GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One vs Call of Duty: Ghosts

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is an FPS game from Treyarch (2005) while Call of Duty: Ghosts is an FPS horror game from Infinity Ward (2014).

Quick answer: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One has the higher Metacritic, 78 to 68.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

2005 · Treyarch

78Metacritic

Call of Duty: Ghosts

2014 · Infinity Ward

6.3GamingPickz Score

$39.99

Steam: Mixed

What each one is

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is filed under FPS. In contrast, Call of Duty: Ghosts under FPS and Horror.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is a side-story of the original game Call of Duty 2, which was released on PC and Xbox 360. Both were released in 2005.

Description from Wikipedia

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Outnumbered and outgunned, but not outmatched.Call of Duty®: Ghosts is an extraordinary step forward for one of the largest entertainment franchises of all-time. This new chapter in the Call of Duty® franchise features a new dynamic where players are on the side of a crippled nation fighting not for freedom, or liberty, but simply to...

Description from its Steam store page

Story, characters and reception

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
Reception

Reception According to review aggregator Metacritic , the game received "generally favorable" reviews from critics. During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , the Academy of Interactive Arts Sciences awarded Big Red One with the " Outstanding Achievement in Story and Character Development " award. The PlayStation 2 version of Big Red One received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association… (Wikipedia)

Call of Duty: Ghosts
Plot

Campaign Sometime before the events of the game, a conflict in the Middle East devastated the region, destroying several oil fields that resulted in a global energy crisis. Many oil-producing countries in South America formed the Federation of the Americas, a military dictatorship , which then annexed all its remaining countries in the continent before invading Central America , the Caribbean , and Mexico . In 2018, U. (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception Critical response Call of Duty: Ghosts received both "mixed or average" and "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic . IGN praised the sequel for introducing "sweeping changes that breathe new life into the multiplayer experience" and called the campaign "lengthy, challenging, and varied". GameSpot went even further regarding the campaign, calling it "impressive" and "a terrific collection of shootouts… (Wikipedia)

At a glance

Call of Duty 2: Big Red OneCall of Duty: Ghosts
GamingPickz Score—6.3/10
Steam rating—Mixed (66%, 32,019)
Critic aggregate78/10068/100
PriceUnknown$39.99
Install size——
Steam DeckUntestedplayable
Released20052014
DeveloperTreyarchInfinity Ward

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One vs Call of Duty: Ghosts, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Call of Duty 2: Big Red OneFPS game
    Call of Duty: GhostsFPS horror game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Call of Duty 2: Big Red OneNo descriptive tags
    Call of Duty: GhostsDog, FPS, Action

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Call of Duty 2: Big Red One ✓Metacritic 78
    Call of Duty: GhostsMetacritic 68

    Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.

  4. Content and scale

    Call of Duty 2: Big Red One—
    Call of Duty: Ghosts32,019 reviews · 51 add-ons

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Call of Duty 2: Big Red OneUnknown
    Call of Duty: Ghosts$39.99

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The better reviewed of the two: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (Metacritic 78)

Where they differ

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is also

Call of Duty: Ghosts is also

DogFPSActionMultiplayerShooterFirst-Person

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Call of Duty: Ghosts is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and 1 for Call of Duty: Ghosts. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

If you like one, also try

Common questions

How different are Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and Call of Duty: Ghosts in scope?

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One lists little scope data. Call of Duty: Ghosts has drawn 32,019 Steam reviews and ships 51 add-ons.

Is Call of Duty 2: Big Red One or Call of Duty: Ghosts better?

Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.

Which is cheaper, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One or Call of Duty: Ghosts?

One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.

Should I get Call of Duty 2: Big Red One or Call of Duty: Ghosts?

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One has the higher Metacritic, 78 to 68. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

All comparisons

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

More on each