Gamers who play first person shooters
are always looking for the next big thing. That game changer, that
alters how shooters are made. Bay Area company Sledgehammer Games may
just have that in their brand new installment of Call of Duty. Why is
it special though? Is this reviewer just perpetuating internet hype, or
is there something to this latest installment of the storied
Activision Franchise. Based on my time with the game, I can say that Sledgehammer Games has
the pedigree of a great design company, as well as the wisdom to
innovate and borrow from other games to make the one of the best
first person shooters out on the market.
Sledgehammer Games' Roots
Sledgehammer games was started by Glen Schofield and
Michael Condrey. They are veteran developers who left Electronic Arts
developer Visceral Games, after starting the Dead Space franchise, to
start their own company. Their first work as a new company was to
co-develop Modern Warfare 3 with Infinity Ward. If anyone reading
this has played those games, then you will know that those are some
solid bona fides. If you’ve been living under a rock and never
played either Dead Space or Modern Warfare 3, I suggest you start educating
yourself. They were both seriously great games. Either way,
Sledgehammer’s owners made a killer and down right deviously scary
horror/shooter for EA and their new company cut its teeth on a
previous Call of Duty game. They were ready to develop this one on
their own.
Multiplayer; its what really matters
right?
Since Valve launched Counter Strike, multiplayer has become the driving force of shooters. Since then, new
games have to evolve to survive. Whether it was increasing the number
of players on a map, adding vehicles, or a slew of other options
multiplayer can be what makes or breaks a game. We saw that with Mass
Effect 3, who’s multiplayer mode felt like an almost complete part
of the game. It was a survival mode instead of team deathmatch;
admittedly it tied into the story portion of the game to drive
players towards it. Previous COD titles have had varying structures
of multiplayer design. Whether it's adding on new modes or adding new
options for custom classes; Activision's developers have always tried
to add new things.
Instead of going for something new,
Sledgehammer borrowed from aspects from a variety of titles and
perfected them. Players who played Call of Duty Black Ops II will
enjoy a return to a familiar mechanic: the fully customizable load
out system pioneered by Treyarch. Here players can alter their guns
through attachments, equip exo suit abilities, change perks, alter
their killstreaks, and add Wild Card perks. Unlike Ghosts and
Black Ops I, there is no money or coin system that earns new guns or
attachment faster, so players will have to be patient and level up to
get new guns. New to the game are Exo abilities. Exo abilities are
specific perks that have a battery life. Once activated the battery
drains and does not recharge. The Exo abilities allow you to do very Crisis-like things, like run faster, or cloak.
Another borrowed mechanic that is “new”
to COD is the Supply Drop. This is not like the killstreak reward,
but rather a post match reward that unlocks new rare items.
Those familiar with Mass Effect 3 multiplayer will remember either
spending hard cash or grinding out in game currency to purchase
supply drops for new guns, buffs, or new playable characters. In
Advanced Warfare players earn them by leveling up or by completing
challenges. They contain random items that vary from a free in game
reward like a supply drop, different cosmetic clothing or armors, to
rare varieties of base weapons earned in the game by leveling up. The
values are denoted by colors: Enlisted (green), Professional (blue),
and Elite (orange). Slegdehammer has also reintroduced the competitive ranked modes from Black Ops, for those players who
either play professionally or want a greater challenge than offered
in public matches. There is a survival mode that plays similar
to Halo ODST's Firefight mode, but allows players to choose between 3
Exo frames ( light, heavy, or specialist) each with its own available
weapons, as well as benefits and drawbacks. Finally, Zombie
mode will also return to the game at an undisclosed time as DLC.
Story: It's Important, and in this
case, worthwhile!
For the competitive player who enjoys first person shooters, story mode is an afterthought. In the case of
Advanced Warfare, Sledgehammer added a gimmick that may just drive
players to play through their story to earn a competitive edge
against their friends and opponents.
Before the gimmick, let it be said the
narrative for Advanced Warfare brings new emotional currents to the
well known COD story. There is a formula to COD stories: Exposition, Act One, Conflict/Betrayal, Act Two, Climax, Resolution, and finally a cut scene set up
for next game. I won't be revealing the story in this article, but play the campaign, its
worth it for the story alone. I will say that what the writers at
Sledgehammer Games injected emotional life into their shooter that is
rarely seen outside of a role playing game. The writing team
encourages, nay drives, players to emotionally connect not only with
the character they are playing, but with the villain as well. The
writers inject real emotions to each glimpse of joy, frustration, or
sorrow that occurs in the game.
The gimmick added by the game
developers is tied into the Exo Suit upgrade systems. Throughout the
campaign, players are encouraged to complete challenges: getting a
certain number of kills per level, headshots, grenade kills, and the
ever present "collect the intel." As each level of the challenge is
completed, an upgrade point for the Exo Suit is earned. Players can
upgrade their suits to get better passive better response from their
suit. Upgrades range from increased reload speed, to threat
detection, to sprint duration. There are 2 upgrade levels, with level
one costing one point, and level two costing two points. As upgrade levels
are maxed out, players will unlock multiplayer supply drops earning
players a potential edge to online combat.
Design for the sake of art and
brilliant mechanics
Call of Duty hasn't always been the
best looking game. Granted, the franchise has stayed abreast of
industry standards but rarely can I say that the game was beautiful
in the same way Skyrim or Mass Effect 3 were beautiful. That being
said, the artists and creators at Sledgehammer Games have made a
beautiful looking game. Game levels have depth of field, and
beautiful texturing that grab the eye. The cut scenes are film
quality with principal character faces and bodies are completely
motion captured. The dialogue helps bring emotion to the campaign as
well as creating a stage for Kevin Spacey to run wild with acting chops worthy of Calculon!
Looking at this game is a feast for the eyes. One can tell that the
developers took time and care making this game.
The game mechanics for this game feel
like a return to Modern Warfare 3, with bits of Black Ops and other
games tossed in. The speed of multiplayer is reminiscent of that game. Players are not being slaughtered left and right but now players need
to think in new directions. The Exo suit allows players not only to
boost jump but to dodge quickly on the ground as well as in mid air.
Possibly borrowed from Titanfall, this dodge ability feels smoother
and more practiced in its new home. Players now can reach new heights
in their attempts to find sniper hideouts, as well as new avenues for
escape to dodge incoming fire. Exo abilities grant players timed
bonuses to make them tougher, faster, quiet, or nearly invisible.
This grants each player with new avenues for strategy to deal death
upon their opponents. These new tools breath fresh life into Call of
Duty while retaining the core values that have made the IP great.
Play it all
When it comes down to it, this new
addition to the Call of Duty family is a great game made by a company
that cares about quality. They borrowed and adapted aspects and
mechanics from previous games to bring new life to a multiplayer
franchise that had started to feel stale, as seen in Call of Duty:
Ghosts. The return of the ranked competitive playlists will surely
make competitive gamers happy and content in an arena designed for professional tournaments. For myself however, what made this game great was
the story. A story of a man tired of the failure of governments who
takes a step too far. Like the Greek tragedies of old hubris brings
the downfall of a man who reached to far, and the player is the deus
ex machina that resolves the imbalance. A great cast led by Kevin
Spacey dives into a story that touches our current problems and
provides a cautionary tale of loss, sorrow, righteous anger, and
ultimately the futility of attempting to end violence with violence.
Sledgehammer Games has released a classic that has set a new
benchmark for the Call of Duty franchise as well as shooters as a
whole.
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