Feature: Five Ways Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's Multiplayer Will Pull the Property into the Future

You could never describe Call of Duty: Ghosts as a bad game. It was predictable without a doubt, but it was an entertaining enough distraction for a few weeks. Of course, Activision sets its standards higher than that, and it wouldn’t be in control of the biggest first-person property on the planet if it didn’t. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare needs to recapture some of the revolutionary spirit that made its predecessors both critical darlings and commercial juggernauts, then, and relatively new studio Sledgehammer Games has been charged with the task of achieving just that. Fortunately, it’s had three years to formulate its course of action, and it revealed the fruits of its labour today as part of a pretty lengthy live broadcast. So, how is this year’s outing dragging an otherwise tired series into the future? Let’s take a look.

Exo hits the spot

Call of Duty’s always been defined by its swift action; from the super speedy matchmaking system to the lightning fast respawn times, it’s a series that wants to get you into the thick of combat as quickly as possible. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare looks to be taking that format to the next level by introducing the Exo Suit, a supercharged piece of wearable technology that transforms an average soldier into a superhero. The way that this changes the multiplayer game is by giving you access to mid-air boost abilities, which can be used to give you a vertical advantage. This means that the gameplay is somewhat more reminiscent of old-school arena shooters such as Quake and Unreal Tournament, with the rocket propelled boosts providing you with a means to both escape and more effectively scout out your prey. Of course, it also means that you can move around the world much faster than ever before, only furthering the frenetic nature of the core combat.

Play your way

No two soldiers will ever be the same in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – well, not quite anyway. While everyone will have access to the boost abilities detailed above, you’ll be able to augment your lightweight wraparound with some neat new features. Exo Abilities are kind of like apps for your jetpack, allowing you to equip it with a bigger battery for more manoeuvres or even a cloak that will stop your foes from seeing your approach. And this aspect of personalisation extends to every facet of the competitive game, as you’ll unlock Supply Drops as you progress, providing your avatar with new goods, gear, and firearm variations. Due to the fact that there’s so much to customise, you’ll be able to jump into a Virtual Firing Range at any time to test out your new loadout – even during lobby loading screens. And if you’re happy with your new setup then you can just scout out everybody else’s gear, as the new lobby system will allow you to see everyone in 3D.

Futuristic football

The likes of Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag will always be at the heart of Call of Duty, and they’re all making a comeback in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, alongside fan favourite Hardpoint, which is a kind of King of the Hill variation that first appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. However, the developer’s also come up with a new playlist called Uplink, which combines gunplay with basketball. Indeed, this mode sees you attempting to hold onto a satellite in Oddball-esque fashion; however, you can throw said communications sphere across the battlefield to a team mate or out of the reach of opponents while you clear a path. The really cool thing about this mode is that to score you need to toss it through a neon sphere, which we daresay will lead to opponents using their jetpacks to try and block it from passing through the target. How could you not be excited for Speedball with weapons?

Inspired by the best

We can’t help but feel sorry for Infinity Ward right now. Call of Duty: Ghosts was clearly a challenging game to make, and it almost seems like it’s been chucked under the bus a bit by both fans and Activision itself. Indeed, there was no mention of last year’s outing during tonight’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare multiplayer unveiling – in fact, you’d think that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was the last entry in the franchise. And it’s that title that Sledgehammer Games is taking most of its inspiration from, announcing that it’s adapting the Pick 10 system – which allows you to tailor your loadout to your tastes, but restricts you based on a limited number of slots – to the Pick 13 system. Scorestreaks are also being repurposed from Treyarch’s game, allowing you to call in powerful weapons or team bonuses based on the amount of points that you earn in a single life. And lastly, there’s Hardpoint, the moving hotspot mode that was first introduced in 2012’s release.

Tsunami bomb

All of the gameplay tweaks and changes would be moot without interesting maps to play on, but Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare appears to have its own take on Battlefield 4’s levolution in order to keep you on your toes. One of the new maps, Defender, sees you fighting near to a seafront in San Francisco. Of course, that turns out to be a bit of a bad idea, as a tsunami hits the edge of the city about halfway into the match. Not only does this create a nice visual spectacle, but it also gives you something else to think about as you battle for territory against the opposing team. Meanwhile, the other maps are all designed with the new title’s increased verticality in mind. Riot, for example, takes place in a prison and is packed with tight corridors, but also has an expansive outdoor environment, while Ascend occurs in a space elevator terminal. There’s also Biolab, which is set amid a snowy engineering facility, and adds some visual variety to the action.

Were you impressed by Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer reveal? Are you really looking forward to this year’s game? Gun us down in the comments section below.