Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review

Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is right on schedule, marking the 11th release in as many years. Promising futuristic action with bombastic gameplay (and Kevin Spacey), is the latest entry of this action-packed shooter worth (exo)suiting up for once again?

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review

You’ve got to give Activision points for trying. In an effort to keep things fresh, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare takes the action to the far off world of the 2050s and 60s, a world full of Exo suits, smart grenades, drones, and freakin’ laser beams. The addition of something as simple as a rocket-propelled double-jump might make it seem like it is catching up to other shooters like Team Fortress 2 or Titanfall, and in many ways, it is. However, this throws a huge wrench in the core gameplay Call of Duty is known for. Players can traverse the map much faster with a grappling hook, jump onto buildings with the aforementioned jump, or jam up gear with an EMP grenade. It makes for a much faster game, a game with many more variables at play.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare does keep with series tradition in one way: its campaign mode. Placing you in the shoes of ex-Marine soldier Jack Mitchell, it’s up to you and your team to fight off terrorists around the world and save the day. Those well-versed in the campaigns of old Call of Duty games know what to expect here: objectives almost always have Mitchell clearing out a room of thugs and/or getting to the other side of said room to plant a charge/jammer/drone. It’s nothing players haven’t seen before — in fact, many of the things follow the exact same objectives as campaigns past. One particular mission even has you sneaking your way past foot soldiers, taking the exact same cues as the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s mission “All Ghillied Up.” Advanced Warfare might have some new ways to take down enemies, but the mission structure is more or less the same.

It should be said that Advanced Warfare’s campaign tries something new with some celebrity power. Placing Kevin Spacey as the head of the private military corporation Atlas is a good fit, one that allows him to channel the same mixture of deception and power he perfected in the television series House of Cards. The script he was given to work with may be a shallow one full of holes and predictive twists, but his role throughout it all is a welcome one. Just try not to act surprised when a soundalike pops in every now and again.

Those who have stuck with the Call of Duty series since the beginning, however, are likely more interested in Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer modes. All of the modes from series’ past are present and accounted for: you’ve got your Deathmatch, your Team Deathmatch, your Hardpoint, your Capture the Flag, and plenty more. The horde-like mode Exo Survival pits players against waves of enemies, while the new mode Uplink is essentially a futuristic version of Rugby. There is plenty to do here, and the vibrant online community and smooth netcode gives the game serious legs.

Is Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare more of the same? It depends on how you look at it. Those who are burnt out on the series won’t be magically converted to the church of Call of Duty with this game, but those who are loyal to the series will no doubt enjoy the new tweaks the future has in store.