In the bracket of least expected news today is the frankly bizarre word on the street that original gangster from tha’ hood, West Coast rapper, stoner and general media presence Snoop Dogg has done voice over work to replace the default ‘commander’ voice over inCall of Duty: Ghosts.
It’s either ingenious or ridiculous, or perhaps a mixture of the two. It’s set to be released alongside a slew of personalisation packs including new gun skins (there’s a marijuana-leaf gun skin pack called…”Blunt Force”. Really.), soldier skins and so on. This news, sure to cause somechronic eyebrow shuffling, somewhat epitomises the absurdity of microtransactions. It’s also a dangerous indicator: these things wouldn’t be getting a release unless there was a guaranteed market for them, and whilst I’m sure there is such a market it’s a sad marker of the times that a company will so blatantly and shamelessly exploit the impulse purchasing power of the great, stoned unwashed in exchange for such flimsy content. When gun skins represented something like a badge of honour for highly skilled play or many hours logged, that meant something. Now thanks to their monetisation they’re just another drop in the ever hungering cash-sinkhole that Activision has become.
The personalisation packs are due to land on 22nd April, voice packs at a price of $2.99, the “Soap Legend” and “Squad Pack – Extinction” content packs selling at $3.99, “Classic Ghost” skin at $1.99 and the various gun skin packs, including new reticles, themed camo, patches, playercards and background also at a $1.99 price point. For more details see theofficial Call of Duty community page.
The Snoop Dogg voice pack will undoubtedly be of some amusement, as will the R. Lee Erney “Drill Instructor” voice pack (that’s Full Metal Jacket’s drill-instructor Hartman for any new recruits out there), though one can hardly help but wonder whatexactly the folks over at Infinity Ward and Activision have been smoking…
And where we can get some.
