Watching the computer-animated likeness of actor Kevin Spacey saunter across my computer monitor in all his charismatic glory was enough to assure me that developer Sledgehammer Games had really gone above and beyond what was necessary to reinvigorate the Call of Duty (COD) franchise with Activision’s newest installment, “Advanced Warfare.”
Although in the past I haven’t been overly fond of COD’s single-player campaign, upon jumping into the combat boots of Private Jack Mitchell (Troy Baker), I knew that I was in for a white-knuckled, sweaty-palmed, explosion-filled joyride that would make even director Michael Bay green with envy.
“Advanced Warfare” is a hard-hitting game, and not just because of the bullets whizzing by your head or the grenades going off at your feet. The narrative tackles topics and themes such as weapons of mass destruction and the growth of private militaries that seem ripped from the headlines of contemporary news.
Without spoiling any major plot points, the game’s campaign spans the course of several years as we play as Private Mitchell, who is discharged from active duty after sustaining a serious injury. Mitchell is soon noticed by Spacey’s character Jonathan Irons, the CEO of Atlas Corporation — the world’s most influential private military contractor. After joining Atlas, Mitchell is tasked with bringing down a terrorist group known as KVA. However, the threat of the terrorist group pales in comparison to the introduction of a biochemical weapon codenamed Manticore that is capable of infecting the world’s major cities.
The cutscenes that help move the story along are second to none. Each hair follicle, pore and blemish is rendered in exquisite detail, and the dynamic emotions that accompany the atrocities of combat are clearly defined on the character’s faces. There is more attention paid to character development here than in past games, resulting in characters that I really got to know and sympathize with.
Visually the game is stunning. I played it on the Xbox One and was awed by the attention to detail in the textures and the realism of the lighting. The sound design is also impressive, with futuristic weapons sounding menacing and realistic environment sounds adding to the game’s immersion.
The way in which the game really leaves a lasting impression is with the mission structure, which is both grandiose and subtle. The game’s large set pieces invite impressive car chases, the ability to pilot gunner drones and landscape-altering gun battles. To balance some of the more run-and-gun moments, the game offers players several missions where stealth is the key to success. Inching through enemy compounds under the cover of night or attempting to avoid detection in hostile territory has never felt more satisfying in a Call of Duty game. Unfortunately, some mission elements, such as playable exposition and follow-the-leader tutorials could have been trimmed out.
Easily the biggest departure from tradition in “Advanced Warfare” is the frantic multiplayer. To compete with games such as Titanfall, developers introduced player exosuits. These exosuits, which are also featured in the campaign, come equipped with several default abilities including a boost jump, boost dodge and dash features. When combined, these abilities can enable your character to clamber to the high ground in an instant only to dash down to the ground to body-slam an unsuspecting enemy. Thankfully, these new movement mechanics feel finely tuned and, once accustomed to, will enable players to move around the map with purpose and ease.
Speaking of maps, the design and layout here is some of the best that developers have blessed the COD franchise with in quite some time. Gone are the gargantuan maps of the previous installment, replaced instead with small-to-medium-sized maps that expertly fuse different levels of structure height with long, narrow sight lines and circular flow designed to funnel gamers toward the center.
Competitive Call of Duty player Carson Noordyke, when asked his thoughts on “Advanced Warfare,” said that “gamers in the Call of Duty community often complain that the installments are often repetitive. The community wants change and I think that ‘Advanced Warfare’ brought that needed change while still managing to keep the game familiar to the veteran players.”
“Advanced Warfare” certainly offers the evolution that COD so desperately needs. Hopefully this evolution will continue long into the series’s future.
