Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Reviews
Sledgehammer Games finds freshness in familiar territory, delivering the best Call of Duty game in years.
Advanced Warfare is Call of Duty's true starting point for a new generation. The tech enhancements are an important evolution for the franchise, giving the online proceedings a necessary shot in the arm. The campaign is predictable but thrilling with enough exclusive tech tricks and set-pieces to make it a must-play. The co-op can sustain you for multiple hours, and it's hard to imagine playing Call of Duty multiplayer without an Exo-suit ever again. Sledgehammer has found fun in the future, and we can't wait to go back to it.
Despite a few pulled punches this is the best Call Of Duty has been in years, and the multiplayer in particular is the most innovative since Modern Warfare began.
At the heart of Advanced Warfare is the exoskeleton and all of the possibilities it opens up, transforming the way that you get around amidst the futuristic setting. Yet it delivers on many more levels too, from a compelling story and cast of characters to the graphics and the vast array of options for multiplayer character and loadout customisation. Sledgehammer have shown that there's life in the long-running series yet, and thrown down the gauntlet to Treyarch and Infinity Ward.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare plays it a little too safe with the campaign, but it feels like a real core entry in the series, and will please fans who are jaded after last year's release. While Treyarch is still the king of Call of Duty in my eyes, Sledgehammer Games has shown itself to be more than capable of taking over with its debut entry. Infinity Ward is now the odd man out.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare drops its pretense of modern conflict and jumps into full sci-fi futurism, much to the series' benefit.
As sensory entertainment, "Advanced Warfare" is about as pleasant as licking a battery for eight hours while a crowd of angry men surround you and chant your name. As a parable about the dangers of corporatizing the military in the 21st Century, it feels like a massive failure.
Advanced Warfare puts together the most compelling competitive online multiplayer package the series has seen in years. The same can't be said for campaign or co-op, but does it really matter?
Ultimately, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is one of the best iterations in the franchise, as it has found a way to reinvigorate its gameplay mechanics without deviating away from what has kept the series so strong over the years. Very little of the game feels lacking, as even though the story is standard fare for most military shooters, its presentation takes it quite far. Multiplayer is generally the heart and soul of FPS games like these, and even there Advanced Warfare keeps things fresh and with enough genuine content to keep players playing longer than ever before. Fans of the series will feel just at home with the new gameplay mechanics after a few rounds, and FPS fans who may be tired of the old formula will find about as drastic of a change as possible without the series losing its namesake.
By bringing in a new developer with its own talent and fresh ideas, Activision has succeeded in shaking up its biggest franchise. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is undeniably distinctive within the Call of Duty family. But it might take a game or two for Sledgehammer to start delivering on the same scale as its sibling studios.
The question isn't if Sledgehammer succeeded in breathing new life into the Call of Duty franchise, it's more a point of how the franchise will cope in the future without them.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare achieves that delicate balance of providing something fresh, without diminishing the game's historical appeal.
Activision would have us believe that the latest title in the series is a bold re-imagining. It's not, but it's still blistering entertainment
Sledgehammer Games hasn't reinvented the first-person shooter franchise, but it does give it a shot of adrenaline, making Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare one of the fastest, freshest and most thrilling entries yet.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare provides much needed change and variety to revitalize the franchise for the future.
There is no question a big risk was taken with this year's game. Does this risk pay off? It sure does as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is about the most fun I have had playing a Call of Duty game in several years. Granted it remains very familiar but the leaps are significant and in the end pay off.
Punchy, futuristic weapons, even faster gameplay, and additional agility make Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare a joy to play, both offline and online. With a campaign that features several spectacular scenarios and a brilliantly robust and incredibly moreish multiplayer offering, Sledgehammer Games has succeeded in crafting a title that feels fresh but familiar, and does just enough to put the franchise back on track after the disappointing Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare isn't going to make people who hate the series suddenly take notice, but for those that have felt the franchise has been falling flat lately, it definitely re-energizes it. This is the Call of Duty game fans have been clamoring for, and I feel sorry for the team that has to try and top it next year.