REVIEW: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition includes Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. Considering that there’s no direct way to incorporate Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered into our Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare review, we’ve decided to have a separate review talking about the Legacy Edition which comes with the other game. Let’s take a look at both games individually to begin with.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Every year we get a new Call of Duty game and every year I hear gamers complaining about how it doesn’t evolve the franchise and how it’s much of the same. While that might’ve been true for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare brings a number of changes to the gameplay—especially on a technical and narrative front—that make it the long-awaited evolution all of us were hoping for. While it might not be a substantial leap, it does push the franchise in the right direction. Before I begin this review, let me request that you keep an open mind when buying this one. I thought Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was good and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 was atrocious. I was pleasantly surprised when I played this game and was given a chance to delve deeper into the story structure and mechanics.

Campaign

The campaign takes place over the course of a few hours from what it seems. Earth is attacked by a faction which split from the main governing body years ago. They live on harsh planets in the solar system and have adopted a fascist government. I don’t know if I missed this but the reason for the split was unclear. From what I understood, they were dissatisfied with how weak Earth and its government institutions were. I’m not sure though because it wasn’t made clear during the story. Having a detailed opening cutscene which explains all of this would’ve helped, similar to what Destiny did before you began the game. Considering that Activision wants to make Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare into a sub-franchise, I think a clear explanation is necessary.

You’re thrust into an invasion the moment you start the campaign and have to defend Earth and then take the fight to the aggressors. What starts off as a linear campaign becomes open-ended because the story offers numerous side quests which offer upgrades and new pieces to the puzzle. Questions like where the enemy gets their resources from and how their leadership operates are answered, but the main question—about why they’re so hostile towards Earth—isn’t touched upon in an in-depth way. Having a better explanation would’ve elevated the experience considerably.

The story takes around twelve hours to complete if you play it on a challenging difficulty setting. Similar to Destiny, the events unfold across the entire solar system and offer varied environments. The side quests are mostly corridor environments or repetitive space shooting. Speaking of space shooting, while they might’ve overdone those parts, are amazing. I’m not sure what the reason is but they feel incredibly precise and easy to control. The fact that the game runs at 60 FPS helps the mechanics. I don’t think I’m in the minority here but now I want Infinity Ward to make a proper Call of Duty game which focuses on aircraft combat. They absolutely knocked it out of the park in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

While the story might have some missteps, mostly due to the lack of exposition, it’s intense and the fact that you can select your missions and do additional side quests is a welcome change. I wish they expand upon this formula in the next game. It’s definitely worth your time and is way better than the plots of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Normally many gamers who buy the games skip the story altogether for the multiplayer experience but this is one everyone should experience.

Also, there’s a cover mechanic in the campaign which isn’t available in the multiplayer modes. The enemies do a lot of damage so you have to use it. A little yellow arrow pops up on your reticle and holding down the left trigger enables you to peek out of cover and shoot enemies. You have to rely on this in order to succeed at higher difficulty settings.

Multiplayer

As per tradition, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare features robust multiplayer modes, classes and maps. One of the most notable changes has to be the maps. The maps are distinct and gorgeous. While many gamers stated that the “space” setting would be disastrous for the franchise, I would have to disagree. It enables the developers to feature regions which we’ve never seen before and are completely unique. For example, Europa is a sight to behold. Not only is the layout fantastic, but the vistas are just incredible. Arenas like Terminal take place in outer space now.

Mission Teams are also an interesting addition to the game. Basically by joining a particular faction, you can complete challenges and then earn rewards. The rewards include a variety of items like cosmetic upgrades. They add another layer to an already expansive mode.

The biggest change you’ll notice in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has to be the shooting mechanics as alluded to earlier. The focus on precision has never been greater and it’s never been easier to aim your weapon. Shooting feels great and getting headshots is satisfying. It makes a huge difference because in some games it’s very hard to aim for some odd reason. I experienced issues like these in Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. While I can understand that Battlefield 1 tries to recapture a historic era with its weapons, I was surprised when I went into Titanfall 2’s multiplayer and found that it wasn’t as precise as I would’ve liked. I tried changing the settings but could never get it to the level I wanted it to. I didn’t have to experiment with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare at all, it was perfect out of the box. Infinity Ward are definitely the masters when it comes to this. The mechanics are much better than what I experienced when playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and even Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on Xbox One.

Zombies

Zombies mode has to be the funniest part of the game. I had extensive experience with the Spaceland map which features a maze-like network of barrier which you have to take down in order to escape, I think. I played many rounds but could never get past Scene 15. And I believe there are ten more after that!

It’s basically like Horde mode from Gears of War 4, except with zombies. You play as a bunch of stereotypical teenagers on the set of a horror film and have to survive. There are a variety of weapons to purchase along with many secrets like hidden passages and challenge robots. This is definitely the most addictive part of the multiplayer experience. While there might only be the Spaceland map so far, it offers hours of gameplay because it has so many sections and so many secrets. I don’t even know how you’ll experience it all without spending days playing it.

