Welcome everyone to this two part review where we shall touch base on the single player and multi-player game modes. The first we shall touch base on is the multi-player because as I am told everyone is curious and honestly you have good reason since this is a new company working on the title. I hope you all enjoy.
As many of you are probably COD veterans like myself for many years and when the modern warfare series came out, it finally took us out of World War era. Now it is time to take it a step further into the future with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare where you are now an enhanced soldier with an exo-suit and future tech to amp up the battles. Now you are not going to be able to utilize what you used in the campaign for the multi-player, but I think you will still enjoy the arsenal given to you. If you are a smart soldier the first thing you would want to get into is the Combat Readiness Program or C.R.M where you as a new player can feel comfortable playing in a mutli-player match with bots and first levels. The trick is that you can’t choose your class and there is no mic support which is good to keep you focused on the combat. It is a safe haven for those that just want to get a game in without being belittled, but I would use this as a training ground so you can develop courage to go into real multi-player.
Okay, so now we had our practice and put on our big boy/girl pants to woman/man up in some serious multi-player and yes you will deal with fools that will blame their teammates before taking responsibility on their own actions. In any first person multi-player game you will have to expect some “salty” players on opposite teams as well on your own team. However, if you can find a rag tag crew to get in a good game with then you can be golden and actually have fun. In that you have many modes to choose as in any COD, so check out the list below.
Now I was not expecting all the matches to work properly, but the only ones I could get a match in were Hardpoint, Team Deathmatch and Free-For-All. It is double XP weekend going on so I was expecting the servers to get a real work out and it did. There were a few matches with some horrible lag situations or timed out connections, but once the matches began it was on. Whatever you do know about Call of Duty’s multi-player can be thrown out of the window, because now you have to really watch your back in all directions. The abilities with the exo-suit change the playing field a bit where as a player; you can utilize the map in many ways to take out your opponent. This time around you will have to worry about kill-streaks that can hack your equipment and a “threat sensor” so opponents can see through obstacles.
The customization is taken from Call of Duty: Ghost a bit where it is co-ed with a set palette of soldiers to choose from and gear. It is not that complicated and it is all cosmetic designs, so nothing really enhances you outside of the armory and perks. I have not unlocked much, but you will need to rank pretty high to get the good stuff which is given in any FPS title. At this point I am at the “Feeling it out” stage of the game. I am enjoying it for the most part even switching between keyboard and game-pad, but I have to favor the game-pad a bit more. It is in my nature, but I will show off a match to give an example.
I am always on the move when it comes to an FPS game, because staying in one spot at times will get you killed. In that the multi-player is pretty decent, but needs a lot of work. I give Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare multi-player a 3.5 out of 5. There is also the Exo-Survival which is a co-op mode where you take on as many enemies in a given round. It is a fun mode that I missed back in Modern Warfare 3, so I am glad it is back. All right let’s get into the campaign shall we?
As I play these war games, I can’t help but feel an appreciation to those soldiers that go out there and actually risk their lives for our country. I know many soldiers that didn’t come home when sent out, so that’s why I appreciate the Call of Duty campaigns, because even though there is some fiction involved. There is a sense of honor and horror that many soldiers will have to go through when going into war. In Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare show two friends fighting a battle and one sacrificing themselves to save their brother in arms only to get injured in the process. There is nothing like losing a limb and then being discharged because you can’t help your country anymore or so you think until a man offers you a way to be better and join a private force to help humanity. In many situations when you think about your future and what you lost; no one would blame you to take that deal. The Atlas Corporation promises of a better future for their soldiers and mankind in being a new kind of police force all over the world with their advanced tech led by its founder Jonathan Irons (Kevin Spacey). As Private Mitchell, you are in hopes that you can make a difference in honor of your friend. Soon enough, as in all gifts there is always a price behind a man making promises with a devil’s smile.
If you feel that was too much of a spoiler, well to be honest when it was showcased at E3 you got that idea in the first place. The thing is the campaign is a bit predictable, but does that ruin it? Not at all because it is the way you tell the predictable story to make it enjoyable and I did. I mean you feel for the Father losing his son and decide to take supreme action in policing society, but on the other hand, no one made you god so sit your butt down! The story will drive you into the feel zone and have your heart pounding during your journey to find out the true intentions of Atlas.
I do enjoy the in-between cut-scenes as it feels like a Robocop movie with Atlas having all these lovely commercial ads telling you that they are our new saviors. At the same time you get to try out this entire awesome tech and it is important to play the campaign to unlock some nice items. I do enjoy the abilities that you learn through each exo-suit you get to try out. There will be combat oriented suits, tank style and a balanced version. On your keyboard or gamepad you will have certain functions to trigger your enhancements, for example slowing down time to take out enemies to save hostages. There is an active shield that is always with you as well that you can utilize for defense and offense, but the kicker is the grenades that I enjoying too much. There is both lethal and non-lethal, but lets talk about the non-lethal quickly as you can switch it on the fly to EMP, Threat or concussion. Out of those I am enjoying the “Threat grenade” because it paints targets in a controlled area in which you can see through walls on their location.
As a campaign goes, it is top notch and I enjoyed it for what it was. I always enjoyed the story campaigns of Call of Duty series, but Advanced Warfare made it to the top of the list as my favorite. In that give Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare campaign a 4 out of 5.
In an all together score I would have to say a 4 which is the first time I have ever given a Call of Duty game such a high grade ever. Now that we have a third company working on a COD title, this one actually works and I am enjoying it by far, even better than I did Black Ops II or MW 3. The functionality is on point and the weaponry is great, as well as the customization in the multi-player. The only thing I am lacking is my old team, but I will see about a new one for the PC. I am definitely going to say Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a buy, especially when it comes to a user friendly mode for those that do not feel comfortable going into multi-player just yet. It really caters to everyone. I hope you enjoyed this review and please check out Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare which is out now for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC. You can hit up Play-Asia.com or if you are a local person head over to Video Games New York for all your gaming needs. Stay frosty gamers!
