Best Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - PlayStation 4

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I've spent way too much time on the COD series. Some I've enjoyed more than others with Black Ops being my personal favorite and Ghosts at the bottom. My primary concerns with Advanced Warfare were the connections and speed of the game. Additionally, the "kill time" or amount of bullets you feel on the screen before you die became an issue as well as guns with no recoil. With AW, all of my personal problems with the game still exist and have compounded with the exo suits and the requirement for camping. As a casual gamer that will never be great but who likes to play, here are my pros and cons:



Pros:



- Best campaign to date. Graphics are amazing and the exo suits, despite limited functionality in each level, make this the most entertaining of the campaigns in a long time.



- The graphics are terrific, no getting around it.



- The customization of players and load out is terrific in multiplayer.



Cons (almost entirely multiplayer):



- The speed of the game is unreal. In fact, for a person with a standard internet connection (u-verse, comcast, etc.), it's literally too fast. I've never had success with fighters online becuase timing is so important and lag kills the experience. I wouldn't say this is a fault of the game or fault of mine as other games (BF4, Destiny) work just fine. It's simply a consequence of game design. Everything in the game happens so quickly that there is not much time for a decision. That split second of lag can cost a quick death. Most average famalies with internet services use a similar service. I understand the guy with a hardwired T1 will not have issues, most are not that guy.



- As mentioned earlier, the time to kill is exceedingly quick. My preference is the BF4 model. AR's and pistols will not kill you from range allowing you to take cover if you are getting hit. A good shot with a pistol and can still drop you from range in this version of COD. Kudos to those expert players, but it ruins the experience for me.



- Gun type doesn't matter. I really enjoyed the FAL and M16 in earlier versions. They are single and burst shot with high power and could be devastating in the right hands and challenging at close range; they were balanced. Because each gun shoots on a line, the maps are relatively small and 3-4 shots from every gun will drop you, there is no need to mess with other guns unless you just want to make the game more difficult for yourself.



Additionally, kill streaks have been dialed way back and the perks are also not as overpowered as past versions. AW is really about high speed combat and a quick, accurate trigger. I think the best description I've heard is arena shooter like Quake or Unreal Tournament. Limited cover, death from every direction is the average game. With zero cover and movement in every direction, it's tough to keep your team together (coupled with crazy spawns). It certainly has it's merits, but I can see it alienating the casual crowd in favor of hard core or high time commitment players.



The campaign is great, but only 8-10 hours. I have a copy in the house and will play periodically, but BF4 and Destiny will still dominate the majority of my FPS time.