Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare review

(PS4, PC, XOne)

Featuring a digitised Kevin Spacey, the latest Call of Duty game is a blockbuster in every sense of the word…

Set in the very near future, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare  revolves around an imaginary war against the powerful Atlas Corporation, led by the evil megalomaniac, Jonathan Irons (played by Kevin Spacey). You are in control of a squadron of highly trained soldiers equipped with the latest in technological advancements – exoskeletons – whose job it is to prevent the evil dictator from taking over the world. Or something along those lines, anyway.

As with the other games in the series, Advanced Warfare is played from a first-person perspective, and features sky-high production values. The graphics in particular deserve praise, and the developers have made the most of the latest generation of consoles visual oomph. Sound and voice-acting are also high points, and it is easy to immersive yourself into the game as you run along the landscape with your battalion, wondering where the next stray shot will be coming from.

The big draw here – Kevin Spacey aside – is the exoskeletons, and the new-found abilities you gain from using them makes Advanced Warfare stand out from previous releases. You can jump higher, run faster, and all the usual gubbins you would expect from wearing a suit that would give Superman a run for his money. The near-future setting also allow the developers to utilise a whole host of weapons and vehicles that wouldn’t look out of place in a Robocop movie. This all adds to the atmosphere, and paves the way for some adrenaline-pumping set pieces.

The solo game lasts for around five hours, and the story has a nice twist to it (although you are probably going to guess what it is halfway through). It is the multiplayer game where the real action lies however, and like other games of this ilk, you will find yourself online in no time at all. Prepare for sleepless nights ahead…

Mark Pilkington