MarketCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Company Profile

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a 2014 first-person shooter game published by Activision. The eleventh major installment in the Call of Duty series, the game was developed by Sledgehammer Games for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One, while High Moon Studios developed the versions released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and Raven Software developed the game's multiplayer and the Exo-Zombies mode.

Gameplay
Advanced Warfare, like the other Call of Duty titles, is presented in a first-person shooter perspective. The game features several significant changes; unlike other installments, Advanced Warfare does not use a traditional heads-up display (HUD); instead, all information is relayed to the player via holographic projections from the weapon equipped. The general gunplay remains unchanged, apart from new mechanics, such as 'Exo' movements. These Exo movements are performed from the Exoskeleton, which allow the player to boost, dash, and sky jump. The game is the first in the Call of Duty series that allows the player to choose differing types of conventional weaponry; for example, the game features regular conventional firearms, but the player can choose to use laser or directed energy weaponry, both of which have differing attributes. In addition to Exo movements, the game features different Exo abilities, such as Exo Cloak, which allows players to turn transparent for stealth for a period of time. Campaign The single-player campaign features one playable character, Jack Mitchell, as opposed to multiple characters in most previous Call of Duty games. It uses pre-rendered cinematic cut scenes, similar to Call of Duty: Black Ops II, to assist in the story aspect of the campaign. The player can switch between different grenades, all of which possess distinctly different abilities. Multiplayer Apart from the Exo movement, Advanced Warfares multiplayer retains certain similarities to previous Call of Duty titles. The Pick 10 system in Black Ops II returns as Pick 13, allowing players to pick weapons, attachments, perks and score-streaks within a total of 13 allocation points. Score-streaks are also upgradable with different modules, allowing for additional abilities/effects, at an extra score cost. Advanced Warfare introduces weapon variants, which contain various different stats compared to the base weapons. This allows the game to contain over 350 weapons, both variants and base versions. Supply drops allow players to earn new gears through playing the game. The content of each supply drop is randomized, and can range from weapon variants to player customization items, as well as bonus experience points (XPs) time. Players can complete daily challenges to earn supply drops. Exo Survival Exo Survival was first introduced as Advanced Warfares cooperative game mode. Considered to be a new version of the Survival Mode from Modern Warfare 3, Exo Survival allows up to four players to engage in a wave-based match against A.I.-controlled enemies. Players can choose from four different classes of Exo, which grant different abilities and score-streaks. Weapons and score-streaks can be upgraded throughout each match. After a certain number of rounds, players are given objectives to perform, such as defending a location, or collecting intel from fallen enemies. Completing the objectives grant players bonus upgrade points; not completing them result in the players being punished, such as having their Exo suits temporarily disabled or activating hostile security turrets. Exo Zombies Exo Zombies was first teased at the end of the Exo Survival map "Riot", and was officially announced with the Havoc downloadable content (DLC) pack. The game features zombies that utilize exo suits, giving them more maneuverability. The game mode stars five brand new characters. Exo Zombies plays similarly to the original Zombies game mode that has been featured in Treyarch's Call of Duty games since Call of Duty: World at War: up to four players must survive against endless waves of undead enemies, with an optional story quest that can be completed at any time during a match. Players earn points by injuring and/or killing zombies, and use those points to open doors/clear obstacles, or buy new weapons and perks to strengthen their chance of survival. Players can also acquire exo suits in the game mode, allowing them to utilize new movements. Different types of zombies are present in the game, including Charger zombies that have increased movement speed, and Electro-magnetic zombies (EMZs) that can disable the players' Exo suit in close proximity. The first Exo Zombies map, "Outbreak", was released as part of the Havoc DLC map pack. The third map, "Carrier", was released as part of the Supremacy DLC pack. The final map, "Descent", was released as part of the Reckoning DLC pack. ==Plot==
Plot
Campaign In 2054, U.S. Marine Jack Mitchell (Troy Baker) and Will Irons (Paul Telfer) help repel a North Korean invasion of Seoul, under the command of Sergeant Cormack (Russell Richardson). During the fight, Will is killed in action and Mitchell loses his arm, resulting in him being medically discharged. Following Will's funeral, Mitchell accepts a job position at the Atlas Corporation, a private military corporation, by its CEO, Jonathan Irons (Kevin Spacey), Will's father, and is given a prosthetic arm. A terrorist group called the KVA, composed of former Chechen separatists led by Joseph "Hades" Chkheidze (Sharif Ibrahim), begins staging attacks. In 2055, Mitchell, Gideon (Gideon Emery), and other Atlas operatives rescue the Nigerian Prime Minister and capture a KVA technologist in Lagos during an international summit. However, Mitchell and his team are later unable to prevent a more sophisticated KVA attack from forcing a nuclear reactor meltdown