"Shit, he blew himself up." At Piccadilly Circus, probably the most famous intersection in London, explosions and shots are heard. It's a terrorist attack and the player is in the thick of it - as a soldier. His tasks in chaos: free hostages and shoot terrorists. The biggest challenge: just do not hit civilians, that punishes the game.
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" is an original shooter with a history in the present time. It does not let the battles play on historical battlefields - such as "Call of Duty: WW2" - or put the player in the future like "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4". No, this time it's about the present and its many conflicts: US against Russia, against terrorists, against militias. The US in the Syrian conflict - as a just party.
It shows scenes of terror in big cities, shows how people are hanged by terrorist organizations, women are tormented and children are displaced.
Well lubricated technique
A concession to the real goal of the developers: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" is a technically well-made game. It comes up with a brute graphics, underscoring them with a boisterous, driving soundtrack. It can be controlled perfectly and offers a large selection of weapons, including the associated, deafening sound effects. Especially with headphones on the ears, the game creates a thoroughly threatening and oppressive atmosphere.
photo gallery
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Photo gallery: pictures of the horrorIt should be noted that the game is currently without Lootboxen or "Pay 2 Win" mechanics. The publisher Activision promises that it should stay that way. At the moment, this is quite a novelty, as just games from the shooter genre like to squeeze as much money out of the consumer - even after the actual purchase of the game.
Most buyers of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" will probably buy the game due to the multiplayer modes. Here they can measure each other, train their reflexes. It is in these modes to defeat opponents as effectively, quickly and creatively.
Therefore, the focus here is less on the discourses that are negotiated in singleplayer mode. It's not about terrorists and protecting powers, it's about outbidding human players, leading rankings, getting better and better. This may well be the reason why "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" has renounced a campaign. The game consisted only of multiplayer matches.
The weapon tells the story
Maybe this step was the right one. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" does not shy away from drastic scenes, it puts them prominently in the light, confronting the player with a hideous reality, which is based on military conflicts - and the attempts to let the population as much as possible not notice.
When London is in flames or people are hanging on ropes above the player, it becomes clear that the developers here - despite all the pompous staging - shock and do not want to inspire. The game may understand itself as an anti-war game.
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However, the player is never deprived of the security of his role: he is the one with the weapon who sees the action from the ego perspective - and then becomes active, intervenes, shoots. The problem is that the story of a first-person shooter can be so complex, it is always told along the barrel of a rifle.
If the player once has none of the many weapons of the game in hand, he has no grenades in his pocket, then only the state of emergency prevails. Then it's time to sneak or hide. Until you find a new weapon.
Therefore, it can be said that the first person shooter is enumerated in its current form. He likes to offer bombastic scenery and shocking stories. But he always tells himself the same. The player's view of this world is never broken. And when the Piccadilly Circus is on fire, it's only threatening until the gun shows up on the screen. Because then the player knows exactly what he has to do: shoot. Just not on the civilians.
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