Call of Duty has had a steady downfall since Modern Warfare 3. Ghosts was a great change for the series, but it just wasn’t enough. Advanced Warfare is the first CoD game to be developed outside of Treyarch and Infinity Ward and this is probably one of the best things for the series. The fact that Advanced Warfare is completely fictional and original is a good change as well.
You play as Mitchell, a soldier who is working for a private military company called Atlas. Atlas is bigger and better funded than the entire US military thus they also have more power. I love the way the pace of the story is and the characters are actually pretty likable and memorable. Gideon is a tough Brit who you grow to like and is actually my favorite of all the characters. The story is all about stopping a bad guy named Hades who nuked parts of the world years ago. However, the good part is that the story takes a huge turn when you go after Atlas’ founder for reasons I won’t say to avoid spoilers.
With the story being solid (probably the only good story in the CoD series) the gameplay holds up well. Yes, it still feels like CoD, but it’s a bit different. The guns have more weight and feel better despite being completely fictional and futuristic. The weapons are based on real-world weapons but with a twist. There are some really awesome new attachments and features. The new grenade feature is amazing. Your tactical grenade allows you to switch from EMP, Threat, and various other types. The threat grenade is my favorite as it lights all the enemies up red for a short time. There’s also a threat detector attachment for guns that lights enemies up red when you have your reticle over them. The lethal grenade can switch from Frag, Smart, and various others. The smart grenade is my favorite as it shoots into the air and homes in on the closest enemy. These features may seem subtle but they fit the futuristic universe and advance the traditional CoD gameplay quite a bit.
A second major feature is the ExoSuit. There are three abilities that you can have such as a jump pack, stim pack, a temporary shield, grapple, and various other features. Rolling this over into multiplayer is a blast and really changes things up forcing you to forgo your CoD multiplayer routine and traditions.
The multiplayer suite is great and the customization is even deeper than Ghosts. Choosing your gender, clothing, and even a different face is a step up for the series. The weapon customization is extremely in depth allowing you to hand tailor your perfect CoD loadouts with various attachments, perks, weapons, and weapon paint. While the basic CoD suite is still here and hasn’t changed much, the added features of Advanced Warfare pretty much change the entire thing for the better.
Lastly, the graphics are absolutely fantastic on next-gen systems and PC. The character models are gorgeous, the animations are beautiful, and lighting is some of the best you will see this year. High-res textures and amazing sound keep you engulfed and trekking on. CoD had always been something to laugh at graphically due to the previous consoles aging, but now the series has one of the most advanced graphics engines available.
With all that said, Advanced Warfare is a great departure from the tired formula and anyone who has been holding out should jump in now. It washes out the foul taste of the stigma that the series has created for itself and the FPS genre as a whole.
You play as Mitchell, a soldier who is working for a private military company called Atlas. Atlas is bigger and better funded than the entire US military thus they also have more power. I love the way the pace of the story is and the characters are actually pretty likable and memorable. Gideon is a tough Brit who you grow to like and is actually my favorite of all the characters. The story is all about stopping a bad guy named Hades who nuked parts of the world years ago. However, the good part is that the story takes a huge turn when you go after Atlas’ founder for reasons I won’t say to avoid spoilers.
With the story being solid (probably the only good story in the CoD series) the gameplay holds up well. Yes, it still feels like CoD, but it’s a bit different. The guns have more weight and feel better despite being completely fictional and futuristic. The weapons are based on real-world weapons but with a twist. There are some really awesome new attachments and features. The new grenade feature is amazing. Your tactical grenade allows you to switch from EMP, Threat, and various other types. The threat grenade is my favorite as it lights all the enemies up red for a short time. There’s also a threat detector attachment for guns that lights enemies up red when you have your reticle over them. The lethal grenade can switch from Frag, Smart, and various others. The smart grenade is my favorite as it shoots into the air and homes in on the closest enemy. These features may seem subtle but they fit the futuristic universe and advance the traditional CoD gameplay quite a bit.
A second major feature is the ExoSuit. There are three abilities that you can have such as a jump pack, stim pack, a temporary shield, grapple, and various other features. Rolling this over into multiplayer is a blast and really changes things up forcing you to forgo your CoD multiplayer routine and traditions.
The multiplayer suite is great and the customization is even deeper than Ghosts. Choosing your gender, clothing, and even a different face is a step up for the series. The weapon customization is extremely in depth allowing you to hand tailor your perfect CoD loadouts with various attachments, perks, weapons, and weapon paint. While the basic CoD suite is still here and hasn’t changed much, the added features of Advanced Warfare pretty much change the entire thing for the better.
Lastly, the graphics are absolutely fantastic on next-gen systems and PC. The character models are gorgeous, the animations are beautiful, and lighting is some of the best you will see this year. High-res textures and amazing sound keep you engulfed and trekking on. CoD had always been something to laugh at graphically due to the previous consoles aging, but now the series has one of the most advanced graphics engines available.
With all that said, Advanced Warfare is a great departure from the tired formula and anyone who has been holding out should jump in now. It washes out the foul taste of the stigma that the series has created for itself and the FPS genre as a whole.