Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a 2016 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the thirteenth installment in the Call of Duty series and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 4, 2016.
Development of Infinite Warfare began during 2014. It is the first title by Infinity Ward under the new three-year development cycle for the Call of Duty series. The game's campaign is centered around a battle for the Solar System, which the Settlement Defense Front, a hostile force who are the main antagonists, are attempting to take over. The player takes control of Lieutenant Nick Reyes of the Special Combat Air Recon. They have their own transforming fighter, named "Jackal", that they can customize as well as a central hub ship named Retribution.
Infinite Warfares announcement trailer was noted for its strong negative reaction; it was the second-most disliked video on YouTube at the time. Commentators attributed this to a botting campaign by both fans of rival game Battlefield 1 as well as Call of Duty fans expressing frustration at the direction the series had taken, specifically that the game and its predecessors had futuristic settings. Nevertheless, the game received generally positive reviews upon release; critics praised the single-player campaign, which was seen as a considerable improvement over that of ', the greater player freedom approach in missions, the Zombies mode, and the visuals, and the design, while the multiplayer mode was criticized for its lack of innovation, and was named as Best shooter at E3 by Game informer and was nominated by several awards, winning one of them. Infinite Warfare underperformed in sales compared to previous Call of Duty titles, though Infinite Warfare was the top-selling game in the US in November 2016.
Special editions of Infinite Warfare were released with a remastered version of ', entitled Modern Warfare Remastered.
Gameplay
Campaign
Similar to the previous games in the series, Infinite Warfare is a first-person shooter. As the game introduces a new setting, outer space, new gameplay mechanics, such as zero-gravity environments, are included. Players are equipped with a boost pack, and a grappling hook, which allow players to move in these zero-gravity environments easily. As the game is set in space, players can visit different planets, satellites and asteroids in the solar system.Assuming control of Captain Nick Reyes, a Tier 1 Special Operations pilot, players engage in aerial combat with enemies using his transforming fighter, the Jackal. Aerial combat is not on-rail, as players can freely control the Jackal with few limitations. According to Infinity Ward, both space combat, and the franchise's signature "boots-on-the-ground" gameplay are the game's key focuses, Transition between space combat and boots-on-the-ground combat is seamless with no loading screen.
Players gain access to Retribution, a central hub world. In Retribution, players can view their progression, and start main campaign missions, and secondary quests called "Ship Assaults" which gives them cosmetic and customization items, upgrades to the Jackal, as well as new story details. Reyes also has a wrist computer, which allows him to hack into enemies' gadgets and machines such as robots. It can also be used to call in reinforcements at some campaign scenarios. The game also features two new difficulty modes, Specialist and #YOLO, unlockable after initial completion of the campaign. In the former mode, health regeneration does not occur without Nano Shots, and weapons can be shot out from players' hands. Reyes' movement would be hindered if his legs are shot by enemies. In the latter mode, which also implements the same features from Specialist, when players die, they need to restart the game rather than restarting from checkpoints.
Multiplayer
Infinite Warfare introduces a major overhaul to the class system called the "Combat Rigs". Similar to the Specialist system in Black Ops III, there are six rigs in total, including Warfighter, Merc, FTL, Stryker, Phantom and Synaptic. All of which have different payloads, weapons, abilities and playstyles. For example, the Synaptic rig is designed for players who prefer to run and gun, while the Phantom rig is suited for players who want to play stealthily. Players can also gain access to several persistent perks, known as "Traits", which give players advantages in certain combat situations. Additionally, the game retains the chain-based momentum movement system of Black Ops III, allowing players to perform thrust jumps, sliding, and wallrunning.The game features hundreds of both primary and secondary weapons. Players can gain access to several types of weapons, including traditional ballistic weapons and melee weapons, futuristic energy weapons, and different kinds of grenades, such as the Seeker Grenade and the Black Hole Grenade. Players can add attachments on them to enhance their efficiency. The game also introduces a new weapon crafting system. In a multiplayer match, players earn "Salvage" points, which can be consumed to purchase Prototype Weapons, variants of existing in-game weapons. For each gun, there are four types of prototypes, classified into four groups, namely Common, Rare, Legendary and Epic. All of which grant players gameplay advantages known as the "Gun Perks". Scorestreaks return in Infinite Warfare for players who have earned sufficient points in a match. Scoresteaks offer players perks such as the ability to deploy UAV and counter-UAV, and the ability to summon a R-C8 robot, an armored robot designed to defend the player and kill other opponents.
