Next-Gen Reviews

Now, because this is Call of Duty title, expect the norm and by that I mean an interactive-like Hollywood film because it certainly is that.

 

The story pans out quite well, but never pulls you so far in that you have to know and are excited to know what happens next.

 

The visuals are superb, but this is usual and expected if the last few years are anything to go buy. However, the setting STILL ruins a lot of the game for me because it’s set too far in the future and it really is time for the COD franchise to go back to WW2.

 

Gameplay is the exact same that it’s been for too many years now, with near to no diversity and the usual; “Run to ‘A’ and do this and then go to ‘B’ for extraction”. It’s a bit tedious, repetitive and a lot slower-paced than in previous titles and nowhere near as smooth.

 

You can now gain attribute points which are given to you at the end of each mission completion, but I fail to see why these are there. You’re able to run faster, reload quicker, carry extra grenades etc, but it makes no sense for a war game that wants to be taken seriously. Why not just have the normal “this is what you are” ways of thinking so that we can just get on with the game? These added attributes don’t make enough of an impact for it to be worth thinking about let alone waste time distributing them.

 

Apart from the campaign being a slow-paced, boring and too futuristic, there are a couple of other things that annoy me.

 

• We don’t need cameos because they add nothing to a game! They’re a waste of money so please; use that money for dedicated servers which you still fail to give to the community, YOUR fan base, the person that helps to put money in your pocket.

 

• There’s no Autosave feature constantly active. The game crashed twice on me, forcing me to start from the beginning of the level and this isn’t acceptable. Call of Duty is a massive franchise that goes through a vigorous QA process, so how did this slip?

 

Overall I have to say that I am disappointed in the campaign and fail to see how anyone could enjoy it for more than an hour. There’s no “Wow” factor about it and the only thing going for it is the way it looks, but a lot of games offer pretty visuals nowadays.

 

Multiplayer

 

Ever since Call of Duty 2 the Call of Duty franchise has been the leader in online multiplayer PvP. I would say that this is because the franchise slowly got its fan base together by offering the best multiplayer experience bar none. Sadly, because the franchise gets thrown around between studios it can often lead to something taking a beating and the biggest hit over the past 2-3 years is in what is the best part of Call of Duty; the multiplayer.

 

Game modes are the same with a few exceptions, but nothing to get excited about. . . Shocker!

The biggest surprise for me is the lack of a ‘non-party’ playlist. Not everyone always can nor do they always want to play with others directly, so why not have dedicated modes, or at least one? You know, like you did in previous games! To not have a game mode where no one knows each other, allowing fair play all round is totally abysmal!

 

The multiplayer gameplay in Advanced Warfare is more proof that the franchise needs to be left to die, or, go back so far and start from the beginning and start the building again.

 

There is still a maximum of 18 people and no dedicated servers…. It’s 2014, what are you doing?There should be at least one game mode of 12v12 and dedicated servers should be a given in any multiplayer game.

 

The maps are nice enough, but still hold the later year’s style and by that I mean it’s all CQB. Plagued by corridors and the odd few metres of uninterrupted view is what is continuously seen throughout. I have no idea how anybody can enjoy running, with hope that they see the enemy first (usually from behind) and lift their gun first. However, there is more verticality in Advanced Warfare mainly because the devs are trying to get you to think differently than you have in the previous titles thanks to the new Exo-abilities.

 

Exo-abilities allow you to strafe, double jump and shift like you have never before. I would say that Advanced Warfare is taking a fair amount of gameplay elements from games such as Crysis and Titanfall, but doesn’t quite nail it. I don’t like EXO and there are game modes that don’t allow them, but people don’t flock there as much.

 

The firepower doesn’t really feel like it has any power at all because you’re guns are weak and unlocking anything new feels like it’s taking a lifetime.

I couldn’t find one gun that fitted my play-style and after a very short while I didn’t even care if it existed, I was THAT bored! Also, if you’re one of those that hate the set reticule movement speed you’ll be happy to know that you’ve been screwed. No customisation for fine-tuning the speed leaving you moving too fast or too slow.

 

When the gunplay isn’t going well, why not throw a grenade and blow the person to bits? Well, the problem is that you probably won’t be able to. Throwing grenades has gone and instead you shoot them out of your arm like Spiderman’s web. This makes it hard to judge angles for distance and it’s so slow you’ll end up getting yourself killed… Thanks! Oh, and the normal grenade clearly has a lot of rubber in it because it bounces around like a basketball.

 

Many complained about knife-lunge in previous COD titles and too some extent it was annoying, but in Advanced Warfare it’s non-existent. I feel that this is a horrible move because as much as you don’t want someone skidding in from across the map, it’s also difficult to judge correct melee distance. Again, nice one for fixing something that wasn’t broken.

 

Have you ever wondered what your mum gets up to when she’s not in you field of vision? Well, thanks to the kids of the Call of Duty multiplayer lobbies you can find out.Apparently my mum is a paedophile because according to those kids that talk in the lobby, everyone has fucked her; In the bum too! (I’ll speak to my mum about this when I see her next)

 

So, yes, you’ll be familiarly greeted by an 8 year old child informing you that he has “fucked your mum” and that “you’re Gay” and after the abuse has stopped you’ll be played some music brought to you from the ghetto. It’s annoying and I have no idea what the parents are like, but I can’t help but feel that they prefer to throw games in their kids’ faces so that they can have a quiet life doing what they like… let’s get a trophy for each of those great parents. And to make it even worse, the names of those talking no longer pop up in the corner of the screen whilst you’re trying to fight, no, they’re right in the middle and a horrible distraction; who the hell came up with this idea?

 

Anyway, I’m bored of talking about this poor-excuse-of-a-game so let’s get down to the dirty.

 

Yes, Advanced Warfare looks pretty and it does a few things right, but overall it’s horrible.

Advanced Warfare is the true definition of the saying “A Camel is a Horse designed by committee”, meaning that they’ve taken an idea from each fan and everyone else’s games and tried to create one big perfect package. Instead they’ve created a horrible and confusing mixture of “too futuristic” gameplay and tried to fix what wasn’t broken.

 

If you’re between the age of 10-16 you shouldn’t be playing the game, but it’s definitely made for you. For everyone else, play Battlefield, Destiny, Crysis or any other original FPS title.

 

 

 

4/10