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Why Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s New Direction Is the Best Yet

Why Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s New Direction Is the Best Yet

Our favorite run-and-gun franchise just got a serious upgrade.

Ever since I first picked up a gamepad and began stalking my pray in the 1999 release of Alien vs. Predator on PC, I’ve been hooked on FPS. Over the years, I’d try out many different franchises from Halo to Battlefield . While each would bring a little something different to the table, my tastes always seem to lean towards those with a sci-fi flair. While I had played other Call of Duty ’s in the past, Modern Warfare 3 from 2011 was the first that really introduced me to a more realistic, tactical-based multiplayer experience.

And while many fun times were had over the years with my new Call of Duty obsession, they never held the same appeal as a night spent jumping the dunes in my Warthog on Bloodgulch.

However, that all may be about to change. The trailer for the next Call of Duty game (entitled Advanced Warfare ) is making the rounds online (after leaking early on Friday). In it, we see a very different kind of shooter from Activision than in the past. While the landscapes don’t have the same level of polish or shine that you’d typically see in a futuristic shooter (as these locales are reminiscent of many urban maps of other Duty games) the weaponry is definitely taking a different turn. I can only describe it as Black Ops on steroids (more on my thoughts about this later). We get everything from jet packs to hover bikes and mini-mech suits. Needless to say, one look and you can instantly see that Kansas will be but a distant memory. I resist the urge to slap on a, “…this ain’t your Daddy’s Call of Duty ” line here, as I fear it would sound cliché’. But it’s true.

Naturally–as with anything on the old interwebs–once folks get a taste of blood in the water, journalists and gamers alike ravenously seek out more tidbits to devour. In that regard, further details pertaining to the game’s feature list have turned up on several news sites and forums ( pulled from this UK based Amazon page ). It touts a November 4 th release date, and a product description that breaks down the upcoming title as follows:

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare envisions the powerful battlegrounds of the future, where both technology and tactics have evolved to usher in a new era of combat for the franchise. Delivering a stunning performance, Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey stars as Jonathan Irons – one of the most powerful men in the world – shaping this chilling vision of the future of war.

Power Changes Everything.

An Advanced World:

  • Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare takes place in a plausible future in which technological progress and today’s military practices have converged with powerful consequences.
  • In this carefully researched and crafted vision of the future, Private Military Corporations (PMCs) have become the dominant armed forces for countless nations outsourcing their military needs, redrawing borders and rewriting the rules of war.
  • And Jonathan Irons, the founder and president of the world’s largest PMC – Atlas Corporation – is at the center of it all.

An Advanced Soldier:

  • Powerful exoskeletons evolve every aspect of a soldier’s battle readiness, enabling combatants to deploy with an advanced lethality and eliminating the need for specialization.
  • The introduction of this gameplay mechanic delivers enhanced player movement and verticality through boost jumps and grappling, covert cloaking abilities, and biomechanics that provide unparalleled strength, awareness, endurance, and speed.
  • With the advent of the exoskeleton and newly advanced armor and weaponry, every soldier commands tactical freedom in any terrain unlike ever before, fundamentally changing the way gamers play Call of Duty across all modes.

An Advanced Arsenal:

  • Harnessing the power of next-gen platforms, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare brings players into the battlegrounds of the future by boasting a new hi-tech, advanced arsenal and ability set, arming players with all-new equipment, technology, perks, and vehicles like hoverbikes and highly specialized drones.
  • Players can also choose between standard ammunition and an all-new class of directed-energy weaponry that enables totally new gameplay dynamics.
  • And with exoskeletons delivering a massive force multiplier and unprecedented tactical freedom, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare evolves every firefight.
Why Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s New Direction Is the Best Yet

I’ve got to say people, I’m excited! Frankly, that isn’t an emotion I typically tie to the Call of Duty franchise (as I was just never bitten by that bug). Don’t get me wrong, I like it. It’s just that it never grabbed me like other entries in the genre have. Again, I once again contribute this to my preference for all things futuristic ( Titanfall and Destiny are two more current examples). Once my interest in MW3 waned, Black Ops II and Ghosts simply didn’t captivate me all that much. Ghosts isn’t a bad game, I’d just say it’s more of the same. Black Ops II , on the other hand, I found to be a total pain in the ass. While they attempted to take several steps in this direction, many of their so-called improvements to the perk system were a step in the wrong direction (in my humble opinion). Remind me again how changing the stock on your rifle would affect how fast you strafe left or right?

However, with Advanced Warfare , I feel like I’m stepping into a combination Gears + Halo mash-up (with a bit of Duty thrown in for flavor). I love the idea of hopping on a hoverbike and jetting over to my care package, which just so happens to contain a giant-suit of armor that will turn me into a kick-ass version of ED-209 from RoboCop. In addition, several scenes from the trailer also suggests we’ll gain some type of new super-power upgrade (IE: the anti-gravity gloves that let you scurry up the wall like Spider-Man, not to mention throwing an enemy 50 feet into the air with one hand).

I’d say this will become a welcomed departure for both hardcore fans of Call of Duty , and folks like me who desire a bit of Star Trek mixed with their headshots and flash bangs. But don’t worry, I’m sure future Duty games will return to their roots of Middle Eastern combat (because what would we do without them?). However, I can totally see Advanced Warfare being the first in a long line representing the “sci-fi” wing of the series.

Does this mean Call of Duty: Galactic Warfare will be making its debut sometime in the future? Has a nice ring to it don’t you think?!

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