Call of Duty : Infinite Warfare may be the most polished entry in the series yet, but how much of an upgrade is it from last year’s Black Ops 3? Not much really, and that may be a good thing.

Infinite Warfare was announced to much controversy, with its first trailer being ranked the second most disliked YouTube video to date. Paired with a less than stellar open beta, these criticism have helped shaped Infinite Warfare to what it is today. Check out that trailer here.

Single Player Campaign

Infinite Warfare’s single player campaign features a likeable trope of characters. An amazing opening sequence followed by a nicely paced story that will hold your interest. As well as the King of the North himself Kit Harrington as our main baddie.

There is a deeper backstory if you pay attention, but like all single player campaigns in the FPS genre, it boils down to “shooting a room full of bad guys and moving on to the next room.”

https://youtu.be/_87zvl0LcEg

The single player campaign also introduces many new interesting mechanics to the series, most notably space combat and battles in zero-G environments. Piloting the Jackal will probably be one of the most memorable experiences you will have in this game. Infinity Ward nailed it with the controls and intergalactic battles. For a series that has always focused on ground combat, to suddenly thrust you into a vehicle capable of downing a massive star destroyer, it is a nice change of pace and perspective.

(Note : For those that own a PSVR, there is a nice free download for a short but sweet Jackal Experience)

While the campaign it short, to me, it was the perfect amount of single player I need as the star of Infinite Warfare for me, and many others will be the multiplayer. There are optional missions to extend the campaign by a little bit more, but they are unnecessary. The optional missions do give you more time with the Jackal though.

Multiplayer

Infinite Warfare’s multiplayer works because it doesn’t stray far from last year’s already strong Black Ops 3’s multiplayer. That means, more or less, the same multiplayer modes, class types and character customization, with new ingredients sprinkled here and there for an extra coat of shine.

https://youtu.be/wwgJ4hVj6Ts

Coming from Black Ops 3 multiplayer mode, the gameplay, graphics and sound, needless to say, is top notch. Smooth and familiar it’s easy enough for you to effortlessly transition over to Infinite Warfare’s multiplayer without a second thought. The satisfaction of gaining kill streaks and kills is unmatched, especially compared to Infinite Warfare’s competitors.

My only gripe is the space combat and zero – G mechanics from the single player campaign did not make it to the multiplayer portion of Infinite Warfare, especially after how Star Wars Battlefront proved space combat was possible in a multiplayer environment while keeping it fun for the players. I am hoping this gets added on into a future DLC.

Zombies mode is where most of the fun of Infinite Warfare’s multiplayer is to be had, especially if you have 3 other friends to play with. Set in a caricature of the 80s, Zombies in Spaceland doesn’t take itself so seriously.

To boil it down to its core concept, you and 3 other players have to figure out how to take advantage of “Spaceland” and it’s various theme parks and rides, to set traps and stop an unending barrage of zombies. Opening different parts of the park will gather you more access to more traps, more room to run but also allow more zombies in.

There is no right way to play this, no steps you have to follow. A strategy that works for one team may not work for another team and this is what makes Zombies and all it’s previous iterations great.

Modern Warfare Remastered

To complete the package, Infinite Warfare also comes packed with Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, one of the greatest first person shooters ever made. A decade after it’s original release, Modern Warfare has been remastered and still plenty of fun. To date, it stands as the most exciting single player experience Call of Duty has had so far.

While Modern Warfare graphics, audio and frame rates have vastly improved, the core design of the game itself is starting to show it’s age. When it was first released in 2007, Modern Warfare placed you in the driver’s seat of an action movie, with an intricate plot inspired by real-world issues happening during the period. Almost 10 years later, and while other games have improved and surpassed what Modern Warfare benchmarked, it’s important to remember that Modern Warfare did it first, and this addition to the game is a nice history lesson or nostalgia trip depending on how old you are.

https://youtu.be/CS5OIJO7Q0M

I found myself playing Modern Warfare’s multiplayer mode more than I did of Infinite Warfare’s and that’s maybe because I enjoyed the slower paced more realistic battles. (No double jumping and impossible slides across the terrains). It is weird that not all the multiplayer maps are included in Modern Warfare but there is hope they will be added in via patches.

If anything, Modern Warfare Remastered makes me wish that next year’s main line Call of Duty title brings us back to present day settings. If not, I pray there’s a Modern Warfare 2 Remastered next year.

Overall

Call of Duty Infinite Warfare is an outstanding package for its price. The graphics, sound and frame rates are astounding. There are essentially 4 different games here for everyone and the replayability factor is immeasurable.

While it may not take Battlefield 1 & Titanfall 2 off my playlist, it definitely has a spot up in my current rotation of games to play, especially on days where I only have time for a quick few rounds of multiplayer.

While I can’t help but think Infinite Warfare wasn’t necessary, it wouldn’t be a complete year without a new Call of Duty game. See you next year.