Advanced Warfare

Advanced Warfare. It is a military science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. Released in November 2014, it is the eleventh major installment in the Call of Duty series and the first to be primarily developed by Sledgehammer Games. The game's narrative is set in a technologically advanced future, focusing on the rise of a powerful private military company and its impact on global conflict.

Overview

Set in the mid-21st century, the story follows Jack Mitchell, a former United States Marine Corps soldier who joins the Atlas Corporation, a world-dominant private military company led by the charismatic Jonathan Irons. The plot explores themes of corporate warfare and technological supremacy against the backdrop of geopolitical instability. The narrative features performances by actors such as Troy Baker and notably Kevin Spacey, who portrays the central antagonist. The game's setting spans global locations from a besieged New Baghdad to a covert facility in Santorini, presenting a vision of future combat driven by exoskeleton technology and advanced weaponry.

Gameplay

The gameplay introduces significant mechanical innovations to the Call of Duty formula, primarily through the use of the Exo Suit. This exoskeleton grants players enhanced mobility, including boost jumps, dodges, and mantling over high obstacles. The multiplayer mode features new movement dynamics, with maps designed for verticality, and introduces a Supply Drop system for obtaining cosmetic and functional items. The cooperative Exo Survival mode tasks players with defending locations against waves of enemies. Traditional elements like killstreaks return but are augmented by exo abilities, such as threat grenades and overclock. The create-a-class system was overhauled with the Pick 13 system, allowing greater customization of soldiers, scorestreaks, and wildcards.

Development

Development began in 2011, following Sledgehammer Games' work on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The studio, co-founded by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, aimed to create a futuristic entry that would refresh the franchise. A three-year development cycle was utilized, a first for the series at the time. The team conducted research into real-world military technology projects like DARPA's TALOS program to inform the design of the Exo Suit. Performance capture technology was heavily used, with Kevin Spacey's involvement marking a high-profile motion capture performance for the series. The game was built on a new version of the IW engine, modified to support the new movement systems and detailed visuals.

Reception

Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics. Publications like IGN and GameSpot praised the impactful exoskeleton mechanics and the polished multiplayer experience. The graphical fidelity, performance of Kevin Spacey, and the fresh take on movement were frequently highlighted as strengths. However, some criticism was directed at the relatively short single-player campaign and familiar narrative tropes. Commercially, it was a major success, topping sales charts in regions including the United Kingdom and the United States. It was nominated for several awards, including categories at The Game Awards 2014, and is often credited with influencing the movement systems of subsequent first-person shooters.

Legacy

The game is considered a pivotal title that steered the Call of Duty series into a more futuristic direction, influencing the settings and mechanics of Call of Duty: Black Ops III and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Its Exo Suit mechanics sparked significant discussion within the first-person shooter community about mobility and gameplay pace. The Supply Drop system introduced here became a controversial staple in later entries. While later games like Call of Duty: WWII returned to historical settings, the technological and gameplay experiments conducted in this title left a lasting mark on the franchise's design philosophy and its approach to integrating advanced movement into traditional arcade shooter frameworks.

Category:Call of Duty games Category:2014 video games