Call of Duty: Ghosts' Blitz mode caffeinates Capture the Flag

Playing a first-person shooter with a horde of strangers in a noisy trade show party is never ideal, but the fundamentals of Call of Duty: Ghosts' new multiplayer mode, Blitz, are pretty easy to grasp. Two opposing teams are dropped onto a map. There are two capture points on the map, one in each team's base. The goal is simple: Each team must capture the opposing control point while simultaneously protecting their own. The first team to 15 captures wins.

But there's a twist: The instant a player steps into an enemy control point, they are immediately teleported back to their base. You don't have to hold the control point for even a second. There's no flag to carry back to your base. The score tally just ticks up instantaneously and then you're right back in your own base, ready to defend it. Basically, Blitz is capture the flag on amphetamines, an adaptation of the classic game type for the twitchy, split-second confrontations we've come to expect from Call of Duty.

The map I played on was small, a dusty and dilapidated setting. You could cross the whole thing in seconds, and rushing the control point is certainly tempting – until you remember that it only takes fractions of a second to die in Call of Duty. Furthermore, rushing leaves your own base undefended and, since captures are instantaneous, there's no room for error. You can't hurry to score and hope you get back in time to defend your base.

Again, playing with a group of strangers isn't ideal. Given Blitz's breakneck speed, I'm sure that having a communicative team would be a big plus. Coordinating the balance between attack and defense is key, because one misstep means a score (or several) for the opposing team. On such a small map, with several vantage points to gun runners down – and plenty of attack dogs running around – things get very hectic, very quickly.

I could see how some players might find Blitz to be too fast-paced. It doesn't require the patience or persistence of a game like capture the flag or more traditional control point modes, but if you're in the mood for something quick, it certainly does the trick. Just be ready to think on your feet.