on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle. The KVA launches simultaneous attacks against nuclear power plants worldwide, irradiating numerous cities and killing 50,000 people. Atlas emerges as the world's dominant military force over the next four years by aiding displaced civilians and repelling the KVA. In 2059, Mitchell and Gideon are dispatched to Detroit to find and capture Dr. Pierre Danois (Erik Passoja), the KVA's second-in-command. Danois reveals that Hades is at Santorini, Greece, where the KVA is holding a conference. In Greece, Mitchell kills Hades; before dying, Hades warns them of Irons and gives Mitchell a data chip. Atlas operative Ilona (Angela Gots) analyzes the chip, which reveals that Irons executed the technologist after learning of the planned global attacks, and deliberately allowed them to happen to increase Atlas' power and profit. Irons attempts to have Mitchell and Ilona arrested by military police, but they escape from Atlas' headquarters in New Baghdad with an unidentified soldier guiding them, while Gideon stays with Irons for further investigation. The soldier reveals himself to be Cormack, now a member of the Sentinels, a Tier One US-led global task force created to investigate the KVA but now re-purposed to prevent Atlas's rise to power. In 2060, Mitchell, Cormack, Ilona, and Knox (Khary Payton) infiltrate Irons' private residence in Bangkok. The team discovers that Danois is collaborating with Irons to produce a bioweapon called "Manticore". They track and intercept a plane carrying Manticore bound for Argentina, which crashes in Antarctica. Gideon helps the Sentinels defeat the Atlas soldiers, allowing them to retrieve a sample of Manticore. They discover that the weapon is designed to target and kill an individual's specific DNA; the only exceptions are Atlas members. The Sentinels and Gideon infiltrate and destroy an Atlas bioweapons laboratory in Bulgaria, destroying many Manticore samples. With his plan revealed, Irons declares war on the United Nations General Assembly, blaming their constant warmongering for his son's death and believing that the world would be better off if Atlas were in control. The team discovers that Irons is planning a preemptive strike on the United States via an Atlas attack in San Francisco. Atlas destroys the Golden Gate Bridge, trapping the United States Navy's Third Fleet in the Bay Area, but is stopped by Sentinel forces. The United States and the rest of the world declare war on Atlas, forcing Irons to retreat to his headquarters in New Baghdad. In 2061, the Sentinels led an attack on New Baghdad to capture Irons. However, Atlas deploys Manticore, killing Knox and most of the troops. Being former Atlas soldiers, Mitchell, Ilona, and Gideon are spared. They and Cormack are captured and brought to an Atlas prison camp, which runs Manticore experiments on its inmates. The team escapes the facility, but not before Irons shoots Cormack and severely damages Mitchell's prosthetic arm. After Cormack dies, the others discover that Irons is preparing to launch ICBMs loaded with Manticore against every military base in the world. Using armored battlesuits, Mitchell and Gideon launch a two-man assault on Atlas' headquarters and destroy the missiles. They find Irons as the other Sentinels prepare to bombard the building, but Irons disables their exoskeletons. Mitchell chases and tackles Irons at the edge of the building; Irons hangs onto Mitchell's prosthetic arm, but Mitchell severs it, sending Irons falling to his death. Gideon pulls Mitchell from the ledge, and Mitchell notes that the war against Atlas is far from over. Exo Zombies ==Development==
Development
'' to use an engine which has had the majority of it re-written and built-up from scratch by Sledgehammer Games. Before being switched to become the co-developers of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Sledgehammer Games was already working on a Call of Duty game called Call of Duty: Fog of War. Fog of War was announced before Modern Warfare 3 and after Black Ops. It was to be set during the events of the Vietnam War and was said to be an action-adventure third-person shooter video game. A Call of Duty massively multiplayer online game was also in development. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg later stated that Modern Warfare 3 was not the same title as Sledgehammer Games' action-adventure Call of Duty game. When asked if the action-adventure game was also in development, Hirshberg then stated that the Sledgehammer team was fully focused on Modern Warfare 3 and that their own title had been put on hold. Director Michael Condrey said that the majority of the engine has been built from scratch. He stated that although there are lines of the old code left, there are new rendering, animation, physics and audio systems. With the improved engine, the audio has been built from the ground up. According to Don Veca, who worked on Advanced Warfare, the audio in the game is very advanced which gives the game a genuine and great feel. Saying that audio doesn't come last as it did in previous titles, Glen Schofield says "We make sure that audio is just as important as anything else and Don's in there from the start with us". Another objective that Sledgehammer accomplished with Advanced Warfare were the animations. The facial animating system and set is the same as James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water. According to Activision, the new three-year Call of Duty development cycle meant that Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games was able to create a 'near photorealistic' world unlike any Call of Duty before. Michael Condrey confirmed in a tweet that Advanced Warfare would be featuring female soldiers in multiplayer, as well. On June 6, 2014, in an issue of MCVOnline Magazine, it was confirmed that High Moon Studios, the team behind the Deadpool video game and Transformers games, was working on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Advanced Warfare, while Sledgehammer Games was focusing on the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One versions of the title. Activision also confirmed that the game would not be released on the Wii U, making Advanced Warfare the first main Call of Duty game to not see a release on a Nintendo platform since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. Music Harry Gregson-Williams, who composed the main title theme for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, returned for Advanced Warfare while audiomachine composed the overall score of the game. The score for the Exo Zombies downloadable content pack was composed by Chris Vrenna. ==Marketing and release==
