The Call of Duty series started back in 2003 with the first game being released that fall. It and the following 3 games in the series all take place in World War II. All of these early titles received mixed to decent reviews but it wasn’t until the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare that the series became the smash hit that it is now. This was followed up by Call of Duty: World at Warwhich brought the game back to WWII but also added a co-op mode simply known as “Nazi Zombies”. This new mode put up to four players together in a single level, where they could build fortifications and defend against increasingly difficult waves of zombie soldiers. The next game in the series Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, would become probably the biggest hit in the franchise and receive critical acclaim by critics. It even feature opening title music by Hans Zimmer and voice work by some big names like Bill Murray and rapper 50 Cent. Over the next couple of years Call of Duty would see the release of Black Opz, Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops II, Declassified and Ghosts. All of these games are set in modern day and received generally positive reviews, but none of them lived up to the hype and fandom that Modern Warfare 2created. This year Sledgehammer Games is hoping they can live up to the previous games and breath new life into an annual franchise, with the release Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.


Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare takes place in the not too distant future world of the late 2050s, where soldiers are now equipped with exo suits that enhance their speed and strenght. Along with these exo suits the player is also given access to futuristic weapons ranging from pistols, sonic shotguns, laser guns and smart grenades, which when thrown fly into the air then rocket towards threats, its pretty cool to watch. All of these futuristic goodies fit right in with the single player story, where we take on the roll of a former soldier Jack Mitchell, who was injured during the opening sequence of the game and is given another chance by the Atlus Corporation. Atlus just so happens to be the worlds largest private military contractor and its CEO Jonathan Irons is voiced by the extremely talented Kevin Spacey. Unfortunately the single player campaign was rather short, on normal I finished it in about 7 hours and it was very linear. However it is a pretty decent action plot (albeit somewhat predictable), has some very cool scripted moments and of course Kevin Spacey was really cool to see as his character model looks exactly like him.

Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Kevin Spacey.jpgThe game also offers an online co-op mode called Exo Survival. In this mode you and up to 3 friends take on increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Every round is something different as well, sometimes its defensive objective and other times offensive objects, always with varying enemies. Its a nice addition to the game, as it changes up the pace a bit and also offers some very cool unlocks for your in game character.

Now lets get down to what everybody plays Call of Duty for, the online competitive multiplayer. Like it previous game, this is where most players will spend most of their time playing the game. Sledgehammer did a great job in staying true to the multiplayer roots but also expanding on previous games. As I played online I found regardless of how well I was playing, I was always unlocking something. Be it a new gun, mods for that gun, perks or even new killstreaks. hey also added a new feature where by the push of a button, you test your current load out in a small firing range. I thought this was a great feature as I’m not super familiar with most of the guns or attachments. This was a great way to try them out before really heading into battle and making a fool of my virtual self, which honestly I tend to do more often than not. 

Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Load Out Screen.jpgWith the new edition of the Exo Suits and added mobility for players, they did a really good job of designing the multiplayer levels so players can utilize these features, such as the double jump to get to new highs and paths that allow greater speed when rushing objectives or attempting to return that all important flag. They also made a multiplayer mode called the Combat Readiness Program, which is geared towards a more friendly multiplayer experience. In this mode players face off against a mix of other players and bots.I really liked how once you get too good and start racking up too many kills, you will be locked out of the mode, which allows the newer players a much better chance to get accustomed to the game and never feel like quitting because you are getting owned constantly.


Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Gameplay Screenshot.jpg

Final Thoughts

Fans of the series will find a lot to like here. A decent single player story campaign featuring Kevin Spacey and a huge new multiplayer battlefield, with tons of new stuff to unlock. All the character models look really cool, but I found it was a huge contrast to the environments, as they all looked pretty plain and boring. Also at times with all the unlocks I felt a little overwhelmed as there is a lot there and since I haven’t played Call of Duty since World at War (even then it was mainly the Nazi Zombies game mode), I found trying to get my loadouts set up between matches a little daunting. I don’t think anyone familiar with the series will find this much a big deal, as its really just a minor gripe. Even with these minor issues Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is another solid game in the franchise and will go on to delight fans until the next game in the series comes out.

+ Exo Suit plays really well
+ New guns, perks, killstreaks and more!
+ Character models look fantastic

- Short single player
- Lackluster looking environments

OVERALL
Gameplay 4/5
Graphics 3/5
Sound 4/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability 4/5



Overall Rating 4/5