​Call of Duty Infinite Warfare (2016)
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare

The solar system has been colonized by man. Humanity has been united completely under the United Nations Space Alliance. However, trouble remains. When the forces of the Settlement Defense Front steal a super-weapon designed to be able to destroy buildings and capital ships and lead an attack against Earth, Nick Reyes must take command of the space carrier Retribution to take the fight to the SDF and their warmongering leader, Salen Kotch.

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Finally, a Call of Duty game that I feel is worth writing about.

Infinite Warfare takes place in the distant future where mankind has colonized the Solar System. Resources are stretched thin on Earth, meaning that those still living on Earth rely on the resources that can be collected from the furthest reaches of the Solar System. Unfortunately for the Earth, this does lead to a violent, breakaway organization known as the Settlement Defense Front to rise up and attempt to secede from the United Nations Space Alliance. This secession leads to the events of the game, after a surprise attack by the SDF on Earth.
Unlike many Call of Duty games, I actually quite enjoyed the setting of Infinite Warfare. Setting the game in the Solar System, and not on earth, offers players a chance to play in a fresh setting that has been barely explored in Call of Duty. Space has been featured before, for sure, but only just above the Earth; never beyond that. Within this game it is possible to have battles/missions above the sun and all the way out to Pluto, with multiple locations in between. Each planet and space battle are rendered quite beautifully, really adding to the immersion of play and making it feel very much like you as the player are truly fighting in space and on other worlds.
The story is decent as well. Unlike most FPS games, the main character actually seems to have a workable personality that makes it easy to feel for him and his struggles. Nick Reyes and his efforts to halt the SDF is among the most compelling stories I have ever experienced in an FPS, with every loss being very well communicated through the actions and dialogue of Reyes. In addition, Ethan, a robot who assists Reyes and his team, is actually a good character that has more personality than one would expect from a robot; in fact I would argue that Ethan has more of a personality and is more likeable than most other protagonists in the Call of Duty franchise. Related to that, the main missions were a lot of fun, and every single mission feels unique and has a purpose towards advancing the narrative, a feeling I have rarely had when playing other Call of Duty games. The side missions were just as good as the main missions as well, with each, while not necessary for the story, does further show that this conflict spans the solar system and is not just focused on Earth or Mars. Overall, the story was kept simple and straightforward so they can put the focus on the characters for us to enjoy, and it is clear that they completely knocked it out of the park with the characters and their individual stories. It was very easy to care for each of them, and during the end credits where you can listen to the final messages of the fallen was a nice emotional touch that is simply absent from the previous entries.

I’m not going to talk much about gameplay in regards to the first person shooter; standard FPS fare leads me to become bored from talking about it. However I will definitely talk about the feature that I enjoyed perhaps the most, which was the space combat. In this game you often take command of a Jackal, a space/air superiority fighter that is equipped with multiple weapons. Your aircraft is more than capable of taking out both rival fighters as well as larger space ships as well. The space combat is fast and fairly fluid, though I would argue it could have had more work done on it. Regardless, fighting in the cold space against the backdrop of Saturn, Neptune, and other celestial bodies has been some of the most fun I have had in a Call of Duty campaign, and arguably the best part about the whole game. In addition, you are able to customize both the weapons and your own Jackal. The Jackal does not have a lot of options, which is a slight negative, but it does have enough that it feels like you are making somewhat important choices before heading into a mission.

Honestly I cannot think of many serious negatives. The campaign did feel a little short but so do all FPS campaigns; it’s tough to count this as a sin against Infinite Warfare when every other FPS game commits the same sin. The animation and graphics were SOMETIMES a bit off, but otherwise pretty standard fare for a COD game. I think that it is clear that, like most COD games, the design team focused too much on the multiplayer component; I could not care less about the repetitive multiplayer aspects to any of these games, and honestly think the franchise would be better off without them. However I also understand that it is the main selling point, as it is very obvious that most people tend to play multiplayer. It is a shame, as they are missing out on a rather interesting entry into the COD franchise, despite its issues. I did not think that Kit Harrington did an exceptional job as the villain Kotch either, but that is a more minor problem that I have. My last issue is that I do think that this honestly would have been better as a new IP. Perhaps it is me missing the Killzone franchise, but something about space and planet hopping warfare is very appealing. While this was still a good game, I think that the COD name and the publisher behind it are tying down the potential of this setting and story.
Overall, I would say this was a fun game. I rented it from Redbox, but I can honestly say that it is one of the few FPS games that I have said “Hey, this is a game I would not mind owning”. Even the soundtrack is superb compared to other games, with the score being quite memorable and really accentuating the emotion of the game during many key scenes. While it does have some flaws and I think that it could have been improved by being its own thing, Infinite Warfare is a great entry into the franchise. I’m only sad that it looks like it will be the only entry into this storyline.

I would very much recommend this game.

9/10



Originally posted in the Gamer's Gazette.

While I do enjoy Call of Duty for a bit of light and casual gameplay, this is UNLIKELY to turn into a franchise review thread. There are too many games and I don't particularly care to review them all. This was a special case considering how much I personally enjoyed this game and I am unlikely to review any others.

However...we shall see how I like future games, or if I ever feel like returning to the earlier games to review them. And also..I could not care less about multiplayer stuff, so those will never factor into my reviews of this game or franchise.