Marketing and release
Advanced Warfare was released one day earlier to customers who purchased the Day Zero Edition. This version featured double XP for the first day and two exclusive guns, as well as access to exclusive weapons and an Exo Skeleton suit. A 1-terabyte Xbox One console bundle with a Sentinel Task Force-inspired hardware design, and a digital copy of the Day Zero Edition, was also released by Microsoft as a tie-in. Reveal In May 2014, the official Call of Duty website was updated with a scrambled image that was due to be revealed on May 4, 2014, but the trailer was leaked ahead of schedule on May 1 and then officially released soon after. The trailer revealed actor Kevin Spacey as portraying a character in the game who resents democracy. On October 30, Taylor Kitsch and Emily Ratajkowski co-starred in the live action trailer in advance of the game's November 4 release directed by Peter Berg who previously worked with Kitsch in the films Battleship and Lone Survivor. Downloadable content A pre-order bonus was announced entitled 'Advanced Arsenal' which consists of a Custom Exoskeleton along with an EM1 Quantum & AK-12G weapon usable in multiplayer. An advertisement revealed that the collector's editions will include a bonus multiplayer map, "Atlas Gorge", which is a remake of the map "Pipeline" from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare; an Atlas Digital Content Pack, which includes two bonus weapons, a custom character helmet, a player card, five in-game "supply drops" and a single-player upgrade token. Also included is a season pass, granting players access to four post-release map packs. Additionally, all pre-orders would be upgraded to the "Day Zero Edition", which includes 24 hours early access to the game with double XP, additional weapons and in-game items. On November 3, 2014, Activision revealed 4 DLCs for Advanced Warfare, namely Havoc, Ascendance, Supremacy, and Reckoning. A new co-op mode, Exo Zombies, was announced on November 27, 2014, and was released alongside the Havoc DLC on January 27, 2015, for Xbox consoles, February 26 for PlayStation consoles, and March 3 for Windows. The Ascendance DLC was released on March 31 for Xbox consoles and April 30 for PlayStation consoles and Windows. The DLC includes four new maps, the second Exo Zombies map and a new grappling hook feature playlist. The third DLC of the game, Supremacy, includes four new maps and act as a continuation to the Exo Zombies campaign. It was released on June 2 for Xbox consoles, and on July 2 for PlayStation consoles and Windows. The last DLC, Reckoning, was released for Xbox consoles on August 4, and for the remaining platforms on September 3. The release of Reckoning on these platforms marked the end of the exclusivity deal between Activision and Microsoft. ==Reception==
Reception
Critical reception Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator website Metacritic. The phrase has since become detached from its source, becoming an Internet meme in its own right, sometimes used unironically: during the tribute stream for the Jacksonville Landing shooting, viewers posted a single letter "F" in the chat. Sales Activision claimed that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare generated more revenue than any other media launch in 2014. It was reported in November 2014 that US retail sales of Advanced Warfare were 27% down on 2013's Call of Duty: Ghosts. Despite the decline, Advanced Warfare was still the top-selling game at US retail for 2014. The PlayStation 3 version sold 79,586 copies within its first week on sale in Japan, making it the bestselling game of the week in the country. In the same week, the PlayStation 4 version sold 64,060 copies, and the Xbox One version sold 3,370 copies. Awards Advanced Warfare won the award for "Best Graphics – Technology", in IGNs Best of 2014 awards. At the 2014 NAVGTR Awards the game won two awards: Performance in a Drama, Lead (Kevin Spacey as Jonathan Irons) and Original Dramatic Score, Franchise, and received eight nominations: Writing in a Drama (Mark Boal), Use of Sound(Franchise), Graphics(Technical), Game(Franchise Action) (Glen Schofield, Michael Condrey), Direction in a Game Cinema, Character Design, Art Direction(Contemporary) and Animation, Technical. It also won the award for "Outstanding Realtime Visuals in a videogame at the 2015 Visual Effects Society Awards. It received multiple nominations from awards ceremonies such as The Game Awards 2014, the 11th British Academy Games Awards, the 18th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, and the 2015 Golden Joystick Awards. It was nominated for the eSports Game of the Year award at The Game Awards 2015. ==Legacy==
Legacy
Retrospective assessments of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare have been mixed to positive, generally placing in the top 10 in lists ranking the series' games. The multiplayer received more mixed responses, with several critics divided on the maps and their designs, and the exo-suit gameplay making or breaking the experience for players. The presence of loot boxes was also criticized. ==Notes==
tickerdossier.comtickerdossier.substack.com