Another year, another Call of Duty game. This year’s flavor is Advanced Warfare and, based on early information and footage, it is looking like the standard offering we’ve all come to know with a few new mechanics. New mechanics or not, this is a Call of Duty game and as such, we all feel fairly safe in assuming we know what to expect. But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to write the newest entry off, if a recent statement from Sledgehammer Games’ co-founder is to be believed.
Michael Condrey, the aforementioned co-founder, told OPM he believes that Naughty Dog did a “really good job” in creating a strong, emotional attachment between the player and Joel. In fact, the strength of that bond was quickly formed and proven in the game’s powerful opening scene, one that Condrey states must have required “a lot of development”. Given the intro’s emotional impact and top notch acting, I’m inclined to agree.
Condrey wants to introduce this long-absent component into the Call of Duty franchise: emotional attachment. We have been given the basic premise of Advanced Warfare from trailers — it doesn’t scream “emotional rollercoaster” as much as it does “Michael Bay: The Video Game” — but Sledgehammer may be crafting hard-hitting scenes that might change up the expected flow of the series. However, the effectiveness of these scenes will all ride on the developer’s ability to make us care about our silent, gun-wielding soldier and his stereotypical brothers in arms in the first place.
We’ll find out what’s in store for us when Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare hits PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC on November 4th.
Published: Jun 25, 2014 07:00 am