Crossovers took over the world of video games. In recent years it has become incredibly common to see characters from multiple games, movies, comics, anime and even television series in a single title. Although they were not the first, Smash Bros. y Fortnite opened the doors to this trend that became so popular that even arcade games Call of Duty They welcome more and more franchise characters that have nothing to do with military combat, lending themselves to truly absurd collaborations.
Why don’t these collaborations work well in Call of Duty?
Fortnite created a varied and colorful universe in which the presence of any type of character, regardless of their style or where they come from, fits with its world. He even found a way to explain his collaborations in his ‘lore’. But that doesn’t happen in Activision’s war action games. While all the characters remain graphically realistic, there are more and more designs that look ridiculous in their serious military setting, including cat-headed soldiers, technological abominations, and monsters.
But nothing is so out of place Call of Duty like the collaborations that their games have had in recent years. Although some of them fit in some way with the setting —Judge Dredd y Lara Croft You don’t see such strange people dealing bullets in the ruins of a Soviet city—there are others that make others feel sad. We still don’t understand why giant robots Gundam They are going to appear in season 4 of the game.
The problem of Call of Duty —which honestly shouldn’t be a problem— is that it has remained faithful to its realistic or at least semi-realistic military aesthetic, which it only breaks in special events or for its zombie mode
As an example we have the ‘Operation Monarch’ event held in 2022 as part of the collaboration with Godzilla vs Kong. This put the two ‘titans in ‘kaiju’ on the combat field, adding interesting situations to the games.
Not only that, but the character skins were not Kong, Godzilla or Mechagodzilla, but operator outfits inspired by them with a military touch. That made them fit much better with the atmosphere of the game…
OKAY. The gorilla mask is too exaggerated. But it could have been worse.
In our always humble opinion, these are the 10 most absurd collaborations we have seen in gaming games. Call of Duty.
10. Nicki Minaj
There are several real people turned into characters of Call of Duty: basketball player Kevin Durant, rappers Snoop Dogg and 21 Savage, and ‘streamers’ like Nickmercs (although the latter was removed after making homophobic comments). But none of them were so out of tune Call of Duty Like Nicki Minaj.
This has absolutely nothing to do with whether she is a woman, but rather with the style of her skin in the game. The flashiness of her costumes is ridiculous in a military shooter. The Barbz is more than welcome in CoDbut we’ve seen her in outfits that would have made more sense here.
9. Alucard, from Hellsing
The first of the collaborations of Call of Duty with a ‘manga’ and ‘anime’ on this list really baffled us. What is the most powerful vampire in the world, a being capable of turning into darkness itself, doing participating in a shootout in the middle of a Pacific island?
As if that were not enough, his wide hat and red trench coat could not have looked more out of place on the battlefield. His face is also too different from the style of the other operators in the game.
8. Destroyer, of Ninja Turtles
There are original Asian operators of Call of Duty They have something of a ninja or samurai style in their outfits that may be exaggerated, but even they are not as out of place as our beloved ‘Shredder’.
His exaggerated helmet stands out too much, but at least this was the TMNT character they included and not the turtles. It’s already absurd enough to see Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michaelangelo running around with cartoonish firearms in Fortnite
7. Ghostface, by Scream
This was one of the first collaborations in the saga Call of Duty with another franchise and the one that opened this Pandora’s box.
Imagine you’re a soldier on a battlefield and out of nowhere comes some moron dressed as death, firing a shotgun and probably yelling “Wazzuuuuuup.” How far has the once honorable business of war degenerated?
6. Armored Titan, from Shingeki No Kyojin
There is a Levi skin Shingeki No Kyojin in Call of Duty who drew criticism for how little he resembled the character from the ‘anime’ and ‘manga’. But at least he looks “natural” in the game and his uniform already has a military style. On the other hand…
How do we justify the Armored Titan becoming small and picking up a gun to fight on Rebirth Island?
5. Skeletor, the Masters of the Universe
Skeletor is a beloved character from the childhood of many millennials and GenX who play today Call of Dutyso it’s understandable that they wanted to put it in the game… but it couldn’t be more absurd.
There are already enough characters with skull masks in Call of Duty to think that He-Man’s archenemy is not going to feel out of his element, but his design is too “campy” for this game. His personality too.
4. Lilith, de Diablo IV
We know Activision wants to show off that it has its grip on Blizzard, but putting the mother of demons in a military game isn’t the best way to do it.
Lilith is probably the “least military” style character possible. Also, seeing her with a firearm in her hands somehow makes her look less imposing.
3. Lionel Messi
We already talked about other real people who appear in Call of Duty, but they are Americans and rappers who in some way—sometimes problematic—we associate with guns. What the hell is a Latin American soccer player doing there?
Messi is not the only footballer who had a ‘skin’ in the game (specifically in Call of Duty: Mobile), but among them it is the one that most clashes. Poor flea.
2. Cheech y Chong
How old are we gamers? Call of Duty? The comedy duo of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong reached the peak of their popularity in the 70s! But just because they are “old” is not the reason they are on this list.
Cheech and Chong are pacifist weed-loving hippies. Seeing them with guns in their hands is just wrong. It is unacceptable.
1. Frank, de Donnie Darko
Why do you have that stupid rabbit costume?
In the cult movie Donnie Darko, Frank represents the inevitability of destiny and the fear we feel as we head towards a tragedy that we know but cannot avoid. Beyond that, he serves as a vehicle for sci-fi elements like metaphysical time travel.
Of course, the best use of this character is to have him shoot with a sniper rifle.
For you, what are the best and worst collaborations or crossovers you have had? Call of Duty in its history? We look forward to his comments.
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