Game of the Year #6 – Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

It’s funny really. Prior to this year’s instalment, everyone had begun to write off the series. Many claimed that Activision’s cash-cow was after drying up and Ghosts had scared everyone away. And while the spectral entry might have seen a few Call of Duty fans prestige for the very last time, Advanced Warfare certainly reassured more and even brought in some new ones too. At its core, this is a Call of Duty game. It doesn’t re-invent the wheel, but it does tinker enough to be considered one of the better video games of 2014.

Even with the hype surrounding its eventual release, Respawn’s initial effort appears to have cooled among the general populous, but Titanfall’s influence on Call of Duty is evident — and I’m sure this will be the case for shooters, for years to come. The futuristic element of Advanced Warfare gave Sledgehammer Games artistic license with some elements of gameplay, thankfully, and this includes the glorious double jump. It can’t be understated how much faster and more fluid everything feels in COD: AW. Movement isn’t the only thing thing that feels more fun, though, as the addition of homing grenades are a blast (that’s a brilliant joke and you know it) and upon detonation,Threat Grenades give a small duration of time to see enemies through walls. With the amount of bodies to drop at times, these projectiles are a wonderful inclusion.

And look, detractors will say that it’s “just another Call of Duty game,” but the thing is, generally, the series has produced really good shooters, except this year, it’s been a tad bit better. Honestly, what drew me in was The Spacey Effect™. I’m by no means a CoD fan, but the addition of President Frank Underwood as head of a private military company was something that piqued my interest. The campaign, while not this life-changing tale, really does deserve some credit. It’s the epitomé of a Summer blockbuster with varying locale, car chases, a formidable villain and shit loads of explosions. Shit loads. Yeah, “press X to pay respects” is stupid and we’ll all have a good laugh taking the piss out of that one for a while yet, but don’t discount the rest of the six hour single-player mode. I’m not sure what I expected from Kevin Spacey’s performance in all honesty, but what I got was something that re-instilled my love for one Kacey…as if I needed more proof that the man is one of the best in his craft. The supporting cast are more than adequate, but Verbal Kint’s excellence drips from the screen. The man is a class above the rest, for sure.

Also, as someone that has had problems with how shooty shooty bang bang Call of Duty can be for lack of a better term, Advanced Warfare introduced other elements that varied gameplay. For example, the section where you go to Jonathan Irons’ abode and stealth your way around, grappling from building to building, silently taking out guards along the way is genuinely terrific. Or how about that part where you have to, essentially, play Frogger on a busy motorway, before hopping from moving vehicle to moving vehicle, in a scene that would make Michael Bay weak at the knees. The regular bombast is here in spades and that’s fantastic, but don’t let it be said that there isn’t some diversification, too.

I honestly didn’t think that come the end of this year I would be championing a Call of Duty title for our year end awards, but I’m delighted that Advanced Warfare has been recognised as one of 2014’s best. Now, press the heart button above to like this article in order to pay your respects for one of the year’s best shooters.