REVIEW: Infinite Warfare takes game into space

 

When Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was first announced back in May, it was met with great backlash. Despite racking up over 8 million views in its first week, the trailer was met with over 370,000 dislikes. Since then, that number has grown to a staggering 3 million plus dislikes to only a measly 500,000 or so likes.

Reasons for the hate are due to fan’s dislike of Call of Duty going too much into the future with its ridiculous weapons and a desire for the game to go back to modern technology.

Activision was able to gain back some fans when it announced that the original Modern Warfare would be bundled with their latest entry in the storied franchise. Unfortunately, fans quickly turned sour once again after learning that, in order to receive the remaster of Modern Warfare, they would need to buy the $79.99 Legacy Edition of Infinite Warfare rather than the base $59.99 version of the game.

Several months later, Infinite Warfare is finally here and despite all of the hatred leading up to its release, it’s a fantastic game. For the first time ever, Call of Duty is abandoning its “modern” character and going completely into uncharted territory, space. It’s certainly an interesting concept, and for the most part, it delivers.

As time has gone on the campaigns in Call of Duty have grown stale. Infinite Warfare serves as a sort of revival. The game’s complex story is boosted by a fantastic cast of characters and strong writing to match.

The new interstellar setting allows for a wider variety of environments to fight in. While the combat is largely the same wave-based structure, the added variety of missions taking place on Earth’s moon or an asteroid help make things feel fresh. More so, the added dogfights in space help add even more variety to the game.

While the campaign’s length is in line with previous installments at about seven hours, there is the added bonus of side missions. Unlike the RTS-esque missions in Black Ops 2, the side missions in Infinite Warfare feature more dogfights and other combat scenarios, and are a blast to play through.

Of course, most people purchasing Call of Duty are not doing so because of the campaign, but rather the franchise’s stellar multiplayer, which has been a mainstay of the series for years.

For those who have played Black Ops 3, the multiplayer is largely the same. The ability to boost, slide and run on walls has returned, as has the ability to have various characters with differing abilities.

Many of the new additions to the multiplayer come in the form of progression. Missions are now part of multiplayer and players are able to choose one of three teams to complete various missions for.

These missions range from getting a certain amount of kills to more objective-based duties. Completing said missions will grant various new weapon types as well as new skins to match and help level up the team as a whole in order to unlock more teams with more complex objectives.

It’s a fun addition and certainly prevents players from quitting early on in a match that has gone south. The idea that even in defeat you’re still winning has been a mainstay in Call of Duty, and the new missions concept helps reinforce that idea.

The final addition to multiplayer is a revamped supply drop system. As in Black Ops 3, consistently leveling up grants keys that can be spent at the in-game store for supply drops which vary in cost and carry an assortment of skins, calling cards and weapons. While the concept might  feel like paying to win, Call of Duty does not take much skill to play in the first place. Therefore, having the rarest weapon won’t necessarily guarantee victory. Still, such frustration around this unlock system can be understood and its validity in a game like Call of Duty is debatable.

The final part of the three-part package is the Zombies mode. The fan-favorite mode remains a part of Infinite Warfare, and it brings with it its own quirks and oddities. This year’s Zombies takes place in the 1980s at an amusement park. The fundamentals remain the same, but this particular installment caters to beginners and seasoned veterans alike.

Unlike Treyarch’s Zombies mode, signs and maps help point players in the right direction, and a toned down difficulty allows players to actually get far and explore the world that Infinity Ward has created. It’s certainly a welcomed change and in no way hurts the popular mode.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a fantastic game. While it may have received criticism in the beginning, the team at Infinity Ward has crafted a brand new universe for fans to dig into. The futuristic space-like setting allows for one of the best campaigns in the series and the additions to multiplayer mode help make a franchise staple feel fresh.

The added Zombies mode is certainly welcome and is a blast to play with friends as always. Overall, Infinite Warfare is a complete package that’s definitely worth checking out.