Zombies
The game also features a cooperative multiplayer Zombies mode, which has its own gameplay mechanics and story, separate from the campaign. The mode is designed to be more accessible to new players, with new features such as sharing points and teambuy doors, as well as keeping the core gameplay of the mode intact, such as perks and power-ups. A new feature, Fate and Fortune Cards, is introduced similarly to the Gobblegums in ; the cards offer temporary boosts in-game to the players, but unlike Gobblegums they are activated through point earning, and players can select any of the five cards they have equipped at any time, not one at a time like the Gobblegum machine. After initial use of five cards, players can refill their card deck for a price up to two times in a match. Unlike the campaign and multiplayer modes, Zombies is not themed in space combat, and retains the normal movement system.Plot
Campaign
Characters and settings
Infinite Warfare is set in the distant future, after Earth has been stripped of its natural resources as a result of population growth and industrial expansion, prompting the nations of the world to unite and form the United Nations Space Alliance, a political organization that handles matters related to trade, travel, land claims and all efforts relating to human space colonization. The residents of Earth rely on colonies established elsewhere in the Solar System in order to mine planets and asteroids for resources. The value of these outposts, however, attracts militant radicals who seek to control them; an action which could place the countries of Earth in a very unfavorable position. In response, the UNSA is defended by the Solar Associated Treaty Organization, a coordinated military structure that defends Earth and the UNSA's holdings. Prior to the events of the game, a new hostile faction emerges on Mars, calling themselves the Settlement Defense Front, a totalitarian government consisting of former UNSA colonies that broke away during a previous war of secession. Following years of a troubled stalemate with the Front, relations have deteriorated to a point where the entire Solar System is poised on the brink of war. Believing the UNSA to be "undeserving" of controlling the rest of the solar system, the SDF declares war on the UNSA and launches a surprise attack on Geneva, crippling SATO's forces on Earth.As the newly appointed captain of the UNSA Warship Retribution, Commander Nick Reyes, a Tier 1 Special Operations pilot of the Special Combat Air Recon, is tasked to lead a crew to defeat the Settlement Defense Front on Earth, as well as journey to outer space and across other planets in the system using space-based fighter craft, referred to as Jackals, to stop the Front from taking over the entire Solar System. Assisting Reyes in the fight against the SDF are his mentor Admiral Fredrick Raines, Reyes' wingman and best friend Lieutenant Nora Salter, his robot sidekick E3N "Ethan", and the SATO Marines including Staff Sergeant Usef Omar, Corporal Sean Brooks and Private Todd Kashima. Other notable allies include Retribution Navigator Victor "Gator" Diallo, Tigris warship captain Maureen Ferran, and Retribution Chief Engineer Audrey "Mac" MaCallum. Facing Reyes and his allies in battle is the commander of the starship Olympus Mons, and leader of the SDF, Rear Admiral Salen Kotch, and his senior commander Akeel Min Riah. UFC fighter Conor McGregor makes a cameo appearance as SDF Captain Bradley Fillion, while Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton appears as Retribution Electro-technical Officer Carl Hamilton.
