CALL of Duty (CoD) took the leap to modern warfare in 2007, it was the dawning of a new age for first-person shooters.

Plenty of modern-day shooting games ensued, including an annual release of CoD, which often became the biggest and most sought after game of the year.

Seven years on and Activision have moved the series to a new time frame – the future.

Set in 2054, Advanced Warfare’s campaign follows a soldier fighting in a Korean conflict. During a battle in Seoul, Jack Mitchell gets caught up in an explosion which doesn’t claim his life but leads to him becoming an amputee. It’s a story which feels much like a military version of Robocop as Jack gets fitted with advanced prosthetics which don’t just help him to lead a normal life but transform him into a super soldier.

The gripping storyline is brought to life with great voice acting, including that of Kevin Spacey, and is much easier to follow than some of the more recent CoD games. It’s the usual ten-hour affair we’ve come to recognise as a standard, and there are plenty of over-the-top, Hollywood blockbuster moments which are pretty to look at and never fail to excite. It feels so fundamentally like CoD, you can’t help but feel you’ve been here almost a dozen times before.

But let’s face it, nobody purchases CoD simply for its single player mode.

As one would expect, players can upgrade almost every aspect of their multiplayer character and the arsenal available in even more depth than ever before. The prosthetics, or exoskeleton, provide a different way for gamers to play while still keeping to the insane speeds of gameplay.

Exo-dodge and exo-dash enable players to quickly shift to the left, right or forward, while exo-jump gives players an extra boost to their jump.

The maps are some of the best and most dynamic we’ve seen in years, with an added dimension of being built vertically to cater for the exo-jump. This keeps gamers on their toes, not knowing which angle the enemy may attack from.

A new approach to the HUD (heads-up display) means ammunition details are no longer scribbled across the corners of the screen but are instead positioned neatly on the back of the gun. It’s more engaging, less distracting and certainly more advanced – just as the name states.

It’s the biggest change the CoD series has seen since shifting to Modern Warfare – a move which was one of the biggest success stories in video gaming history. Only time will tell if Advanced Warfare will see the same success, but as it’s one of the most complete CoD packages coupled with a need for new strategy, there’s absolutely no reason why it shouldn’t.

SCORE: 9 / 10