Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Game Review.

It's been a while since I've reviewed a game. As a matter of fact, it's been a while since I've reviewed anything at all ever since I changed my account for the umpteenth time. I still have a thirst for reviewing and decided to write about the latest Call of Duty game: Infinite Warfare. This game was almost universally hated before release. It quickly became the second most disliked YouTube video (just behind a Justin Bieber song), and most people, outside of Call of Duty devotees, expected this game to be the worst thing since Superman 64. As someone who hasn't loved a Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare II, I didn't care for this upcoming release. I didn't hate it nearly as much as most people, but I didn't expect it to be any better then the other Call of Duty games, all of which I didn't like enough to finish.

But since my brother is a Call of Duty game, I had the benefit of getting the game for free. Maybe I should pay him back, because surprisingly, I thought the game was GOOD.Yeah, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare genuinely surprised me. I enjoyed it more than any game that came out this year - although I expect it to be topped when I play Dishonored 2, and again with Final Fantasy XV. But the point is: I enjoyed Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. It held my attention, something I haven't felt in a while. I can't say how it stacks up against Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2, but it gripped my attention, which is something not many games can do.

This is the most ambitious Call of Duty game in years. Setting the campaign mostly in space and other planets as opposed to the earthly setting of other Call of Duty games was questionable, but a referencing change in pace, something the franchise was in need of. The campaign's presentation is fantastic - visuals, graphics, environments and directions coming into full effect and barraging the player with set-piece after set-piece. This game doesn't waste time; it starts with an exhilarating action sequence and ends with a beautiful and emotional ending. It's an immensely entertaining 6 hours of gameplay that proposes challenges in an exciting and spectacular fashion. There are space battles (oh, the space battles), ship battles, races against time, and opportunities to just blow shit up.

It constantly alternates from a conventional Call of Duty game, to a Star Wars game, to Mass Effect and Call of Duty's lovechild.

The campaign was fun, but without a solid story, it wouldn't be able to hold my attention. The story is good. Pleasantly occupied by human and relatable characters, IW's campaign is a character-driven narrative. I cared for all three main characters by the end of the game. The only glaring, shortcoming in the game as a story is the villain. After his compelling first scene, Kit Harrington's character was reduced into a cardboard cut out who spends more time behind closed curtains and getting others to do the job for him. His lack of presence in the game isn't even mysterious enough to make him compelling, he's just... barely in the game.

The multiplayer itself is mediocre. Good, but compared to the exceptional campaign, the MP is a waste of potential. They could've done a lot with the space setting, but the multiplayer ended up feeling samey and just as good as any other Call of Duty multiplayer. In that respect, Battlefield 4 wins as the multiplayer is a lot better than the one proposed in Infinite Warfare. If the multiplayer battles were just as exhilarating as the zero-gravity space battles in the Campaign, I could've regularly lost hours playing it, but it isn't - it's just Call of Duty. Which is just OK.

Another area in which the game excels is the Zombies. Zombies in an Infinity Ward game, I thought would pale in comparison to Treyarch's addictive zombie modes. Again, I was proven wrong. It's a gentler, more welcoming Zombie mode than before, energised by a vivid 80s setting. It stacks up just fine against Activision's zombie modes. I can imagine this'll be the aspect of the game that compels me to pick it up time and again.

That sums up my thoughts on the game. It's inarguably an acquired taste: you'll either like it or you won't like. In my opinion, it's by far the best Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare 2, and that was 7 years ago! So I tip of my hat to Infinity Ward for doing that: especially for someone who hasn't been compelled by CoD at all in years. We're now 3 for 4 in the Warfare games. Damn you, MW3. The only major gripes I have with the game are the waste of potential in doing something special in the online multiplayer, and an uninteresting, villain. Otherwise, the campaign and zombies are fantastic. And it doesn't really glamorise war. This is a REALLY good game. I wouldn't recommend it to everybody, but I wouldn't write it off because it's a Call of Duty game. At least consider it.

I'm rating it a 7/10.

Thanks for reading.