Plot
In 2180, a UNSA special forces team is sent to a secret UNSA weapons research facility on Europa to investigate a SDF attack and recover a UNSA weapon prototype before initiating the facility's self-destruct. The team is able to destroy the facility, but fail to recover the weapon and are captured by the SDF, where they are subsequently executed by one of the SDF's main commanders, Admiral Kotch.On Earth, Reyes warns Admiral Raines that the SDF attack is tantamount to a declaration of war and that the UNSA should be preparing a counterattack. However, Admiral Raines explains that the UNSA's leaders do not want to escalate the situation, especially during the Fleet Week celebrations where the entire UNSA fleet gathers at Geneva. During the celebrations, he links up with his wingman Salter as well as his new robotic subordinate E3N "Ethan". Suddenly, the UNSA's defense cannons begin to open fire on the UNSA fleet, decimating many ships as an SDF assault force invades Geneva. Reyes manages to fight his way to the AATIS control tower, where he manages to shut down the AATIS cannons and apprehend Riah, the SDF spy responsible for sabotaging them. Reyes then accompanies the surviving UNSA ships into orbit where they destroy the attacking SDF fleet. The SDF's flagship, the Olympus Mons, suddenly arrives and destroys more UNSA ships before it is forced to retreat, leaving only two operational UNSA ships: the carrier Retribution and the destroyer Tigris.
Upon landing on the Retribution, Reyes learns that both the ship's captain and the executive officer were killed in battle, leaving him as the highest-ranking officer of the ship and its de facto captain. Admiral Raines promotes Reyes to commander and then tasks him retaking the cargo port on the Moon from the SDF. After successfully liberating the Moon, Reyes is given the mission to delay the SDF for as long as possible until the UNSA can rebuild its fleet. At this point, Reyes can embark on a number of optional missions to attack key SDF targets. Eventually, Reyes manages to destroy a strategic refueling tower on Titan, crippling the SDF's fuel supply. Later, he is sent to investigate a disturbance at an asteroid mining station near Mercury, only to find it was a diversion while the SDF destroys the Tigris, leaving the Retribution as the sole remaining UNSA ship. Learning that Riah is carrying a beacon meant to signal the main SDF fleet to invade Earth, Reyes devises a plan to use the beacon to lure the SDF fleet right into the still operational AATIS guns. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry when Riah escapes, destroys the AATIS guns, and kills himself to trigger the beacon. The main SDF arrives and the Olympus Mons destroys UNSA headquarters, killing Admiral Raines.
With no other options, Reyes uses the opportunity to board and commandeer the Olympus Mons. He manages to battle his way to the bridge and kill Admiral Kotch. He then has the Olympus Mons travel back to Mars, where he intends to use the ship to destroy the SDF's orbital shipyard and cripple their fleet in return. While the Olympus Mons and Retribution manage to destroy many SDF ships, the Olympus Mons is damaged to the point its weapons are inoperable, and with few other options, Reyes orders it to ram the shipyard. Unfortunately, the Retribution also suffers damage and drifts into the Olympus Mons
Realizing that there is no way for them to get back to Earth alive, Reyes rallies the survivors of the Retribution crew and leads them on one final, desperate assault on the shipyard. Most of the surviving crew are killed in the fighting, but Salter manages to commandeer an SDF destroyer. However, its weapons are disabled and the mooring clamps are locked. Ethan sacrifices himself to destroy the moorings while Reyes activates the destroyer's weapons and orders Salter to destroy the station, despite him being on it. Salter reluctantly opens fire, ejecting Reyes into space. His last sight is seeing the SDF shipyard explode before shrapnel from the explosion punctures his suit, causing him to suffocate.
Some time later, the UNSA honors Reyes and the Retribution crew's heroic sacrifice, stating that their destruction of the SDF shipyard was a decisive victory and that the SDF has been all but destroyed as a result. Salter, who is one of only four survivors from the Retribution, salutes a war memorial in Geneva listing the names of all of the UNSA soldiers who died in the conflict, including Reyes.
During the credits, the posthumous recorded messages of some of the deceased Retribution crew may be heard.