Technical Issues

The campaign has some problems including disappearing objects and fluctuations in frame rate. I didn’t encounter any noticeable frame rate issues during the multiplayer portions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. However, that might be because the game runs at a dynamic resolution from what it feels like. The campaign looks crisp but the multiplayer can seem cloudy and muddled at times. While this might be jarring to some people, it helps preserve the frame rate.

Summary

All in all, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a definitely evolution for the franchise, an evolution we desperately needed. While it might not be the game we wanted—here’s looking at you World War II—it’s definitely a welcome change. The campaign is solid despite the lack of thorough exposition and the addition of side quests make it feel special. The shooting mechanics are genre-defining in my opinion. If you haven’t played Call of Duty for the past few years, this is the one which should change your mind about the franchise. Longtime fans of the franchise will be happy with the changes, especially when it comes to the story. Now, let me end this review so I can go back to playing some Zombies.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered updates a classic in a great way. The campaign is as great as you remember although some of the decisions made by the developers are a little odd. For example, there’s this strange tutorial during the beginning of the game before all the important events take place. I feel that some sequences could be rearranged so that the story would feel better edited but all in all, it’s still fantastic and intriguing. In my opinion the kidnapping and execution portion should’ve started the game to give it more shock value. The tutorial could’ve come later. While obviously that isn’t the purpose of the remaster, it would’ve made the campaign absolutely perfect. Not only one which elevates the genre on a technical level, but also one that furthers it when it comes to storytelling.

All of you know about the story so I won’t keep pushing it. I know you want to know about the visuals. Well, the first aspect of the game you immediately notice are how smooth the shooting mechanics are. The game still runs at 60 FPS but maybe the fact that a new controller is involved makes it feel that much more accurate than on last-generation consoles. Maybe they tweaked the mechanics. I’m not sure. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has never felt better. The shooting feels incredibly precise. I went back and played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on my Xbox 360 and definitely noticed some floatiness when it came to the thumbsticks. Just using improved controllers make a massive difference but I’m sure more work went into that.

All of the new graphics feature high-resolution textures aside from the occasional obscure object that many won’t notice. It looks stunning but the lighting could do with some work. While environmental effects like fire and nighttime areas are perfect, the daytime sequences seem to feature low-quality lighting and this seems a little jarring. For example, going from the tense hallways of the sinking ship which has gorgeous varieties of light coming through is a stark contrast to the scene in a desert city which has some of the most bland lighting I’ve ever seen. The developers should improve the lighting during the daytime segments because it just doesn’t even look like part of the same game. I’m not sure what happened there.

As far as multiplayer is concerned. It’s as great as it’s ever been. After almost a month of waiting, we were finally given access to the multiplayer portions of the game. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered includes iconic maps like Ambush, Backlot, Bog, Crossfire, Downpour and Shipment. I’m sure I’m leaving the others out but to be honest, I don’t really like them that much. These ones are awesome though! While many may see the map count a little sparse in the beginning, Activision have promised to update the game in December with more free content. Popular maps like Pipeline and Wet Work will join the fray then.

I have to say that all of these maps feel unique. All of you know how much I love Halo 5 but many of the maps are basically exactly the same one with different lighting or overgrown vegetation. I understand that it’s hard to design great maps that work but calling them new maps isn’t really fair to customers. The tactics are basically the same.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is different because all of them are very distinct and memorizing the layout is complicated but rewarding. Matches aren’t similar. I appreciate how Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered hearkens back to a simpler time when shooters didn’t need all of these crazy move to be popular. I realize that new Call of Duty games have to compete with the likes of Halo 5 and Titanfall 2 but Battlefield 1 went back to basics and it worked out well. Why can’t Activision do the same? The hype around Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered should be enough of an indication of what customers want.

All in all, you won’t be disappointed with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer. The servers are smooth and I had no issues getting into matches. However, I’m terrible so I got destroyed consistently. That part wasn’t fun. The multiplayer is simpler than new iterations in the franchise and fans and newcomers will love it. I honestly think it’s more accessible because of it.

Summary

Apart from the lighting, I can’t really complain about anything. The performance is solid and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has never looked better. Just our of curiosity I went back to the PC version and this remaster looks so much better even on consoles. The developers need to be applauded. For those of you who were wondering if Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered was worth it, I can tell you without a shred of doubt that it definitely is.

Thoughts

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered are both great games. While Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare shines when it comes to the technical front, especially the shooting mechanics, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered remains a testament to amazing storytelling. While both games have their issues, the package is worth it in my opinion because you’re getting two great games. However, I do think that the price is a little steep. If you a fan of the franchise or shooters, be sure to pick this one up right now. However, if you want to just experience the narratives of both adventures, I would recommend waiting until the price comes down a little.