Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare review

If you only played the opening mission of Activision’s latest blockbuster first-person shooter, you’d be forgiven for walking away thinking that it was just another Call of Duty.

It starts much as they all do: bad stuff happens and guns get shot. But this one also changes things up in ways that are unexpected, yet very welcome.

After an opening mission full of explosions, space combat, bombast and bluster (and let’s face it, you can’t jump into a starship and burst out of the atmosphere into space without at least a few ridiculous explosions) the story settles into one that might feel familiar if you’re a Killzone veteran.

You (naturally) play the good guys who have to protect Earth - normally a fairly standard job, if the Settlement Defence Force (SDF) rebels didn’t have an unhinged boss (Salen Kotch, played ably by Kit Harington of Game of Thrones fame) calling the shots. He’s hell-bent on becoming the dominant force.

OK, we’re not breaking new ground here, and it all gets a little messy at times, even for a series that follows the good vs bad model so often. But without losing any of what the series is known for, Infinite Warfare still proves that there are some very smart people working at Infinity Ward.

SIDE MISSIONS. IN A CALL OF DUTY CAMPAIGN

Where Infinite Warfare diverges from the norm is in the way the universe feels conceptually more whole.

Call of Duty regularly suffers from a narrative that feels less cohesive; more like a set of missions you just have to get through. Here though, you end up in charge, and can pick side-missions from a map (think Mass Effect, and you’re not far off), each of which are largely inconsequential to the story, but will give you bonuses that affect your character.

One such diversion is all about stealth, and sees you boarding a ship, sneaking into the vents and turning off the air supply to kill four high profile SDF targets. Once you’ve shot your way out, enemy rankings will be thinned and you’ll earn faster health regeneration as a bonus. Win win.

A MORE COHESIVE GAME WORLD

This all adds up to just make if feel… well, less of a Call of Duty game, really.

Each time you select a mission you go to your pal in the armoury and select a loadout, which is more important than you’d usually expect. Being a futuristic world means that you’re not just shooting human soldiers - there are robots to kill as well, so you might want to take the gun that’s good at killing them quicker, right?

It’s not what you’d expect from the series, but it grabs you early and pulls you through the story.

Most missions have armouries that hide upgrades for your tools, and you can wander around your hub, check your computer (after each level it’ll have something new on it), or even just watch the TV with your crew. There are lots of small details that make you feel like it all belongs, which is a welcome change for the series.