It may be Stockholm syndrome at this point but is it just me or was the trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 actually exciting?
It looks as though the team at Infinity Ward have put effort in this time, both in terms of story, presentation and gameplay. Gone are the flying machetes and Kaiju boss fights from Black Ops 7, and hopefully they’ve learned from the rush-job that was MW3 (and the woeful ‘open world’ missions). The trailer shows an apparent return to form, with the campaign this time revolving around real-world locations, as Korea prepares for war.
There appears to be parallel stories with one taking place around a team of of young native soldiers and one around fan favourites; where a certain John Price has been operating in a less than savoury manner – as seen during his shocking confrontation with 141 teammate Simon Riley.
From what has circulated online we will be getting a classic perk system (ninja is confirmed to be a perk), streamlined class building, more relaxed match-making (to be believed when seen), updated prestige system, similar movement to the rest of the Modern Warfare titles (gone is omni-movement), and 12 6v6 Multiplayer maps at launch, alongside Ground War and Gunfight. The game will also include a new mode called Kill Block which could help to further spice things up.
We’re so… back?
To be fair it’s early days but just from the trailer alone I can already tell that the game will look, feel and play better than the previous few years (though we shouldn’t expect the new cycle to consist of one good game in five), with the grounded, more real setting resonating with me much more that last year’s mess of a fever dream. It’s the small things that add up to make a great overall experience – something which Infinity Ward have been decent at. Things like cinematic, over the top set pieces, civilians reacting to the situation as it unfolds, squad interactions, weapon details, and just the writing in general. I’m just hoping it’s more 2019 and less everything else that’s come since.
More details on the reveal event can be found from the guy who broke the news to me, Replay Mode, who has fast become my favourite source for Call of Duty content on YouTube. Other than that click here or check out the studio’s ‘making of’ series – From The Ward, because news is leaking out thick and fast.
We’ll have to see more when more details are revealed on June 7th, like the revamped extraction mode DMZ (please pull the trigger this time and make this decent, Warzone can’t sustain the player base any more). Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on October 23rd, with early access to Campaign being heavily rumoured.