Over the years the Call of Duty single-player campaigns have scrambled to outdo themselves with more exciting but predictable set-piece moments, like dropping nukes or apocalyptic assaults on sleepy suburbs. Yet one of the most beloved missions in the entire series is Modern Warfare's "All Ghillied Up," two snipers' tense, slow-paced crawl behind enemy lines. Sledgehammer Games, staffed by many veterans from the original Dead Space, are experts in narrative pacing and understand that for every Golden Gate Bridge terrorist attack you need something more subtle to offset it. The studio's skill is on full display during a trek through the Bulgarian mountains that shifts the mood dramatically in a short timeframe.
The action begins on the outskirts of a forest with a broken squad of Exosuited super soldiers fleeing from an attack chopper. Unfortunately, the batteries on their ability-enhancing exoskeletons are completely drained, forcing them to duck and weave as the chopper takes potshots. The duo scrambles up a small cliff leading into the forest. Protagonist Private Mitchell falters during his clumsy climb just as the chopper's searchlight is about to reveal him. Suddenly, the Exo suit's cloaking ability comes online and Mitchell blends in with the stony surface. The chopper loses them and the pair slinks into the cover of the woods.
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The gameplay shifts from an intense escape to a careful, deliberate sneaking mission past a handful of armed guards. Their touch-and-go Exo suits leave them without their significant battlefield advantage. The two sneak past the guards, occasionally using their cloaks as the slowly recharging battery allows. At one point, they take cover behind a fallen tree as a sizeable unit of heavily armored troopers loudly stomps through the woods in ominous rhythm.
The two soldiers eventually meet up with the rest of their squad and uncover a hidden laboratory deep in the woods beneath an optic-camouflage canopy. The team sabotages the research facility and other sensitive enemy resources before discovering an experimental hover tank. The soldiers quickly decide to commandeer the armored craft and begin an action-packed escape form the premises. Salvos of anti-personnel missiles snuff out dozens of enemies at once. A massive energy blast obliterates hostile tanks that roll into view. An EMP blast makes short work of pesky helicopters, killing their systems and sending them crashing to the ground in flames.
These contrasting sections – along with the previously shown trek into the creepy, flooded slums of Detroit – have me hopeful that Sledgehammer is bringing a much-needed breath of fresh air into the franchise's campaign structure. The Exo suit looks like a blast to control when it's up and running, but Sledgehammer's skill in using its absence as a narrative device suggests this futuristic entry is in the right hands.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Style: 1-Player Shooter (Online TBA)
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Release: November 4
