We dived
into its new weapons, maps, modes, and character customization, seen the
dynamic maps change, and fought alongside dogs.
Infinity
Ward have made a big deal of their new engine, which, with the power of a
kickass PC or a next-gen console, definitely puts Ghosts in a league above any
other Call of Duty game. However, nothing about it looks spectacular. DICE have
kicked out their Frostbite 3 Engine and Battlefield 4 puts the COD series,
including Ghosts, to shame. In fact it’s such a difference that you would be
surprised to find that both games are out this year.
Ok,
Ghosts doesn’t look bad; it just isn’t the jump in style you’d expect between
hardware generations. Textures are still washed out and characters move like
the robotic animations of Black Ops II. The one thing it does have going for it
is the real-time lighting. This adds a real lifelike effect to areas of dense
details with rubbish, dust and other particles – including leaves – blowing
through the air. It can also be noted that the audio work on the title is
exceptional; with grenades giving off distinctive sounds based on the grounds
that it lands on – soil, wood and concrete sound vastly different.
Combat
is where the real meat of any FPS comes from and COD has always had a strong,
fast-paced style. Infinity Ward have brought back a lot of older concepts,
including knee slides and leaning around corners. Both of these mechanics will
feel pretty average for your casual players but the hardcore crowd will find
this more intrusive. It’s a great way to avoid headshots but also hold a
disadvantage over control. On the other hand being able to lean into (or out
of) a corner will be a distinct advantage for veteran snipers but for the vast
majority we will still sprint around the comers without many issues. I also
feel that this may take away from the kinetic nature of the COD franchise.
With
Ghosts, Infinity Ward is taking some of the foundations of Modern Warfare 3's
class organization and blending it with Black Ops 2's Pick 10 system to form
"Create a Soldier." This means that you can now change the cosmetics
of your character on top of the standard perks system. You can also create
multiple characters for specific games – one for clan games and one for casual
play as an example. Probably the most notable thing though is the addition of
female soldiers in multiplayer.
Ghosts’
new modes, so far, are effective mods of existing game types. Crank adds a
ticking timer to Team Deathmatch, so each time you score a kill adds time to
your counter. If your clock drops to zero you explode and die. Unfortunately
though this mode looks set for the pro-players - this will be a real stomping
ground. Casual players could find it fun in short burst but I’d expect you back
in a standard Deathmatch before long.
Search
& Rescue modifies the Search & Destroy games by throwing in the Kill
Confirmed mechanic. You get one life but your dog tags need to be collected in
order for you to know what is going to happen next. Collecting allies tags’ allows
them to respawn, while collecting a foe’s gives them permanent death.
One
of the heavily spoken about features of Ghosts is the addition of ‘some’
destructible environments. Unfortunately this is not on the same scale as
Battlefield 4 (or even 3 for that matter) and only covers specific walls in
each zone. Yes, it can change a large portion of the environment, but the whole
effect seems to be a bit tacked on instead of an actual built in feature.
Ghost
has five remaining new game modes to be revealed, and with any luck, they’ll
bring some innovative ideas to the table to really catch Call of Duty players
off guard. In fact you are likely to find out more at Gamescom this week.
In
certain locations, players can use a throwable IED or a rocket to blow out one
of the walls shielding the player. However, the effect is far less dynamic than
Battlefield's extensive destruction engine. Only select walls can be destroyed,
and the damage isn't progressive. Either you blow it up entirely, or not at
all. As a result, it's easy to forget that destruction is an option, and often
times, it's just easier to just focus on flanking the position or tossing an
grenade at the player.
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