After Call of Duty: Ghosts saw sales drop and gamers starting to become frustrated with what must be described as patchy game-play, and of course the dreaded bomb glitch, the newest addition to the franchise had to bring something new and exciting that would keep players interested. We bring you the RoundReviews Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare review.
Advanced Warfare is set in the 2050s which means there’ll be no more of your standard running around and shooting. Your soldier is equipped with an exo-skeleton which allows you to double jump and also power shift left, right and backwards giving you the ability to literally dodge bullets. Rest assured there is no shortage of holographic displays and shiny new technology throughout the game for your enjoyment.
Single Player
You may be one of the players which jump straight into the multiplayer games and don’t take a second look at the single player campaign mode. If this sounds like you, I highly suggest you give it a go!
Advanced Warfare’s story consists of 15 campaign missions, the start of which is brilliant. You’ll be shown lots of new gear, weaponry and equipment which you’ll get the chance to use throughout the missions. Right away you’re thrown into a combat situation, just like most Call of Duty games, where for the first time you’ll see the strength of the exo-suit.
There’re 3 different types of exo-suit which you’ll find yourself wearing throughout the campaign missions. The first of which is the assault exo-suit. This allows you to double jump, while later on in the story it’ll also be fitted with a grappling hook. Next you have the specialist exo-suit – this will equip you with a portable riot shield, overdrive ability which slows time and an instant health recharging ability. Last of all is the heavy loadout which you should be able to guess has some pretty neat features – but you’ll have to see these for yourself!
Although the story begins strongly, we found ourselves drifting apart from it and not really caring or connecting with the characters enough to pay attention to what happens to them as the game went on. Characters such as Jonathan Irons, played by actor Kevin Spacey have been made with absolute precision and the detailing is brilliant. Spacey played the part brilliant and if one character stood out it was Irons.
Overall the campaign should keep you busy for a good 6 hours of gameplay time. You can expect to be scaling walls with magnetic gloves, driving hover bikes through streets and lighting up enemies while in a huge mechanical suit. We don’t want to ruin it for you, so we’ll leave you to explore the rest yourself.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer is where this game really comes to life however, with the exo-suits bringing a new movement into competitive Call of Duty. Loading out your player is similar to that of Black Ops 2 which we absolutely loved, but instead of the Pick 10 system, this has been increased to Pick 13. Not only this but you can also customise your player with exoabilities and change they way they look by using items you receive in random supply drops earned throughout games.
Game modes are also back in force with the addition of some new ones as well. You’ll find your standard array including Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy etc. with Hardpoint also making its return. Uplink is the new game type which is a played a little like basketball. There are 2 portal like goals and the objective is to get the ball into your teams portal. Teamwork is essential to winning the game, as well as being incredibly fast paced. I’m sure we’ll see more of this in the competitive circuit.
If you’re a complete newcomer to Call of Duty you may want to try out something called the ‘Combat Readiness Program’. This is a simple Team Deathmatch game but has no leaderboards, no kill cams or anything like that. Basically if you suck at the game, then nobody will know about it and using this feature will allow you to get better at the game and practice your gun/exo skill.
There are a total of 13 multiplayer maps available to play in Advanced Warfare. They are all great fun to play and seem to have a good flow especially when paired with the exo-suits jumping abilities. No longer will you see players climbing ladders (although they’re still present) but instead you can simply jump into most places whether its a rooftop or window half way up a building. If you’re exploring a little bit too far you’ll get a orange warning on your screen telling you that you’re out of bounds.
Verdict
After much disappointment after the last iteration in the series, Advanced Warfare brings us a breath of fresh air . With the newly added exo-suit, the game excels in online multiplayer, bringing back ranked playlists which give you something to play for, as well as the randomised loot system. The multiplayer isn’t on its own though with the single player campaign mode offering interesting and fun-to-play missions.
If you haven’t yet purchased Advanced Warfare you can take a look at it on Amazon using the link below.
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