We entered that time of the year again where publishers are throwing games at us at a pace that’s hard to follow. A lot of great games and returning franchises are finding their way to the palms of the gamers. Call of Duty returns as well and brings in two games at once. Infinite Warfare and a Remastered version of the iconic Modern Warfare, let’s talk about that one a little more.
Call of dislikes
Imagine that moment when you release the first trailer of a new entry in a beloved franchise and it becomes your most disliked video on your channel. It’s exactly what Activision went through with the Infinite Warfare reveal, a lot of gamers didn’t like the whole ‘let’s fight in space’ theme and couldn’t stress this out enough. In order to soften the pain, Activision promised to bundle the game with a remaster of the iconic first Modern Warfare game. The catch is that you’ll only able to play the remaster if you own the Legacy Bundle, including both Modern Warfare and Infinite Warfare. If you pre-ordered that bundle, you can already enjoy the campaign of Modern Warfare Remastered. It’s a bit too soon to decide if Infinite Warfare will really be bad, instead, let us focus on the great campaign of Modern Warfare first.
Enter John Soap
You play as John ‘Soap’ MacTavish, the main protagonist of the entire Modern Warfare arc. He’s new to the army but doesn’t get much time to adapt to his new situation. Shortly after his first debriefing and quick skill-test, he is dropped on a ship together with a squadron. The objective is clear, infiltrate the ship, steal important documents and kill everybody that dares to stand in your way. The first level is extremely spectacular since the ship is sinking near the end of the mission. What you get is an action-packed mission filled with explosions and enemies. It sets the tone for the rest of the campaign and it’s without a doubt one of the strengths of Modern Warfare. The campaign isn’t that long but it will definitely leave its mark behind.
The campaign leaves its mark
Variation is the key
The variation in the missions is what made Modern Warfare this good in the first place. In one mission you’re running around in a wide-open field, armed with a machine gun while you’re looking for a good spot to scope down your enemies during another one. The game really gives you the feeling of playing a crucial role in an enormous war. There are more modern games that tried to mimic what Modern Warfare did, but the way the missions follow onto each other is something we haven’t seen in any other game to date. Modern Warfare offers a realistic, chaotic and intense glimpse at war.
You won’t be on foot all of the time, some missions will put you in command of vehicles such as helicopters. The best thing about it all is that you fight as a squadron and your team really pushes forward as well, taking down enemies before you can. Be careful not to hit your teammates however since friendly fire can often result in a black screen, forcing you to restart the mission. This can happen during more epic gunfights in the game and perhaps is one of the game’ biggest downsides. But don’t be mistaken, the campaign is unlike anything you have played before and I’m sure it will leave its mark for months after you finished it for the first time.
A feeling of freedom
What the missions do best is that they give you a feeling of freedom, although you might not always have it. Most missions are set in a rather open environment, giving you several options to reach your goal. Will you go to it directly or visit some houses first? It’s entirely up to you. Modern Warfare is open for several approaches and everybody will play it at their pace and in their style. I for example like the direct approach a bit more but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any stealth opportunities in the open worlds. The environments aren’t that big or that open but they do give you the feeling they actually are, which really transforms your time with the game in a pleasant one.
The only downside is that your mini-map isn’t on your screen. Instead, you have a compass pointing out where you need to go. If you do want to see where your objective is, you’ll need to hit the pause menu to see the map, it takes away the immersion and we wished this could have been fixed.
Modern Warfare never looked this good
To conclude, let’s state the obvious, Modern Warfare never looked this good. The entire game has been remade into a modern looking game that comes very close to the latest Call of Duty games. Everything looks extremely sharp, especially the characters and environments. The developers really invested a lot of time in polishing this 2007 game as much as possible so new gamers can enjoy it to its fullest. The result is truly impressive. If you’ve played the original, you won’t recognize this remaster. A lot of time went into the little details but those bring the game to a higher level for sure. Playing Modern Warfare in 2016 is a true sight for sore eyes.
Conclusion:
It’s a true pleasure playing this remaster, even if you’ve played the original. Modern Warfare never looked this good and the intense campaign doesn’t fail to impress. It’s a shame the mini-map isn’t on the screen and there still are some ‘unfair’ game over screens but aside of that, it’s an incredible experience. A shame you can’t get this game separately because this is a game everybody should be able to play and enjoy.
