Prior to writing this review I looked back at the Call of Duty games I’ve played and I realised something.
All of my good memories of CoD can be traced back to the Modern Warfare games. I could discuss how ‘All Ghillied Up’ is an all-time great level. I could dig into the pros and cons of ‘No Russian’, for days. Sadly, bar a dog in Ghosts and a now inappropriate turn by Kevin Spacey in Advanced, nothing comes to mind from this generation’s entries. If you’ve played one CoD you’ve played them all.
To be fair, Infinite Warfare does provide some cool scenery. The transition to space from the ground is pleasingly seamless, and the Jackals you tear around in look cool. The only issue I have with them is that they move much like people. The cast all look very life-like, with some impressive motion capture, but my favourite character was a robot. Everything else is as you’d expect. Which means lots of acronyms, the odd oohrah, plus a bad guy that isn’t fleshed out at all.
As the credits rolled after roughly 8 hours, I could listen to messages from characters I lost through the story. These messages, to each comrade’s loved ones, are a heavy way to wrap things up, or they would be if the game had done anything to deserve it. There’s a lot of talk about duty and loss but none of it hits home. I expect a bit of drama in these games, and maybe a character I’ll miss, but Infinite doesn’t make the effort to build anything. It takes a passing glance at deeper ideas as it shoves you towards the next set piece, ending in a hollow and emotionally forced fashion.
Activision rearranged their release cycles to give their developers more time yet still keep up with yearly releases. A sound plan right? Judging by Infinite Warfare—a pretty and competent game that is as deep as a puddle—it hasn’t helped.
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