A change is coming in regards to Call of Duty, a brave one. With Sledehammer Games taking their turn at the notorious franchise, it’s not surprising that they’ve made some alterations, but will they be for the greater good? This year at Gamescom I was fortunate enough to see a ‘behind closed doors’ tour of the perks, weapons and Scorestreaks available in the build they presented.
Much like Black Ops 2, Advanced Warfare follows a Pick 13 system, this time however there are caveats to the benefits, as your Scorestreaks also cost points to equip. On show were the incredible customisation options on offer, especially compared to previous titles. Not only can you change the physical appearance of your character to a ridiculous extent, but the create a class system has been revamped to include greater customisation of weapons and now, the Scorestreaks. If you fancy your UAV staying up for longer at the expense of it requiring extra score to earn, then away you go. How about when calling in a sentry gun, having the ability to wrench it from its moorings and gad about with a makeshift Death Machine?
New and returning game modes mark their territories too with fan favourites such as Capture the Flag making its comeback alongside a new gametype that resembles a violent, gun-filled basketball game where players must transport an object that, when carried, forces you to lower your weapon. We were told that this could in fact be used to your advantage by throwing the ball at an enemy; thereby forcing him to shoulder his weapon, given quick enough reactions that is!
Of course the largest, and most significant change, would be the character movement. Mobility has been drastically altered through the use of your exoskeleton, boost jumps, chainable dashes and selectable abilities are all at your disposal. These changes in movement not only make you rethink every gun battle, but also adds the advantages of verticality to your arsenal; the maps reflect this. People who’re reticent to adapt will certainly struggle against those who’ve mastered the new movement techniques. Fortunately for those who wish to play a more ‘traditional’ Call of Duty experience, there will be a playlist dedicated to this; removing the exosuit abilities.
Other small additions include the Heavy Weapons section to compliment the standard Snipers and Assault Rifles, alongside plenty new gadgets to try out via your wrist mounted launcher. Alongside dynamic map events such as the huge tidal wave on the multiplayer reveal trailer, there are also map style killstreaks that can be earned.
Whilst there’s never really been any shortage of weaponry to choose from, Advanced Warfare takes it a step further by ensuring each weapon has multiple variants with different stats. They might not feel like a completely separate weapon, but perhaps a slight range boost at the expense of fire rate might just tip the weapon towards your favour, and are just another example of the customization levels on offer. Unlocking these, and other bonuses such as a free, high tier care package in a future match are acquired via earning loot box style drops. Fortunately for most, these are awarded over time played and are not just purely skill dependent, ironically letting everyone have a chance at uniqueness. It’s unknown so far what the chances of receiving a ‘rare’ weapon are but I’m sure they’ve attempted to balance it accordingly.
As well as the inclusion of a mode to test yourself against the AI before jumping online, a firing range has also been included in the create-a-class section. Letting you test out the recoil patterns, equipment and exo abilities in your own time; the best part being is that it’s a near instantaneous load, essentially letting you try out your gear on the fly. As far as the time to kill goes, it lies somewhere between Black Ops 2 and Ghosts, the idea behind making it still a short-ish kill time being that with all the boosting, it could become frustrating and near impossible otherwise.
With the gratifying removal of one of the ‘must have’ perks, Dead Silence, it’s still disappointing to see that Toughness is still available to choose. Whilst certainly not a must have perk back in the days of Black Ops 1, over the years, it’s evolved into one that most people equip if they have any hope of winning a one on one gunfight. Another thing that will likely split opinion is the ability to equip iron sights and a stock on the available sniper; without alteration or balancing, it’s certainly on the cusp of being overpowered.
Overall, it’s a brave and exciting move for Call of Duty, and minus the minor irritations, it could well set itself up to be one of the better Call of Duty titles. The fast paced action, the new levels of customization and the dedicated development for the next gen consoles provides me with nothing but excitement.
