Following the disappointing reception to Ghosts, Infinity Ward went back to the drawing board and cancelling the sequels they had planned. Science fiction seemed to be working well for the Call of Duty brand at the time, with Advanced Warfare receiving a strong reception the year after Ghosts, and Black Ops III doubling down on that style of gameplay. Infinity Ward’s chips were down, modern military was out and futuristic sci-fi was in. Call of Duty had found a new identity, and Infinity Ward believed that it’s new home should be among the stars. I remember the day that the Infinite Warfare trailer dropped on YouTube, I honestly don’t think I had seen anything like it. At the time it was the second most disliked video on YouTube, currently it sits at twenty-five, and I think that trailer singlehandedly destroyed any chances the game had of gaining any kind of traction. The brand was irreparably damaged, and Infinite Warfare became one of the lowest selling Call of Duty games of all time, but strangely enough it’s one of the games with the highest critical rating. So, is Infinite Warfare a bad game? As one of the few who purchased this game on release, I’ve always been an avid defender to its many critics, but on this replay, I think the cracks started to show. Let me elaborate.
In the distant future Earth has been stripped of all its natural resources and so the survival of our planet depends on the colonisation and mining of other planets in our solar system. The United Nations Space Alliance form to handle the logistics of such a task, a couple of generations later and the colonies start feel as though Earth should be left to fend for itself rather than continue to strip their planet of resources they need. The Settlement Defence Front forms, a militant group of radicals who represent the colonies of Earth. Their leader, Salen Kotch, declares war on Earth by sabotaging its air defences and destroying most of their space fleet. Captain Reyes of the Retribution, one of the few remaining vessels, sets about regaining some strength in the UNSA military and launching a counterattack on the SDF in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the war.
In the distant future Earth has been stripped of all its natural resources and so the survival of our planet depends on the colonisation and mining of other planets in our solar system. The United Nations Space Alliance form to handle the logistics of such a task, a couple of generations later and the colonies start feel as though Earth should be left to fend for itself rather than continue to strip their planet of resources they need. The Settlement Defence Front forms, a militant group of radicals who represent the colonies of Earth. Their leader, Salen Kotch, declares war on Earth by sabotaging its air defences and destroying most of their space fleet. Captain Reyes of the Retribution, one of the few remaining vessels, sets about regaining some strength in the UNSA military and launching a counterattack on the SDF in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the war.
The story to Infinite Warfare is a mixed bag. The concept is interesting and not too dissimilar to the fall of the British Empire, colonisers suddenly being outgunned by the very colonies they established. The problem is that the actual story is really short, not a lot happens, and it kind of feels like all the effort went into the setup and not the actual execution. There are a measly seven story missions in Infinite Warfare, making it by far the shortest campaign to date, easily completed in under five hours. However, despite this potentially being enough to ensure you never touch a copy of Infinite Warfare, it does have some pretty cool tricks up its sleeve.
One such trick is that despite only having seven missions, Infinite Warfare has a number of side-missions which can be tackled in almost any order. Because you’re a captain of a spaceship, you decide where it flies and what missions you tackle. There are a number of optional activities to engage in and unlock new weapons, attachments, and cosmetic items in the armoury. You also have you own personal fighter jet which you’ll use in space battles. For the first time in years, Call of Duty actually feels kind of cool to play. It may not be the most refined campaign experience that the franchise has offered, but it is arguably the most memorable simply because of the way it is structured and how you progress through it.
The character dynamics are also really great. Unfortunately, due to the length of the story you don’t get to spend an awful lot of time getting to form proper attachments to these people, but the way they talk to each other, and have personal stakes in the game makes them far more memorable than most of the characters in the Black Ops or Modern Warfare games. The camaraderie between Reyes and his second in command, Salter, is what really glues the whole thing together. I would have loved to have spent more time with these characters, but due to the short completion time and a rather definitive ending I’d be surprised if we ever get a sequel. Kotch is a weak villain though, and it seems a waste to have gotten in Kit Harrington to play him because he’s hardly even in the game.
One such trick is that despite only having seven missions, Infinite Warfare has a number of side-missions which can be tackled in almost any order. Because you’re a captain of a spaceship, you decide where it flies and what missions you tackle. There are a number of optional activities to engage in and unlock new weapons, attachments, and cosmetic items in the armoury. You also have you own personal fighter jet which you’ll use in space battles. For the first time in years, Call of Duty actually feels kind of cool to play. It may not be the most refined campaign experience that the franchise has offered, but it is arguably the most memorable simply because of the way it is structured and how you progress through it.
The character dynamics are also really great. Unfortunately, due to the length of the story you don’t get to spend an awful lot of time getting to form proper attachments to these people, but the way they talk to each other, and have personal stakes in the game makes them far more memorable than most of the characters in the Black Ops or Modern Warfare games. The camaraderie between Reyes and his second in command, Salter, is what really glues the whole thing together. I would have loved to have spent more time with these characters, but due to the short completion time and a rather definitive ending I’d be surprised if we ever get a sequel. Kotch is a weak villain though, and it seems a waste to have gotten in Kit Harrington to play him because he’s hardly even in the game.
