Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review

A promise of futuristic technology combined with one of our favourite first person shooters. The result? Leaving a sour taste in our mouths. The call of duty franchise is one of the most successful in the gaming scene ever. With a plethora of successful titles most notable of these is probably Black Ops 2.

But that success was over two years ago now and with Call of Duty Ghosts not exactly getting rave reviews Advaced Warfare was a chance for the franchise to bring something fresh and exciting to the scene. As well as a chance for Sledgehammer Games (co-developers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) to try their hand at making a Call of Duty game for the first ever time. But recently with their new game Advanced Warfare, a lot seems to have gone wrong and people sure are noticing.

Graphically Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is on par if not better than most recent call of duty’s however this should be wholly accepted as it is the first full next-gen game from the franchise. So improved graphics is more of an expectancy rather than something that’s a positive to the game. Also when compared with other similar first person shooters such as destiny Etc it can be left looking a little plain. Specifically on the multiplayer maps. But considering the games purpose and how it is played then graphics are forgotten really when in the action mid game. The campaign is where graphically this game chooses to shine and this is noticeably better than previous titles.

The sound in the game can be absolutely phenomenal. Personally I have a surround sound headset so the crisp sounds of all the different Exo movements , which are a new feature this year, really was exciting for me to be able to hear. This personally helped immerse myself into the gameplay during the campaign as well as providing a competitive edge in multiplayer. The sound however can sometimes be overwhelming with lots of the maps making noises of their own and up to 16 players jumping around the map it can be difficult trying to relax and just enjoy the game with so much going on for you to try and concentrate on the game.

In fact to even do as well as I felt I should’ve been doing I had to really sit up and concentrate which could potentially really put off that group of casual gamers who like to just pick up a controller and play a video game. The improved gameplay and different movement mechanics (boost jump, boost dodge, boost dash and reimagined melee) some would argue is where this game really shines. With a revolutionary new system for the franchise Exo movement was introduced into this call of duty and initially it was a massive hit.

However there are some serious issues that Sledgehammer games just haven’t fixed and 6 months into the game these flaws really can ruin a game. While expanding the movement as reach of players in the game as well as changing the dynamic of a gun battle In Game, there are long reported issues of diminished hit detection as well as user lag when two players are in some of the smaller areas of the map, which is caused by said Exo movements. A lot of users would put the former issue down to me ‘missing bullets’ on my opposition but the sheer number of reports and complaints about the game stacking up the evidence is stacking against a game that could have been so good but fails in a variety of ways.

One other addition that sledgehammer games has added is the weapon variant system. Throughout multiplayer gameplay, players will earn supply drops, part of an all-new player reward system. Supply Drops contain items including weapon loot, character gear, and reinforcements. This is something that otherwise implemented I feel could’ve been a fantastic feature helping the game in a multitude of ways. However with the guns being awarded at random in the shape of ‘supply drops’ and the now purchase able ‘advanced supply drops’ it can mean that merely the people who are the luckiest or spend the most get the best guns and essentially a big advantage when it comes to online gameplay.

Overall while Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare brings an exciting fresh look at the call of duty franchise, albeit something we have seen before in other fps games, I still feel this game is just lacking not only the little improvements I have already mentioned but that X factor that can really make it enjoyable for casual and hardcore gamers alike. This unfortunately for me tarnishes a title that could have really been a spearhead title for both the developer sledgehammer gaming as the publisher Activision on the next-gen consoles. Instead we have a game that many will remember for bad implementation of an exciting new game mechanic gone wrong. The new ideas in the game are definitely a step in the right direction but it’s something the developers need to make sure they get right before trying it again.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.