Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

The latest in the highly-popular Call of Duty series has arrived and with

it comes a bold new direction for the series that mixes the familiar with

the new.

Infinite Warfare is set in the future but unlike the recent Advanced

Warfare, this is a future where space travel has become the norm and the

people of Earth find themselves in an ongoing battle with a Mars based

faction who have amassed a very large and powerful fleet of warships.

Players take on the role of Lt. Reyes who finds himself forced into

command when a surprise attack devastates much of the Earth’s forces and

at the mercy of the ruthless leader of the opposing forces (Kit

Harrington).

Like with last years Black Ops 3 players have a staging area and the

ability to select their weapon configurations for each mission. There is

also a Captain’s room where players can view newsreels and other items

should they want to take a break from the combat and explore.

Players can also select which missions to take based on the recommended

story missions or they can select side missions. In my first run through I

stuck mainly to suggested missions and was amazed at how fast I got to the

final battle, so those looking to prolong their solo campaign will want to

select some of the additional missions.

Mission play is what you would expect from Call of Duty with missions

mixing stealth and waves of enemies for players to mow down. This time out

several missions involve space combat as players will take on fighters and

enemy ships in their fighter plane which also allows for some interesting

missions where players will leave their ship to battle in Zero-G before

resuming the attack on foot.

Players also will have access to energy and ballistic weapons and can pick

up weapons and ammunition along the way.

Using futuristic grenades that cause gravity to disrupt as well as spider

like seekers is a nice touch as is the protective shield players can

deploy when the action becomes heated.

Multiplayer has always been the strong point of the series and Infinite

Warfare is no exception to this trend. There are fewer modes than in the

past, but the customization and rankings that players expect are still in

place. There are also the popular kill streak rewards that can turn the

tide of any battle.

Although some may not like the inclusion of jump packs in multiplayer, it

did not harm Advanced Warfare and the levels where fallen players float

away in Zero-G were also a very nice touch. I did briefly think I was

playing DOOM with some of the maps set on a planet exterior at first, but

soon found myself caught up in the action. Like with Black Ops 3, a

special weapon is on a timer and allows players to deploy a wide angle

machine gun called a “Claw” which mows down enemies with ease.

The maps like the solo portion of the game are highly detailed and

stunning to behold and the composition for the game has some very

compelling music. I played the game on an NVIDIA 960 then moved to a

NVIDIA 1060 Founders Edition card and found that the game looked and ran

amazingly well even on the highest settings.

The real treat of the game for me was the Zombie mode set at Spaceland, an

80s themed amusement park. The mode had plenty of 80s nostalgia as well as

an 80s soundtrack of hits from the era as well as a campy tone that

invoked the best of 80s horror films.

The detail level was so good that you can even take a ride on an

attraction, use some rides as weapons, and use tickets you gain to gain

power ups. For me it was simply the best initial Zombie offering of any

Call of Duty game ever.

In the end, Infinite Warfare offers one of the best campaigns in recent

years and blends old and new to create a Call of Duty experience that is

fresh yet familiar. Fans of the series should not be put off by the space

setting and should give the game a try as it is a very enjoyable and

winning combination that is as fun to play as it is great to look at.

4 stars out of 5.