Gameplay borrows a lot from the feel of Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III. You can sprint further, wallrun, use a jetpack, and boost slide. Much like those previous games, Infinite Warfare is all about keeping on the move (which is usually at odds with the shooting mechanics, but this is probably the most balanced it’s ever been for the franchise). The class customisation for campaign isn’t as intrusive as Black Ops III’s and feels organic because of how its implemented, considering that you pass the armoury on the way to your dropship at the start of every mission. You’re also not constantly bombarded with ammo resupply crates (though there are more of them than in most CoD games).
There are a lot of robots to fight, which if you read my Black Ops III review, you’ll remember was a big gripe for me. It’s no better here, and to be honest there’s even less enemy variety than there has been in the past two games, so it feels a lot more repetitive as a result.
The side missions do have a habit of recycling areas from the main missions which can bit a bit of a downer, but most of them are space battles anyway so it’s not too much of an issue.
The biggest hurdle for me is the multiplayer. It’s like Black Ops III but on crack. I was not the biggest fan of Black Ops III’s multiplayer because it was very much a case of people just jetpacking around or boost sliding, and you could never get a clear show on anyone. Infinite Warfare puts you in smaller maps, and so unless you know them like the back of your hand you’re going to get people jetpacking or sliding around blind corners and one shotting you on a regular basis. I expect for people who enjoy the Titanfall style of gameplay in competitive settings then Infinite Warfare will be right up your alley, but for me it’s just too quick and too twitchy to even get my bearings on it.
There are a lot of robots to fight, which if you read my Black Ops III review, you’ll remember was a big gripe for me. It’s no better here, and to be honest there’s even less enemy variety than there has been in the past two games, so it feels a lot more repetitive as a result.
The side missions do have a habit of recycling areas from the main missions which can bit a bit of a downer, but most of them are space battles anyway so it’s not too much of an issue.
The biggest hurdle for me is the multiplayer. It’s like Black Ops III but on crack. I was not the biggest fan of Black Ops III’s multiplayer because it was very much a case of people just jetpacking around or boost sliding, and you could never get a clear show on anyone. Infinite Warfare puts you in smaller maps, and so unless you know them like the back of your hand you’re going to get people jetpacking or sliding around blind corners and one shotting you on a regular basis. I expect for people who enjoy the Titanfall style of gameplay in competitive settings then Infinite Warfare will be right up your alley, but for me it’s just too quick and too twitchy to even get my bearings on it.
Zombies also makes an appearance for the first time in an Infinity Ward game. Dubbed Zombies in Spaceland, it’s again very similar to the Black Ops III offering but with a space theming to it. I’ve never been a fan of zombies, and whilst the change of style was a nice aesthetic touch it did nothing to win me over. It’s the same thing as before, it just looks a bit different now.
Which brings me nicely onto the visuals. Infinite Warfare is very impressive visually, exceeding what Advanced Warfare achieved two years prior, mostly by having much larger and more complex environments. This does often come at the cost of stability though. I frequently encountered dropped frames and screen-tearing that whilst never ruined the experience did ultimately put a bit of a dampener on the experience. The cutscenes are gorgeous though and I really enjoyed watching them because of how stunningly animated they were.
Infinite Warfare was destined to fail ever since the trailer dropped. But it is an entry I advise you go and play if you are yet to do so. It’s certainly not the best Call of Duty experience ever, but it is a relatively unique one. It’s one of the first entries in a long time to really mix up the basic gameplay formula so drastically, and it does so whilst looking great. The game released alongside a Remastered version of Call of Duty 4 that was developed by Raven Software and so was overshadowed by that quite significantly. But it’s not all bad, because the massive interest in the CoD4 remaster prompted Infinity Ward to revisit the sub-series for their next entry, one that proved to be nearly as revolutionary as the first time around.
Which brings me nicely onto the visuals. Infinite Warfare is very impressive visually, exceeding what Advanced Warfare achieved two years prior, mostly by having much larger and more complex environments. This does often come at the cost of stability though. I frequently encountered dropped frames and screen-tearing that whilst never ruined the experience did ultimately put a bit of a dampener on the experience. The cutscenes are gorgeous though and I really enjoyed watching them because of how stunningly animated they were.
Infinite Warfare was destined to fail ever since the trailer dropped. But it is an entry I advise you go and play if you are yet to do so. It’s certainly not the best Call of Duty experience ever, but it is a relatively unique one. It’s one of the first entries in a long time to really mix up the basic gameplay formula so drastically, and it does so whilst looking great. The game released alongside a Remastered version of Call of Duty 4 that was developed by Raven Software and so was overshadowed by that quite significantly. But it’s not all bad, because the massive interest in the CoD4 remaster prompted Infinity Ward to revisit the sub-series for their next entry, one that proved to be nearly as revolutionary as the first time around.