One of my favourite Call of Duty missions took place on a suspension bridge, as part of Modern Warfare 2's excellent spec-ops mode. It was the last time I really connected with a series that has increasingly moved towards flimsy, bombastic encounters and the repeat performance of the same explosive set-pieces. For comparison, here's seven minutes from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's suspension bridge campaign sequence. Spoiler: it ends with the bridge collapsing, and a cutscene in which the player reaches out to catch some guy as they fall to their death.
I've little problem with the existence of the series, but—after so many games—the tricks it uses are plain to see. From the point during the driving section where the player loses control, to the canned animations of the end, it's a franchise built on escalation for escalation's sake.
Here's the thing: between those parts, the gunplay looks pretty good. There's a lot of lock-on weaponry and homing grenades, and it'll be interesting to see how that seemingly overpowered toolset is countered by the enemy. It's the first time in a while that I've looked at a Call of Duty game and thought, around the excess, the basic interaction of shooting a person could be fun.
We'll find out for sure on 4 November.
Yesterday, Activision gave us a look at the game's multiplayer. You can see that here .
Keep abreast of our full Gamescom 2014 coverage by clicking on these words right here .