Zombies
Characters
Infinite Warfare Zombies stars Ike Barinholtz, Jay Pharoah, Seth Green and Sasheer Zamata as the main protagonists of the story: Aaron "A.J." Jordaniels, Andre Wright, Poindexter Zittermann and Sally Simpson. They initially appear as aspiring actors, who are trapped inside a series of horror films by director Willard Wyler, where they play out the role of the films' archetype characters. Throughout the season, the actors encounter various celebrity actors who are also trapped in each film, including: David Hasselhoff, Kevin Smith, Pam Grier, and Cassandra Peterson who reprises her role as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Jason Mewes has a minor voiceover role as himself, while Fred Tatasciore provides the voice of the demon Mephistopheles.Plot
Some time before the events of the game, horror film director Willard Wyler lost his wife Alexandra to leukemia, causing a rift between him and his daughter Winona. At some point, Wyler made a deal with the demonic Mephistopheles, and unwillingly became a slave to him, forced to collect souls by sending them into alternate dimensions formed from his films, leading them to their deaths by the monsters of his creation. Over time, Wyler felt guilt for condemning countless victims, including Winona, to their doom, and secretly formed a plan to recruit actors who could enter his films and fight back, freeing Wyler from his prison and defeating Mephistopheles.After decades of elusive retirement, Wyler prepares for his comeback into the movie business. He invites four aspiring actors: A.J., Andre, Poindexter and Sally, to his theater for an audition, but unbeknownst to them, he intends to trap the four inside one of his own movies, "Zombies in Spaceland". The four actors find themselves in an 80's theme park, dressed as the archetypes of the era. As the four try to survive the oncoming zombie horde, they find unexpected help from famous actor David Hasselhoff, who has also been trapped in this movie for an unknown amount of time as his Knight Rider character Michael Knight. With Hasselhoff's aid, the four actors manage to fend off the undead, much to Wyler's chagrin, and discover a piece of an artifact known as the Soul Key. As the actors attempt to escape, they instead find themselves in another one of Wyler's films, "Rave in the Redwoods", set in a '90s campsite in the Redwood National and State Parks, where they go up against hordes of undead raver teenagers and sasquatches. As the actors traverse across the campsite, they encounter director Kevin Smith, who has also been trapped here for an amount of time with his friend Jason Mewes. Kevin reveals that Jason died prior to the actors' arrival in the film at the hands of the chainsaw-wielding Slasher, who lurks the campsite. The actors help Kevin recover his memory, and convince him to help them escape the film. However, the group soon uncovers through the memories that Jason, along with various other victims associated with Wyler, was killed by Kevin who was unknowingly the Slasher all along. Kevin, as he fully recovers his memories, is forced to transform into the Slasher to kill the actors, but is defeated.
The actors retrieve the second piece of the Soul Key, and are immediately warped into Wyler's third film, "Shaolin Shuffle", set in the backdrop of a '70s New York City. The group, now dressed in 70s apparel, find help from actress Pam Grier, who operates a martial arts dojo in the film. Pam assists the actors in fighting Wyler's zombie horde, by giving them special martial arts skills and training. The group encounter Arthur McIntosh, a failed businessman who after consuming a mysterious chemical became the Rat King, capable of controlling sewer rats at his will. The actors and Pam battle McIntosh and manage to kill him, while also retrieving the third piece of the Soul Key. The four actors are then teleported into Wyler's fourth film, "Attack of the Radioactive Thing", set in a 1950s beach area affected by a radioactive experiment. The actors encounter horror film hostess Elvira, who is also trapped inside this film, and proceed to assist her in her plan to foil Wyler's scheme. Together, they battle against a combined force of zombies as well as mutant crab-frog fusions and a giant radioactive beast dubbed Crogzilla. The crew assemble a nuclear bomb and detonate it inside the Crogzilla's belly, blowing it to bits. They then retrieve the fourth piece of the Soul Key inside the Crogzilla's eye.
