Grade: B+
“Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” confidently walks the delicate line of bringing something fresh to a worn-out franchise while remaining true to its roots as a “Call of Duty” game.
That’s not to say the individual innovations introduced in “Advanced Warfare” are entirely original.
Many of the changes to the gameplay, with magnetic gloves, exoskeletons, invisibility cloaks, jet-packs and railguns, have been seen in other speculative fiction games.
There are some leaps forward — the exoskeletons in particular deftly shake up what players have come to expect. The jet-packs that come standard with the Assault exoskeleton allow for double jumping and temporary boosts while backpedaling or strafing.
The removal of the near-exclusive focus on the ground results in faster, more frenetic combat and reduces the “camping” and slower movement of “Call of Duty: Ghosts.” If you aren’t moving in “Advanced Warfare,” you’re dead.
The single player campaign starts in 2054. The gamer plays as Jack Mitchell, a former United States Marine hired by Jonathan Irons for his private military company, Atlas. And yes, Irons is played by Kevin Spacey, who turns in a decent performance. His casting, though, makes things a little too obvious later in the game.
As his newest recruit, Mitchell is sent all around the world to investigate the mastermind of a deadly terrorist attack. While the campaign itself is not particularly inventive, save for a few standout missions, there is a notably interesting plot twist.
Online multiplayer returns in full force here and uses many of the same mechanics introduced in the single-player campaign.
Thirteen maps are included in the base game, along with a fairly comprehensive create-an-operator visual customization and a vastly expanded “Pick 13” that is similar to that of “Black Ops II.”
Experience points allow you to expand your load out, just like in every other “Call of Duty,” but that addictive feeling of progressing forward and unlocking new guns, gear and perks never really gets old.
Quibbles with whether or not the game is using dedicated servers and the occasional laggy death are sore points, however.
Exo-Survival, the horde mode in “Advanced Warfare,” is a nice bonus and is very similar to the survival mode in “Modern Warfare 3.” Both online multiplayer and Exo-Survival support two players split-screen.
“Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” breathes new life into a formula that has shown serious signs of flagging.
That being said, it does not completely leave the trappings of a “Call of Duty” game.
Despite the occasional gimmick such as the gratuitous casting of Spacey and some of the multiplayer glitches, gamers who might have been turned off by previous “Call of Duty” titles might want to check this one out.
Michael Su
