As part of the press day for the Call of Duty XP event in Los Angeles this week, I had the opportunity to see and play Call of Duty Infinite Warfare multiplayer, Modern Warfare Remastered multiplayer, the new Black Ops III DLC, and the exclusive Jackal mission for Playstation VR. We started out watching the world premiere of Infinite Warfare multiplayer, which was live-streamed during the keynote on the first public day Sep 2^nd.   Infinite Warfare has something for every fan, though not all fans may be satisfied. Those fans will have Modern Warfare Remastered. First Infinite Warfare, those who play Black Ops III will already be familiar with the controls and play style.  Slide, thrust jump, and wall run are still here, however there are many new features along with some very interesting maps the new combat rig and crafting weapons that make this different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irIkbTen53k

The combat rigs were inspired by six unique play styles. These are the Phantom, Synaptic, Warfighter, Stryker, FTL, and Merc. Each is customizable and has 3 distinct payloads with three abilities. The Merc combat rig is best used for a defensive play style and relies on defensive heavy suppressive fire payloads. FTL uses experimental technology built for more ground guerrilla tactics. This combat rig is also good for faster play styles and rapid fire. The Stryker is geared toward squad support. Warfighter is built for mobile mid range style of combat. The Phantom is sniper and concealment, which is good for more stealth and long-range play styles. Last the Synaptic, a robot combat rig good for speed and close quarters combat. One of the payloads for Synaptic is the reaper. This is a robot dog drone that the player controls. It uses melee to take out enemies in close combat. For weapons players have a variety to choose from, including your core weapons like assault rifles and fully automatic weapons, and directed energy weapons. These use battery packs rather than ammo and are multifunctional.

Infinite warfare will have weapons crafting using the in-game currency salvage. Players can create their own experimental weapon to enhance their gameplay and increase scores.   Like with other Call of Duty games there are perks such as the tactical nuke and seeker grenade, and the black hole generator. This creates a black hole that sucks in players. Score streaks are also in the game, one being the RC-8, a massive robot that defends you when called.

As infinite warfare takes place in the future and in space the maps need to reflect this. Some of the maps are Frontier, a space station; it’s also the fastest map. Throwback is a 1950’s main street in space. Frost, a map on Jupiter’s moon of Europa. Infinite Warfare also brings back Terminal that is similar to Modern Warfare 3’s terminal but in space with a space shuttle and the Earth above. As with Black Ops III, maps will have lanes and wall runs to allow for flanking opportunities. The modes from Black Ops III such as hardpoint search and destroy, and capture the flag are still available. Infinite warfare will also have new modes such as defender, where teams capture drones and their teammates must defend them. The longer you have the drone the more points your team gets.

Infinite warfare looks and sounds amazing from the reveal trailer and multiplayer overview. Even the campaign, with no breaks in the action and no loading screens looks good. In the campaign there will be aerospace battles, boots on the ground battles, and a great cinematic story telling that brings the series back to its roots. It has space battles, a first for a Call of Duty. Taking it to a new level infinite warfare sets the campaign not just on earth and earth space but also on the moons of Jupiter. Also, battling mechs and weapons evolved.

How is Infinite warfare multiplayer? Good for a multiplayer that takes elements of Black Ops III and evolves them into a new experience. New as in the combat rigs and payloads. For my first plays I chose three of the combat rigs to test. The first was the FTL with the eraser payload. Eraser is an energy-based handgun that blasts victims to mist. The other payload for FTL is the FTL jump for a short burst of speed. My second choice was the warfighter and third ended up being the Synaptic with the reaper payload. A few of the maps and modes played where Breakout team deathmatch, frontier domination, and frost defender. I also got to play the throwback map or the 1950’s in space, and terminal. Terminal is a classic map if it’s in space or on earth.   Frontier was cool because of low gravity but the map itself is small. Of all three Frost was the best with a visually appealing and a larger more open map, and terminal.

