It happens every year. There’s a new Call of Duty announced – and that announcement is coupled with enough adjective-laden hyperbole to launch unemployed copywriters in to outer space. And usually, a trailer that’s exciting enough to tempt lapsed Call of Duty fans in to jumping back in.
Despite my own mutterings, I’ve very nearly always enjoyed Call of Duty games, though I tend to stay very far away from the multiplayer, which is a hive of scum and villainy. I’m one of those mythical single player Call of Duty players, who play it for the bombastic popcorn entertainment of it all. The single player offerings have, in my opinion, been a little dull of late though. It started with Ghosts, which featured an abominably clumsy narrative plodding pacing – and hasn’t quite righted itself yet.
Infinite Warfare, silly name and hyperbole aside, may be the one that gets it back on track. The thing that’s got me cautiously optimistic is the space battle stuff. If you watched the announcement trailer, you’d have seen our Call of Duty hero climb in to an aircraft and head in to space – opening up an arena for space battles. You’d probably assumed that, like most Call of Duty events, it’s all scripted. Apparently that’s not the case.
According to Infinity Ward design director Jacob Minkoff, it’s more “holistic” than that. The fighter – called a Jackal –”can transform between atmospheric flight mode and zero-G flight mode for when you have to dogfight in the vacuum of space,” he told IGN.
“It’s kind of the Top Gun fantasy,” he explained, saying of the Jackal that “it’s your fighter that you get to upgrade and customize. You get to walk along the flight deck and have the flight crew preparing it for you and saluting you and you get into it and you fly out into these crazy missions that you chose to go to.”
The “completely holistic” vehicle sections, Minkoff says aren’t shoehorned, as “they are seamlessly woven into the fiction of the character and the mechanics of the game.”
Because of that, “you can be boots on ground, fighting through the streets of a city on earth, call down your Jackal, get into it, fly up through the atmosphere, engage in a dogfight over the orbit of earth, finish that dogfight, land on the deck of the carrier, get into the carrier, go up to the bridge, and order your ship to go to the next mission and all of it happens seamlessly with no loading screens.”
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is still a linear story though, so don’t expect anything resembling an open world for you to explore. That said, there are non-linear side missions that you’re able to take part in to upgrade yourself and your ship.
“We are telling a linear story, but along the way you can choose to attack targets of opportunity, and attacking those targets of opportunity will reward you with various items and progression and loot elements that will help you to accomplish the next main mission that you accept from command,” Minkoff said, adding that “will also reveal optional elements of the story.”
Blowing stuff up in space in seldom not fun, so I’m…kinda keen. If you’re blissfully unaware, Minkoff is now design director at Infinity Ward after leaving Naughty Dog, where he served as lead designer for The Last of Us and Uncharted 3. He’s not the only former Naughty Dog staffer at Infinity Ward, joined by lead narrative designer Taylor Kurosaki, who worked as cinematic production for Uncharted 3 and editor on Uncharted 2.
Could their input help push this year’s Call of Duty in a different narrative direction? I suppose we’ll see on November 4 when the game hits.
Last Updated: May 3, 2016
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 3, 2016 at 12:15
Damn, I’m disappointed. I was so sure we’d finally get to play shirtless volley ball. I can’t do that in real life because the only thing I have in common with Tom Cruise is height.
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:22
That explains quite a bit
RinceThis
May 3, 2016 at 16:01
HAHAHAHA Nice 🙂
Pieter Kruger
May 3, 2016 at 12:18
BATTLEFIELD 5 FTW!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:28
Much prefer the Hot shots version…
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:29
You know, while the trailer looks cool and all, and the CoDgames are semi-entertaining, the main thing I hate about them is that the majority of people out there will play it, and think that games like this are so damn amazing, while under-appreciated gems like Ori, Child of Light, Valiant Hearts, heck, even Deus Ex, exist.
Can you honestly say that even ONE CoDcampaign had a lasting effect on you, as a person?
Ugh, I can see I spent too much time with Rantsalot this weekend…:P
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:38
Duuuuude….. I feel exactly the same way, what cheeses me off is that there are indie games with a drop of the budget these games have and they are so much more memorable, I’m enjoying buying seven indies for the price of one 15 minute COD campaign, that last me weeks on end….
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 12:42
Hype train for the new COD…
https://media.giphy.com/media/xQYuCAtBQ9mBq/giphy.gif
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:43
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:45
What irritates me as that the three letter site is going apies bedonnerd about it, they have already started with a series of videos reporting on it…
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 12:46
Like flies to a pile of dung people will eat it all up
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:49
Yep, saddening…
Oh, BTW, finished BroForce….
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 12:57
Nice! Started on Alienation and Enter the Gungeon this weekend.
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:59
Gungeon? Sounds fun!
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 13:03
I saw it this weekend on my suggestion list…It looks awesome!!
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 13:17
It is
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 13:18
*click* Added to Cart
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 13:35
Is it?
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 14:08
I really like it. But I’d recommend checking it out on Youtube first.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 13:01
Awesome!! Yiss, I’m eager for Alienation!
Alien Emperor Trevor
May 3, 2016 at 13:07
I watched that for a few minutes waiting for it to explode. Disappointed. 🙁
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 13:08
YOU MEAN IT DOESN’T???
🙁
[runs away to contemplate 25 minutes wasted]
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 12:40
They all look cool and exciting and they always promise something new. BLOPS 3 had planes, on rail shooting section that was kinda fun. But after that they took the ball and went home. No more planes. That’s why I like Far Cry more. It’s open world and you get to keep your toys throughout the game
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:48
Exactly! Far Cry has the balls to throw you into the deep and let you decide what you want to do, CoD has never done that, instead, someone’s fingers got stuck on Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:51
PLS, they are too lazy to press FOUR buttons, they have a macro assigned for it.
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:52
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:53
I see you used the macro yourself, you already laughed in this manner below
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 13:00
Yes, I did, there was no alteration in the keystroke and the success report is being printed as we speak… It needs improvement, missed an exclamation mark…dammit, how much longer do I have to troubleshoot this damned thing…
Kaihaku
May 3, 2016 at 14:39
“Can you honestly say that even ONE CoDcampaign had a lasting effect on you, as a person?”
Not personally but my brother is very passionate about the early historical entries (I, II, III) in the series being meaningful. He is not passionate about the single player in the newer entries in the series.
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:31
LOL SpaceShip!
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 12:43
I’ll buy this on sale if the SP portion isn’t scripted and linear, like all the others before
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:46
I’ll buy this on sale if the SP portion isn’t scripted and linear, like all the others before
(or a duplication of a previous instance)
Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0
May 3, 2016 at 12:47
Okay
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:48
Okay
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:49
But what if it has planez?
Admiral Chief in New York
May 3, 2016 at 12:50
But what if it is the same same, but different?
Greylingad[CNFRMD]
May 3, 2016 at 12:51
Like that thing, you know, with the thing, that went whoosh, you know?