Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Stays Grounded with a Focus on an Epic Story

Sure, the most noticeable thing about Infinity Ward’s upcoming Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare might be the robots, space dogfights, and zero-gravity firefights. But what the game wants to emphasize above all is a story grounded in traditional good-versus-evil themes – and in classic war movies. Helmed by former veterans of developer Naughty Dog (known for their story-rich franchises like Uncharted and The Last of Us), Infinite Warfare tells the story of Reyes and his squad as they face down a truly evil enemy bent on savagery and destruction.

That enemy, it was recently revealed, is led by none other than Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington. Harrington’s character will be a constant foil for Reyes as he tries to defend humanity and his men while maintaining his commitment to complete his mission, no matter the cost. The struggle between mission and man, and what is right, will form the central conflict of Infinite Warfare’s main storyline. Reyes’ SATO finds itself under assault from the ruthless Settlement Defense Front, an organization that is willing to use any means, without regard to morality, in order to wipe out human civilization as we know it on Earth and in the solar system.

At E3 2016 we saw some new gameplay from the invasion of Geneva by the Settlement Defense Front that takes place in the Infinite Warfare reveal trailer. This time, we caught a glimpse of robot combatants on both sides, as well as a new sort of grenade/smart bomb that seeks out and destroys enemies by moving like a spider. We also saw plenty of space combat, both from inside the cockpit of a Jackal space fighter and during what amounted to an “assault spacewalk,” in which Reyes’ team were attempting to breach the hull of a large enemy ship – while it was in orbit around a planet. Taking on enemy soldiers in zero gravity is a new experience for Call of Duty players, and with Infinite Warfare’s grapple tool (used to hook onto the hull or debris in order to move around, as well as to grab enemies and kill them), firefights in the vacuum of space look to be an unforgettable calling card of the new title.

While Infinity Ward are being tight lipped about the other modes now, we do know that Infinite Warfare will have multiplayer and Zombies mode in addition to its story campaign – we just don’t know exactly what those modes will look like yet.

And we also know that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, a high-resolution retake of the famed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, will ship with special editions of Infinite Warfare. The remaster features the single-player campaign completely up-rezzed into stunning HD graphics for the Xbox One and Windows PC, as well as all the multiplayer maps and modes that the original made famous, also taken into high definition.

In the end, though, Infinite Warfare, like Modern Warfare before it, is about wrapping players up in characters and story they care about, and pumping adrenaline into them through missions that have meaning beyond simple in-game objectives. With storytelling and character front and center, amazing graphics to realize the journey, and sparkling gameplay to keep gamers hooked, Infinite Warfare is one title we absolutely can’t wait for this November.