[rwp-review id=”0″]
I understand that this review comes in at least a week and a half later than most reviews, but I’ve been in between moving houses and fighting a debilitating curse of Laryngitis. FUN. Anyway, here we go:
The Call of Duty franchise is well milked – gamers love it and they also love to hate it. The franchise has ties both to the most extreme gamers as well as the most casual of gamers. With the launch of Sledgehammer’s Advanced Warfare, the franchise sees a full reboot and has gone to great lengths to reinvigorate what had become a boring franchise.
Set in 2054, the story chronicles the journey of former Marine Mitchell, voiced by Troy Baker, as he transitions from losing an arm and his best friend in the front lines of a war with North Korea, to a highly trained Atlas operative, now with a prosthetic arm. The Atlas Corporation is the name of the world’s largest private military corporation, helmed by Jonathan Irons (voiced and acted by Kevin Spacey) whose son happened to be Mitchell’s dead bestie.
Visually, AW is a proper treat; the voice acting and cut-scenes are top shelf with Irons, Mitchell and the rest of the cast brought to life with some of the best character models and animations I’ve ever seen in a video game. Everything from individual hair strands to freckles and sweat are all present in glorious detail. Mitchell is clearly damaged both mentally and physically from his experiences in North Korea, dealing with the loss of his arm and best friend, yet unquestionably dangerous and loyal. Jonathan Irons’ character reverberates resolve and confidence, brilliantly portraying a powerful man dealing with the loss of his son with unwavering dedication to making things right.
The depiction of Seoul and New Baghdad in 2054 are also so well thought out, that it makes you want to hop into an airplane and visit; the Arabic in New Baghdad was also perfect, as opposed to Call of Duty Ghosts and Black Ops 2, where the Arabic was often wrong or not even Arabic. The game itself offers an Arabic language option when it starts, which makes it locally ‘cool’.
– Ye be warned; ahead be spoilers –
What the campaign mode lacks however is depth; where the game is aesthetically phenomenal and the storyline intriguing, it lacks anything ‘new.’ The long-standing plot of the father-figure turning out to be the baddie is boring and oft-repeated. We saw it in Modern Warfare 2 already and in Advanced Warfare, you know that Kevin Spacey isn’t there to be plain ‘ol good guy. Right off the bat, you know that he’s going to turn on you and the Atlas Corporation needs to be taken down. So while the story is predictable, it manages to keep you generally entertained, even though you’ve figured out how it ends right when the game starts.
Where Advanced Warfare really is different from its predecessors is the multiplayer mode. Turns out, adding exo-abilities to the mix of what was already a fast-paced (yet repeated) gameplay is everything they needed to do to really turn things around. The basic exo-ability of boost-jumping, boost-dodging and boost-slamming make a world of difference to both the playability of your character and the maps in which you play. Firstly, boost related abilities mean crossing open territory or moving through a tricky corridor is shorter and faster. Boost-dodging also means lesser chances of certain death; previously if you were being fired at from behind, you’re done for. With boost-dodge, you can now boost into cover or mount a wall to safety. The use of close-quarter weapons like shotguns, combat knives or akimbo SMGs make more sense now, because no matter how far your opponent is, it’s not hard to close ground and get close. Boosting towards a sniper is a sure way to ensure that you’re the one walking away from that confrontation.
Secondly, in all previous iterations of COD, most multiplayer maps were single or double level, accessed by a staircase or ladder. With exo-abilities, you now have added verticality to all maps, which is a stark change in gameplay for experienced COD players. Death comes, literally, from any direction and knowing what’s over and under you is now just as important as knowing what’s behind you.
The biggest strength of the multiplayer is also its biggest weakness –the tendency to overuse your exo-abilities has more often than not resulted in frags. Boost-jumping or dodging unnecessarily, propelling you right into an opponent’s line of fire is not uncommon. Even something as simple as trying to cover ground quick when reaching a choke point means you’re mid-air or mid-dodge when you get there and notice that an opponent is already waiting. You would have been better off (and alive) having gotten there with an old-fashioned sprint, but you fell to the temptation of your exo and it cost you dearly.
Other than these main changes, the multiplayer is still essentially the same. Unlock weapons as you rack up XP points, unlock accessories with kills. The inclusion of supply drops that give you custom characterization items and weapons are nifty; they allow you to customize your loadout and character with rare, unique and elite items. Supply drops are earned through leveling up and completing tasks.
Overall Call of Duty Advanced Warfare ticks all the right boxes – it’s fast paced and exciting enough for your casual gamer and different enough for your hardened FPS veteran. The only thing that sticks out is Activision’s refusal to share the sales figures for it. It started off with them smoke-screening the sales figures of Ghosts and has now extended it to Advanced Warfare. It’s possible that while COD:AW has broken sales records this year, it’s probably not done better than Ghosts, which at the time, pay not have done as well as Black Ops 2. I guess we’ll know when we know.