The four actors are then teleported into the final film, "The Beast from Beyond", as they arrive at a futuristic military station on an ice planet, where they battle against the Cryptid aliens from the series, as well as a mixture of zombies from the previous four films. After fighting against a herd of Cryptids, the four retrieve the final piece of the Soul Key, and are seemingly teleported back to Wyler's theater, where he joyfully greets them. Without letting him explain himself, the four actors furiously send Wyler back into the Spaceland movie using his own method, but ultimately realize they have become slaves to the demon Mephistopheles in Wyler's place. Mephistopheles himself appears in front of the four actors, and threatens to consume their souls; the four then arm themselves for a final battle against the demon. After seemingly winning against him, the four are teleported back to the theater, but still find themselves unable to escape. In reality, it is revealed that they are already trapped inside the Soul Jar, which contains pocket universes representing the theater as well as each of Wyler's films. Meanwhile, Wyler enlists Hasselhoff's help in Spaceland once more in an attempt to escape the movie. He reunites with the four actors and reconciles with them as all five begin to plot their next move.
Development and release
In 2014, Activision announced a three-year development cycle for the Call of Duty series, in which Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Treyarch would take turns in releasing a Call of Duty video game every year so as to extend each game's development time. Infinite Warfare is the third and the last game in the first cycle, and it is the first video game developed by Infinity Ward since 2013's . Development for the game dates as far back as 2014. According to Infinity Ward, the development team added lots of new ideas to the game, and put emphasis on the game's storytelling. The team chose space as the game's setting as they believed that it can introduce new environments to players. To make the game more realistic, Infinity Ward had consulted several military experts. The team also wants to start an Infinite Warfare sub-series.Reveal
In February 2016, Activision announced that Infinity Ward would be the lead developer of 2016's Call of Duty game. Infinite Warfare was officially confirmed by Activision when they announced that the company would not have a booth at E3 2016, and that their products would be shown through their partner, Sony Interactive Entertainment. Activision teased the game with a video, titled "Know Your Enemy", and a new ending for s "Nuk3town" map, which shows a giant airship on top of the map. The game was leaked via PlayStation Store on April 26, and the first trailer was revealed unofficially via Hulu prior to the game's official announcement.In May 2016, Activision released the official announcement trailer for the game, a week after they trademarked the name of the game. The trailer of the game was officially revealed through a live-stream on Twitch. As part of the reveal, Activision ran a social media game using a Facebook chat bot, which tasks the player to decode a message. A remastered version of ', entitled Modern Warfare Remastered, was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC alongside Infinite Warfare, only available with the purchase of either the Legacy, Digital Deluxe or Legacy Pro edition of Infinite Warfare. The first public piece of gameplay for the Infinite Warfare campaign was revealed as a trailer during the Sony press conference at E3 2016. A gameplay video of the "Black Sky" campaign mission was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con on July 21, 2016. Also revealed was the "Terminal" map pre-order bonus for customers who pre-ordered Infinite Warfare.
In August 2016, Activision sent mysterious metal packages to YouTubers in the Call of Duty community. Each came with a combination lock and a countdown timer. A code was sent to all recipients to open the boxes once the timer reached 1 minute. Each box contained a variety of 80's-themed apparel, plus a cassette player and a VHS tape, which contained the reveal trailer for Zombies in Spaceland. An HD version of the trailer was released hours after, along with a reveal of the game's new mechanics, as well as the "Zombies in Spaceland" bonus preorder pack, which contains a weapon camouflage, an animated player card, as well as a "Fate and Fortune Card Pack" for use in the Zombies mode. The official reveal of Infinite Warfare''s multiplayer mode took place during the convention, which was held in early September 2016.
