Preview: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is the highly anticipated addition to the long-running Call of Duty franchise, building itself on the promise of delivering a futuristic first-person shooter. The game is being published by Sledgehammer Games for current-gen consoles, and High Moon Studios for last-gen consoles.

One of the highlights of EBX, the demo attempted to give a glimpse into some of the game’s aspects. Spawning on the multiplayer map known as Defender, we had the chance to try out the new Uplink game mode, which very much resembled a deadly sporting game. A team-based mode, we were to either defend our uplink or score at our opponent’s uplink, using an orb that teams had to race to take control of. Being suspended in the air, points were scored by either throwing the orb through the enemy uplink, or jumping through it (double points!).

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We were also introduced to the jet pack feature, giving us a quick and short boost into the air, allowing us to easily traverse the environment. To some extent, it could be used tactically, manoeuvring behind a pursuing enemy, or simply just to evade them.

Personally, I still feel that the game would have really benefitted from providing a hands-on opportunity with the single-player campaign. Don’t get me wrong, for the multiplayer demo did showcase several new and interesting elements (I foresee myself playing Uplink a whole lot). But with all the hype surrounding the futuristic gadgets that players were to have at their disposal, I would have liked to see more of how they came into play.

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All in all, the demo offered a multiplayer experience that did little to distinguish itself from others. Perhaps we did have access to other gadgets; we did not really have the chance to customise our classes as the game started almost immediately after we entered. But it is hard to see the application of others like nano gloves in such a fast-paced situation. Apart from that, we did see the return of tried-and-true Call of Duty multiplayer features like killstreaks.

Still, I won’t be quick to dismiss the game entirely. I am still interested in seeing how the single-player gameplay takes shape and how it distinguishes itself from other first-person shooters, particularly given the futuristic setting.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is planned for release on November 4.