The holiday season is almost upon us, and with it, fans will see the return of the mega-hit Call of Duty. The yearly franchise may have rubbed people the wrong way with the past few entries (Call of Duty: Ghosts was not a lot of people's favorite), but Activision has been doing its best to make sure that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare stands on its own from its franchise brethren.
If there was one thing missing from Call of Duty previously, it was exosuits and mechanized tanks. Going by the latest trailer, Advanced Warfare won't have a shortage of either:
The trailer is noticeably different in tone from those that preceded it: Advanced Warfare's earlier trailers were all dark, gritty and deadly serious, but this new trailer is definitely more energetic. The music and gameplay create more of an action-movie popcorn blockbuster vibe than previous trailers did; considering just how over-the-top Call of Duty can be, the new shift in tone seems more in-line with the series in a lot of ways.
On top of that, Advanced Warfare is really, really pretty. Call of Duty has always been known for its epic-scale battles, but in previous entries, a lot of the detail was lost in the action. Advanced Warfare doesn't seem to suffer any similar issues: the game's character models are a sight to behold, with amazingly detailed faces and equipment. A lot of time and effort went into to making a visually detailed game overall, and it shows: soldiers look more lifelike than most other games can dream of, and little touches like the dashboard of a vehicle or a grenade's tactical hologram just add to the experience.
A lot is riding on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Relatively speaking, Call of Duty: Ghosts was not well-received by many, and sales reflected their sentiments. In fact, many believe the series has been declining since the release of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. Yearly entries led to cramped development schedules and player fatigue, though Activision has made it clear that they're aware of the issues. The publisher recently shifted Call of Duty to a three-year development cycle, meaning that the teams have more time to make more distinct games that don't just feel like they were copy-and-pasted.
What's the best way to make a game feel different? Put in jet packs and Kevin Spacey, of course.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be available starting Nov. 4.
