Activision and Infinity Ward’s latest Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is literally out of this world. The latest shooter in the incredibly successful franchise is now taking combat to outer space.
"The world is dependent on resources from outposts around the solar system," explained narrative director Taylor Kurosaki said during a stream held by Activision.
Essentially, the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare campaign involves a battle between Earth and a “relentless, enemy faction that threatens our way of life.” That faction is known as the Settlement Defense Front, aka SetDef, a group of insurgents with origins from space colonies. Due to the depletion of resources on Earth, its citizens now rely on colonies that mine from other planets and asteroids. Toughened by the extreme conditions of alien planets, the militant radicals that make up SetDef are determined to seek control of these outposts in order to acquire wealth at the cost of Earth’s livelihood.
This desperate battle between planet Earth and its colonies creates the very first Call of Duty that delivers breathtaking environments we’ve never seen from the franchise:
"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,” told Infinity Ward design director Jacob Minkoff in an interview with IGN.
Hold up, did he just mention dogfighting? Yup! Minkoff called Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare “kind of a Top Gun fantasy.” The game encourages the player to not only be invested in their character, but in their vehicle as well.
The interstellar fighter plane, known as the Jackal, “can transform between atmospheric flight mode and zero-G flight mode for when you have to dogfight in the vacuum of space.” What’s more, similar to Call of Duty’s weapons mods and builds, a player’s personal Jackal can receive upgrades and customizations.
Given the newfound depth and complexity in combat and environment in the upcoming Infinite Warfare, it would be hard to fault the gameplay experience even if there was a little loading sequence necessary from one location to the next. However, Minkoff noted that Infinite Warfare will deliver a seamless and “completely holistic” character and mechanics experience.
What do you think about the new features introduced in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare? Let us know in the comment section below!