Multiplayer beta
A multiplayer beta for people who pre-ordered the PlayStation 4 version of the game began on October 14. An Xbox One beta began on October 21, and the PC version did not have a beta. The beta concluded on October 24.Downloadable content
Players who purchased the season pass, whether it be separately or with certain special editions of the game, were to receive all four DLC packs for Infinite Warfare, released in four different waves during 2017, for a slightly discounted price. Season pass holders were to also receive 1,000 Salvage credits, the game's in-game currency, and 10 rare quality supply drops at the game's launch. The first DLC pack, named Sabotage, was available to PS4 players on January 31, 2017, and to Xbox One and PC players on March 2, 2017. The pack includes the new Zombies map Rave in the Redwoods, as well as four new multiplayer maps: Noir, Renaissance, Neon, and Dominion. The second map pack, Continuum, was released on PS4 on April 18, 2017, and on Xbox One and PC on May 18, 2017; the map pack includes four MP maps: Turista, Scrap, Archive, Excess, and one Zombies map, Shaolin Shuffle. The third map pack, Absolution, was released on PS4 on July 6, 2017, and on Xbox One and PC on August 8, 2017; the map pack features the Zombies map Attack of the Radioactive Thing and four MP maps: Permafrost, Fore, Bermuda and Ember. The final map pack, Retribution, will be released on PS4 on September 12, 2017, and features the final Zombies episode The Beast from Beyond, as well as four MP maps: Carnage, Altitude, Depot 22 and Heartland.In addition to map packs, Infinite Warfare also feature announcer voice packs, replacing the regular voice over in multiplayer with other voices. A voice pack called "UK Special Forces" was released for free to all players, featuring the voice of actor Craig Fairbrass. Other voice packs feature various celebrities, including rapper Method Man, YouTuber Ozzy Man Reviews, and comedian Ken Jeong.
Reception
Pre-release
Upon release of the initial trailer, the game was heavily criticized by the community for being too futuristic. The consensus held was that this had stemmed from frustration with the current direction of the franchise, as consecutive installments released in the past few years had been set in future settings and narratives. In response to the criticism, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg stated that he knew "that there are people in our community who are nostalgic for the 'boots-on-the-ground-style gameplay'... ... we also have millions of people in our community who want to have new innovative experiences in the game each year and Infinite Warfare is going to deliver that." He also stated that , whose trailer also received its fair share of dislikes, would go on to become the best-selling Call of Duty game at the time., the trailer has received more than 3.8 million dislikes and is the twelfth most disliked video on YouTube.Despite its pre-release criticism, Infinite Warfare was named Best Shooter at E3 by Game Informer. At the 2016 Game Critics Awards for the best of E3, the game was nominated for Best Action Game, but lost to rival game Battlefield 1.
Post-release
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare received "generally favorable" reviews for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.Joab Gilroy of IGN gave the game a 7.7 out of 10 stating; "Despite its shift to interplanetary combat, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is a generally fun but inessential shooter." Brett Phillps of Trusted Reviews awarded Infinite Warfare 4 and a half out of 5 stars, reasoning; "A solid campaign and the excellent "Zombies" mode will see people stick around for a good while, but it won't be long before buyers of the Legacy Edition switch over to Modern Warfare Remastered for good."
The single-player campaign received praise. Phillps felt that the campaign was more enjoyable than Black Ops III, reasoning "While the Call of Duty series has become synonymous with intense and addictive multiplayer, it's a pleasant surprise that the quality of the single player campaigns has steadily improved in recent years, which continues in Infinite Warfare."
Gilroy, however, had a more mixed response, citing that "It's not for want of something to differentiate it. It should be awesome... but it's mostly slow and plodding, and by the time the pace picks up there's not enough game left to wash the disappointment of the first two-thirds out of your mouth. Infinite Warfares campaign shows improvement over , but not much."
The multiplayer drew criticism due to its lack of innovation. Phillps expressed his disappointed to the multiplayer stating; "I'm genuinely saddened that Infinite Warfares multiplayer doesn't stack up to previous entries, as every year I look forward to jumping back into Call of Duty and spending a good few months shooting up stuff..."
Sales
Infinite Warfare sold 1.8 million copies in its first week in US. However, overall sales were down 50% compared to 2015's . Activision was reported to be expecting sales to be down due to the fact that Infinite Warfare was going to be a "new sub-series" and that the Black Ops name carried brand weight with it. Despite slow initial sales, Infinite Warfare was the top-selling game in the US in November 2016. Activision reported in February 2017 that the game missed their sales expectations with one of the reasons cited being that the game "didn't resonate with fans".The PlayStation 4 version sold 105,764 copies within its first week on sale in Japan, making it the bestselling game of the week in the country.