Campaign
by Joseph KnoopIt’s long been my belief that no intelligent gamer buys a Call of Duty game solely for its single-player mode, certainly not since the days of the original Modern Warfare. Though recent titles like the Black Ops series and Ghosts have fluctuated in terms of originality, developer Sledgehammer Games seems poised to breathe life into the old dog of war.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Advanced Warfare’s campaign mode is a highly linear, action-packed ride, complete with all the moments that have become standard for the series that keep it from becoming truly perfect. The only thing that surprises is just how well it all comes together, despite being one more branch ripped off the stupid tree.
Set roughly 40-something years in the future, you play as Private Jack Mitchell (voiced by Troy Baker), a member of the U.S. Marine Corps as U.S. forces attempt to retake the city of Seoul from North Korean forces. After losing his friend Will Irons in the heat of battle, Mitchell loses his arm and is discharged from the military only to be offered a second chance at Atlas, an international private military corporation owned by Will’s father, Jonathan Irons, played by Kevin Spacey.
Without a doubt, Spacey is the star of the show, and it’s a delight to see him command every single scene he inhabits. This all results in him overpowering the rest of the cast, including Troy Baker, who’s been relegated to wallpaper by the script. You stop insurgents in African cities, ride a hoverbike through a refugee camps of a ruined Detroit, and exact all sorts of assaults on enemy bases with the help of a controllable mech suit. Of particular note is one of the series’ strongest depictions of female soldier Illona, a former Spetsnaz agent and current ally in Atlas. It won’t shatter any ground in gender politics, but it’s great to see such a male-dominated space feature a strong, independent character more than capable of holding her own.--
The real game changer lies in Advanced Warfare’s newest tool, the Exosuit. Designed to give its wearer inhuman strength and reflexes, the Exosuit can be used to jump to previously unreachable heights and react more efficiently to any battlefield threat. It’s an obvious play on Titanfall’s pilot mechanics, albeit a much less impressive one, as you won’t be sliding along any walls or leaping atop a massive mech. Advanced Warfare focuses on assault-based upgrades more than anything else, including the ability to slow down time, regenerate health in the midst of a firefight, and detonate a percussive blast that temporarily inhibits enemies. Don’t get your hopes up however, as each mission has its own set list of abilities, and more often than not it heavily encourages you to use them in specific sections.
To be quite honest, it’s entirely possible to get through most of the campaign without using your abilities, rendering them relatively superfluous. Enemy soldiers will capitalize on their own Exosuits to leap atop trucks and across rooftops, but again this seems like a predetermined series of actions as opposed to good A.I. that’s making use of its tools and the playground it inhabits.
Notable additions include the use of smart grenades that lock in and fly towards specific enemies or locations. A threat grenade coats enemies in bright neon light, allowing you to track them through cover. EMP grenades will save you the trouble of dealing with numerous flying drones and enemy mech suits, though they’re useless elsewhere.
If you’re wondering whether Sledgehammer Games has managed to make as mediocre a product as Ghosts, rest assured that Advanced Warfare is by far more thrilling. You’re not just expected to believe the soldiers are the most badass warriors around, they prove it by performing superhuman feats of battle prowess, and they do it with something close to personality.
Advanced Warfare manages a surprisingly difficult task: reinvigorating the fun in a Call of Duty campaign. Much like any Call of Duty, it won’t change anyone’s mind on the series or inject a sense of uniqueness into the franchise, but it will hold your attention long enough and strong enough to remain memorable, at least until the next game.
Multiplayer and Co-op
by Lucas Schmidt
As the ten-ton gorilla of the multiplayer shooter genre, Call of Duty has the annual task of trying to mix up its tried and true formula while still producing a well-balanced game. There’s the usual batch of new weapons, perks, and scorestreaks alongside the slew of maps, all of which are more enjoyable than recent entries in the series.
What sets Advanced Warfare apart from past entries is its bountiful list of game modes and the additions of basic mechanics that speed up gameplay and add more verticality.
Classic game modes like Domination and Search and Destroy are back, but it’s the new modes Uplink and Momentum that steal the show. Uplink plays similar to a game of basketball where two teams attempt to score a neutral ball in the opposing teams base. Momentum keeps players focused around a single objective at a time as teams play tug of war with capture points. They’re excellent additions to the typical lineup that I found myself playing during most of my time.
All players are equipped with Exosuits, mechanical exoskeletons that give you improved mobility and a new range of abilities. The added mobility of double jumps and boosts increase the speed of gameplay a bit, but more importantly it adds new ways to traverse maps. The additional verticality adds new strategies for completing objectives and for fighting enemies. It’s not a huge shift in gameplay, but it’s a welcome addition to a series that struggles to improve itself every year.
The Exosuit abilities available in “create a class” however don’t fare as well. There are several options but only a few actually feel useful. Since it’s all part of the “pick 13” system, I found myself usually opting to use an extra perk or weapon attachment instead.
Creating a class is more flexible than it’s ever been. The effects of scorestreaks can be customized, and weapons have a large multitude of available attachments. The most interesting additions are the periodic supply drops. You’re given one every few matches, awarding you with alternate versions of weapons and appearance options for your soldier, such as helmets and Exosuits.
The maps of multiplayer can often make or break a Call of Duty game, so it’s a great relief to know that Advanced Warfare’s maps aren’t as bad as previous entries. They’re clearly built to support the added mobility of Exosuits as you’ll see players leaping over walls and hopping from one rooftop to another. Acquiring the high ground has never been so important, but has also never made you so vulnerable when doing so.
The only complaint is that they could have been a bit more expansive. Balancing map size ensures that players get back into the action as quickly as possible, but unfortunately you’ll find yourself being killed instantly after respawning at times as your team’s base will surely be surrounded by enemies on more than one occasion.
With so many recent entries in the series failing to rise up to the quality of older ones, Advanced Warfare finally gives fans lots of new mechanics to play with, while managing to maintain the core experience. It’s not on par with either of the first two Modern Warfare’s, but it is certainly the most enjoyable and unique multiplayer experience from the franchise in the last few years.
