CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE

Go to Call Of Duty's Facebook page and 99% of the comments cry out that the franchise is dead.
For something that is 'dead' the midnight launch on the 3rd November seemed to be well attended and I was told that the version for the PS4 outsold those for the Xbox.


Whatever the view 'Advanced Warfare' came from Sledgehammer Games who were behind another CoD title 'Modern Warfare 3' (and is the first CoD game that I played.


'Advanced Warfare' is set in the future (2059) and follows the hero, Mitchell, from the chaos of Seoul, South Korea that has been attacked by troops from North Korea. Mitchell and his mate, Will Irons, are caught out while planting an explosive device on a rocket launcher. Will dies and Mitchell loses his left arm. Discharged from the Army, Mitchell is given the opportunity of a second chance by Will's father who owns the Atlas Corporation - a private military that goes anywhere for the highest bidder. This character is voiced by Kevin Spacey and the well constructed CGI is more than just a Spacey look a like.


The job in hand is to hunt down and kill a terrorist known as Hades. To do this Mitchell becomes part of a squad run by Gideon and Joker, his number 2. Although missions are completed I couldn't help but feel that something darker lurked beneath - and, yes, I have reached that point of the game where my suspicions were confirmed.


So for story construction there are no complaints and character development is excellent.


So far so good but there is a tiny problem with the gameplay with tiny being the operative word. There are instances when a series of buttons need to be pushed in order to advance the sequence. At one point the prompt looks like it is the front of the headlight; the second a logo on the base of the armoured windscreen. This was so small that I had to get close to the tv screen just to make it out. Messes up the flow of the gameplay with too many repeats to locate what is required.


Multiplayer is fun. Loaded with jetpacks on eco-skeletons the soldiers fly through the air with the greatest of ease. But it does not take long for the novelty to wear off. It is not like 'Titanfall', as many suggest - no Titans or wall running for starters - but the similarity is there. Having had the benefit of contextual lean on 'Ghosts' this way of looking around corners is absent - so, too, is 'Squads' which was a handy 'training ground' on 'Ghosts'.


And there, I think, there lies a problem with the Call Of Duty franchise is this lack of consistency - new ideas that occur in one game does not continue with the next.


Another problem is that with the introduction of the Xbox One I have had a problem with Activision games. Halfway through a multiplayer match the screen would go blank and then I would get a message telling me that I had to have a Xbox Live network to play 'Call Of Duty: Ghosts. My grandson had the same problem with the Activision/Bungie 'Destiny'. So  I avoid Activision games on my Xbox. Which brings this back to the beginning and comments made on the Facebook page for Call Of Duty. The real issues, it would appear, come with servers and hackers a subject that has yet to be addressed - no point in having a Facebook page and remain unresponsive to these complaints.


As for 'Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare' - I enjoy the game and, so far, the multiplayer.