Gameplay is what is expected if you played Black Ops III, where the use of the wall runs and lanes are important to take down enemies and you can use thrust jump to maneuver over obstacles or just for a better vantage. Sliding to take down enemies or just because. When playing I did feel it was very much like Black Ops III, if it wasn’t for the payloads and maps it could have been the same game. FTL was good if speed is important. For me I was trying to find a balanced combat rig that worked for my level of game play. The maps are fast so starting out as a FTL or Synaptic makes sense. Synaptic was a better choice for frontier and it improved my score, for that map and domination. In throwback not so much, if it wasn’t for reaper I barely made any kills.   My style of play fits more with Warfighter a more balanced rig between speed and combat. I am a take cover, flank, and aim player, choosing assault and fully automated weapons. Warfighter worked well in frontier, a more closed map. One of the best features about Infinite warfare is the perks. The black hole generator was awesome, you throw it and it generates a black hole sucking in all players nearby. The seeker grenade was my go to as it attached to enemy players.

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Infinite Warfare and black Ops III are fast and rely on speed but also the advantage of slide, thrust jump, and wall runs. Combat rigs replace specializations but they feel the same because both are preset and come with two choices for abilities or payload. Gaining further customizations or in Infinite Warfare crafting new weapons takes a currency called salvage. What happened to combat skill, building up your customizations through ranking instead of in-game currency and points, or class customizations based on weapon choice. Let’s not forget about airstrikes, helicopters, radar and “enemy UAV spotted”. It’s back in the much-anticipated Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered.

Yes it is the classic gameplay we all remember and wish we could play again. Coming with the Call of Duty Infinite Warfare Legacy, legacy Pro, and digital deluxe editions. All 16 maps will be included with the first 10 on launch and 6 more in December for free. Yes you can once again or for the first time play as Sergeant john “Soap” MacTavish in the greatest Call of Duty campaign and story.

How did this play? It’s the great classic game that got me into Call of Duty. Play is the same as the original with combat knife for melee and close combat, use of cover to take out enemies, and sprint to dodge between cover. Because the maps aren’t high paced as the newer games there is more skill and strategy needed to take down enemies. That and you get your kill streaks so you can call in air support and helicopter. The classic perks are back. Players get three perks when creating their custom profiles. I found myself once again using martyrdom, where a grenade is dropped on death and last stand. Last stand you are at your last health and you take out a pistol to try to take out enemies. Another favorite perk, especially for domination is claymore. Instead of futuristic weapons its back to modern-day weapons such as the M4, Ak-47, SAW, and M16. You get choice of main weapon and secondary weapon, with sites, attachments, and camo.

When playing there are in areas and on certain maps machine guns that can be used to take out more enemies. I found myself running to a building in Backlot to use the machine gun. It works till caught. What is remastered? Only the graphics, lobby, and user interface have been remastered. It’s updated for the PlayStation 4, but the game is the same Modern Warfare. It also got the biggest reception during the keynote where the room exploded into applause and excitement. Infinite Warfare got a more tepid response but still electrifying, but there was some excitement for the new Black Ops III DLC. The Infinite Warfare trailer makes the multiplayer look awesome. It’s after you play that you find out it’s an upgraded Black Ops III game, still awesome but not original.

I played the games and in my opinion Modern Warfare and the new DLC for Black Ops III are the best. The fourth DLC for Black Ops III will feature four new maps including revelations. Yes I liked the new maps in Black Ops so too did the fans that I played with on the first public day. Infinite Warfare is worth it especially for a futuristic take on Call of Duty and of course to use some of the cool combat rigs and payloads. The campaign, however, looks impressive and the seven minutes I saw shows a story that goes back to the Modern Warfare storytelling. Also the space missions are awesome. If they are anything like the Jackal mission I played on the PlayStation VR they will be fun missions.

Infinite Warfare does have a zombies mode.  Zombies in Spaceland is an 80’s themed zombies experience.

Beta access for Infinite Warfare begins October 4^th.