 2003, my time with CoD probably peaked between 2009 and 2018. The release of Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops from Infinity Ward and Treyarch offered the camo grind, quick multiplayer action once the traditional launch week issues subsided, and at the time, I had a fairly big group of friends playing. So I could log in at any time of day and have 1 or 2 squad mates to chat with as we were 360 noscoped by players half my age.
At some point, many of those people drifted away. And I found myself spending a lot of time in other shooters, including Overwatch and Apex Legends. Having skipped a few of the most recent titles, I dipped back into Modern Warfare 3, and then hit Black Ops 6 hard at launch. But after multiple Prestige resets, I’ve found it increasingly frustrating, for a few different reasons.
The vagaries of different internet connections has always been a problem for online gaming. But in older titles, the maps allowed you to compensate for a high ping rate with tactical knowledge. Over time, it appears Activision saw people enjoying the occasional map on Nuketown, and instructed developers to copy it over, and over again. So now you get Nuketown, Babylon, Subsonic, Gala, Stakeout etc all endlessly pitting you against enemies in locations the size of a postage stamp, relying entirely on your reactions.
Add the ever more stingy season pass, the focus on an endless succession of paid DLC skins, the fact that a match often loads me in 30 seconds after the start for no apparent reason, only to find we’re already being spawn camped, dodgy repawn locations, and the fact tiny maps mean spawn flipping every 30 seconds, and I’ve found myself raging at the game, and other players, more than ever.
I still find a few friends playing, which alleviates some of the pain. And helps me to cope with a seemingly larger than ever amount of cheaters, or edgy usernames designed entirely to cause offence. But a lot of the old crowd have drifted away, and the chances of having a pleasant social experience as a random solo Call of Duty player is slightly lower than that of winning a lottery without buing a ticket.
But while the likes of Apex and Overwatch suffer similar issues to a greater or lesser extent, there’s a shooter genre which answers the needs of an older FPS fan who wants to enjoy a headshot without having lightning fast teenage reactions, and maybe enjoys some teamwork and socialising as part of a match.
Luckily, there’s an easy solution. Whether you call them tactical shooters, milsims, or FPS for old men, there’s been a big growth in the genre over recent years. And they all have an emphasis on more patience, thought and communication. So I’ve picked out a few examples from my own personal experience.
Just be prepared that matches can last a long time compared to your typical Call of Duty Team Deathmatch.
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam (PC)
Originally released in 2017 by Antimatter Games and Tripwire Interactive, the game is showing signs of age, and a lower player base. But it has received two quality of life updates in the past couple of months to improve server connectivity and some other minor niggles. And at a normal price of £10.99, it’s regularly for much less, or even for free, during various promotions.
It’s the simplest experience closest to CoD or Battlefield, but the 64 player battles ease you into more tactical fighting with suqad leaders activing as spawn locations, or able to place spawn tunnels, and abilities for the commander of each force to call in various abilities to aid their side. Along with the Southern forces getting flyable helicopters.
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam might be not be the latest or best tactical shooter. But as the bridge between Call of Duty and military simulators, it offers a simplistic taster of what’s out there beyond CoD and Battlefield.
Hell Let Loose (PC, Consoles), Squad 44 (PC)
The next level of tactical military sim takes things further, with two attempts to authentically recreate the experience of World War 2. Both have changed hands since launch, with Hell Let Loose being acquired by Team 17 after being created by Black Matter, and Squad 44 more recently being acquired by Offworld Industries after previously being developed as Post Scriptum, a mod for the contemporary themed Offworld title Squad.
Both series have their dedicated fanbases, along with some players who dare to move between them. In either case, you get massive battles of 80 or 100 players, involving tanks, artillery, authentic weapons and roles, requiring people to take on specific roles within each army. Along with commanders and squad leaders, you might choose to contribute as a medic or engineer, drive a supply truck, or stay behind the front lines firing heavy weapons at targets you can’t see.
There are difference between both games, and the individual servers organised by clans and players. But essentially they both put a premium on communication throughout the officers and individual squads to co-ordinate successful attacks and defenses. Voice chat is deemed essential in most servers, whether you’re roleplaying a serious re-enactment, or sharing typical banter between important messages about an incoming tank, or a badly thrown grenade.
Being available through GamePass, I’ve spent more time in Hell Let Loose, and I’ve never randomly encountered so many older games beyond 30, who typically want to just enjoy themselves in a semi-serious fashion. Or been quite so upset to see a new friend explode mid-conversation, even if I know they’ll be respawning shortly.
Imagine being thanked for spending most of a match building defences as an engineer to enable your side to successfully hold a vital position, as opposed to being shouted down as a ‘noob’ when your CoD team looses despite being the only one apparently even trying to play the objective. Or changing the tide of an entire game by sneaking a spawn point far behind enemy lines as other offices cheer you on.
Arma 3 (PC), Squad (PC)
If you want the most realistic and immersive experience of modern warfare on your PC without actually enlisting as a drone pilot, then there’s Squad, involving building, logistics and more. Or the milsim daddy from Boehmia Interactive, Arma, which gives you a 290 kilometre squad Mediterranean island to use as a military sandbox.
Jets, helicopters, tanks, a playable humanitarian faction demining the battlefields, mod content, and more all combine to make this the game most likely to drop you into a squad of serving members of the military spending some downtime in virtual combat. Just be prepared to learn the game and also to serve some time as a recruit in a group or server before you’re accepted.
There’s a First Person Shooter for everyone
If you love the Call of Duty experience, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s still fun and compulsive, especially if you can’t help grinding out Diamond or Black Matter camos for every weapon. But given that the relentless annual formula for the game is never going to change, if you’re finding yourself tired or frustrated, it might be time to try something different.
That could be Battlefield, Apex, Overwatch, The Finals, or an entirely different genre of game. But it could definitely be worth trying out a mil sim tactical shooter to see if it suits you more.
