Well don't I feel silly. Here I was reviewing Advanced Warfare, gleefully typing away my complaints about its story and plot. Stretching my critical muscles as I prepared to throttle the next Call of Duty title on my list. I was ready for anything the game could throw at me. Anything except for it being rather good.
I'm going to lose a bit of journalistic cred here but I actually really liked Infinite Warfare. In fact, in going to say this was the best one since the first Modern Warfare.
The plot is that it's the future and much of try solar system has been colonized in some way. At some point control of Mars was seized by a militant group called the settlement defense front. In response the world governments created the UNSA. At some point a war was fought between the two groups with something of a ceasefire eventually reached.
The game picks up with the SDF up to no good and then attacking earth. As a SCAR team, something of a combination operator and space fighter pilot, you are placed in command of one of the two remaining UNSA ships after the attack.
The game then follows a loose liner structure. You have main story missions but you also have a large number of side missions whose completion unlocks new perks and weapons.
The best part of this game is the plot. As before this is no Shakespeare but there is a good story here. It's established from the beginning what the main characters values are as well as those of the people around him. Then those values are tested when your character is forced into command. The characters that make up your crew are varied and interesting. The solutions that these characters come up with for their problems all are practical for the setting.
I also want to talk about the SDF. As bad guys they could not be more evil. A military society that doesn't take prisoners. That has mandatory military service starting at age 12. That is attacking earth on the basis of "fuck them". It's all very over the top but it works. Rather then a villain we can understand whose ideas are sympathetic we get evil space army. In a setting so far in the future a simple villain to fight is almost an inversion. Add to it that from the start of the game they have the upper hand over earth and it only works better. The SDF are satisfying to kill and, more importantly, I wanted to stop them.
What also makes this game good is all the things it does differently while still being a Call of Duty style FPS. Instead of starting levels with what guns the game chooses to give you you make the choice. Side missions are exactly that and they all put a different spin on the core game while providing new features for the main missions. There's a deck of 52 of most wanted SDF leaders and ace pilots to track down. The space fighter sections all do first person dogfights really well, being both challenging and forgiving at the same time. The gear this time is all practical and more importantly, doesn't just show up once.
Of course nothing is perfect and this game is no exception. The expository dialogue at the beginning of side missions is whispered and the onscreen text is Dead Rising bad. If you don't like the flying missions then that's rough. Also, there were an awful lot of extra hallways and corridors with nothing in them.
The Good:
-the gear is simple, useful, and not gimmicky.
-the story is good.
The Bad:
-they snuck another "chase the guy" mission into the game damnit.
-if you don't like the jackal missions you still have to do some.
Infinite Warfare borrows ideas from a long list of other media. Mass Effect, Titanfall, Halo, and even Star Wars and Star Trek. It's well worth your time and honestly, the very end brought a few tears to my eye.
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