Review: New 'Call of Duty' has star power and firepower

Diposkan oleh silent aja 4:27 AM Post a Comment

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare advances video games ever closer to the realm of big-budget action films.

On the newest high-def video-game systems, the latest entry in the billion-dollar first-person shooter franchise looks hyper-real. And Advanced Warfare's attention to story makes it more intriguing - and, importantly, more fun - than most movies to hit the cinema recently.

From the opening moment, you notice the quality and fidelity of the presentation. The initial scripted scene looks like live-action footage from a movie, but then your character, Marine Pvt. Jack Mitchell, is asked to perform a task and you know you're in a game.

A crash landing ensues and you're quickly dropped into fast-paced, sensory-overwhelming action. A giant walking tank barely misses your head as you and your four-person squad advance through the havoc-wrecked streets of Seoul, which is under attack by North Korean troops.

Attention to story makes the game more intriguing and more fun than some movies.(Photo: Activision)

Next, a fleet of miniature flying attack drones swarm after you and you hop onto an abandoned anti-aircraft turret to deliver some damage. You quickly learn to make use of your boost-jumping capabilities - double tapping a button then pushing the joystick forward to direct your character - to leap over crevasses and hover as you drop from great heights.

Mitchell's initial mission with squad mate Will Irons sets events in motion for Advanced Warfare's story arc. An assault on an enemy attack hovercraft is successful, but there are complications.

As a result, you wind up working for Irons' father, Jonathan Irons, who happens to be the head of private military company Atlas, a futuristic incarnation of a Blackwater-type firm.

Played masterfully by Kevin Spacey, Irons invests you in the story. His motives move from fiction that feels somewhat realistic - the rise of private military companies (PMCs) - into the over-the-top territory of James Bond films, but that's part of the game's roller-coaster ride appeal. 'We don't sell policies, we sell power,' Irons says. 'We are a superpower for hire.'

Kevin Spacey plays the character Jonathan Irons.(Photo: Activision)

Spacey adds sizzle to a compelling story, written by Sledgehammer Games co-founders Michael Condrey and Glen Schofield with an assist from movie writer and producer Mark Boal ( Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker), who served as a consultant.

The combat never gets boring because the setting - and your weaponry - constantly changes. Your magnetized gloves and boots let you leap from vehicle to vehicle in a frenetic car chase and cling to a building Mission: Impossible-style.

You're armed with several new grenades that point out hiding enemies, turn off the power in drones and other mechanized weapons, and smartly fly to seek out enemies. You also will man advanced tanks, fly smart aircraft and combat drones, and inhabit a massive mechanical armored suit.

And there's brutal hand-to-hand fighting, too. (Parents, the game is rated Mature for ages 17-up for a reason.)

Beyond the engaging story campaign, Advanced Warfare has an online multiplayer mode that brings the new weaponry and boost jumping in live 16-player contests. And one to four players can team up to fend off waves of computer-controlled enemies in another game mode, the fun and furious Exo-Survival co-op game.

If this is what Sledgehammer Games delivers as rookies at the helm of the Call of Duty franchise, players have plenty to look forward to.

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Sledgehammer Games

Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360

Price: $59.99 and more for limited edition versions

Rating: M for Mature, ages 17-up

Release Date: Nov. 3

Score: 4 out of 4