Are Game Devs Getting Lazy?

Computerandvideogames.com published an article today talking about the upcoming new game in the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Ghosts.

After reading the article, the following question came to mind: "Are game developers and designers getting lazy?"

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy FPS war games as much as the next bloke, but I can't help but notice how similar they all are - especially in long running series like Call of Duty and Modern Warfare. The story lines often feel as though they are tacked on afterthoughts, put there only to very loosely tie the events together. This results in the game feeling shallow as though the designers just wanted a game in which you go from checkpoint to checkpoint killing everything that gets in your way.

"The game is said to be set in the future, but a major plot event forces the characters to use modern day weaponry."

Part of me wants to give Infinity Ward the benefit of the doubt here. I'm not a professional game critic and thus haven't seen any game play or information other than what can found on the internet about this game. Saying that, the above quote from the CVG article makes me think that the reason they've made this "major plot event" is because they couldn't be bothered to design and code new weapons, opting instead to just reuse the weapons and code from previous games.

If they're going to do that, why not go all the way and force the characters to use World War 1 or 2 weaponry or, even better, American Civil War era weaponry (i.e. muskets, muzzle loaders and flintlocks)? Do something unexpected; keep the series fresh.

Will I buy this game, despite my apprehensions? Probably, but I won't pay full price for it, instead waiting until it goes on sale or is available cheaply pre-owned. Unless of course, Infinity Ward makes this game really stand out from the rest.