Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Review

Power changes everything.

If anyone recalls from last year I was quite disappointed with Ghosts considering Black Ops II had much more going for it despite being the older game. In the end Ghosts ended up being quite enjoyable with the addition of new weapons and maps but much of which was pretty goofy and I think it was just to salvage how dull the base game felt. So this year we have Advanced Warfare and it's developer Sledgehamer Games up to bat, and things are pretty different.

Advanced Warefare is pretty much what I had hoped for Ghosts to be in some aspect, an improvement of Black Ops II. I loved Black Ops II's campaign and multiplayer style and Advanced Warfare feels quite similar to an extent. Obviously the most notable difference is the Exo Suit which allows you to kick ass like a watered down Master Chief. Yet despite some differences, much of the formula has remained the same, while muliplayer is the game's key strong point, campaign and co-op seem to fall a bit short... again.

You play as Jack Mitchell(Who if you don't know is Troy Baker, who also voiced Booker in Bioshock Infinite) a former US Marine who after suffering a career ending injury gets recruited by the ATLAS Corporation, a massive private military company headed by Jonathan Irons(Kevin Spacey who as you can expect plays the bad guy)

Advanced Warfare's campaign starts fairly strong but it eventually takes on the same tried formula of following your squadmates around, doing what they tell you to do or you die. While I found Spacey to be an excellent villain, his relationship with Mitchell and the other characters begins lacking any real connection as the story goes on. And this doesn't just go for Spacey, it goes for everybody and just about every significant event in the story as a result it just lacks any emotional appeal. Then it of course ends in the big cliche 1980's action movie finale which at this point you could have called Arnold Schwarzenegger and have him send it off with a bang.

The campaign is basically one area where the game didn't exactly improve from it's predecessor, it's still the linear follow your squad "Michael Bay" style explosive fest nearly all other CoD campaigns are. Yeah I'll admit, it can be a bit enjoyable at times but I would take Black Ops II's non linear campaign formula over Advanced Warfare's any day of the week.

The co-op mode basically feels like a rehash of Modern Warfare 3's survival mode. There really isn't much to talk about here other than it takes place on the multiplayer maps and it gets old really quick. Definitely not a runner up to Extinction or "ahem"... Zombies.

Multiplayer is the bee's knees, it's just stupid fun. It all feels familiar, that CoD multiplayer mentality but the Exo Suit gives gameplay a a whole new mechanic. Not only do you want to watch your back you want to watch the skies as your foes are leaping across rooftops as much as they linger on the ground. But you're just as equally deadly as your soldier can jump twice as high and dash in any direction at the push of a button. If however you end up hating the changes the Exo Suits have made to the gameplay, Sledgehammer included a classic playlist of gamemodes without Exo movements, you know, for the purist.

Customization on Advanced Warfare is massive, you can deck out your loadouts a considerable amount now that Black Ops II's Create a Class system is back in the mix. The weapons feel balanced for the most part but there are still a few that feel a bit gutless compared to others. Your soldier can receive a large amount of customization as well with tons of gear pieces to pimp your man(or woman) in uniform out. 

The new supply drop system gives you new random weapons and gear, as well as rapid supply drops and double-XP just based on your playing time. You can gain "Elite" weapons which are variants of their normal counterparts but with a unique look and stats.  I hope this system makes it's way into future CoD games, it gives you a good reason to keep playing.

On a final note, I love Advanced Warfare, while it's campaign and co-op offer nothing new to the table, it's multiplayer is one of the best, if not the best in the series. Like I said, it feels like an improved Black Ops II at least on the multiplayer side of things and the Exo Suit makes the gameplay feel fresh and exciting. Power really does change everything.

You'll Love

• Insane multiplayer offering.
• The Exo Suit.
• Great visuals.

You'll Hate

• Co-op is bland ad unimaginative.
• Campaign had wasted potential.

Is it better than?

Black Ops II- Depends, Black Ops II and Advanced Warfare are similar games in some aspects. Both offer great multiplayer but Advanced Warfare takes BO2's already great formula and makes it even better. However if it's a campaign you're looking for Black Ops II takes the cake with it's non linear storyline.

Ghosts- Yes, Ghosts feels like a gilded Modern Warfare 3. While it's a whole lot more fun to play than it was when it first launched with the influx of new maps and weapons, it still feels behind even Black Ops II and it's no match to Advanced Warfare.

Titanfall- Depends, okay, asides from the fact your soldier has super human agility and strength and there is a robot suit of some form in both games, Titanfall and Advanced Warfare are hardly alike. Titanfall prides itself on mech warfare more than it does infantry combat. Sure the combat feels a little similar to CoD but keep in mind this game was made by a bunch of former Infinity Ward members, and yeah both games are quite fun, there's just not much to compare here.