'Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (2016)' brings 'Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)' into this generation. It has been completely rebuilt from the ground up to, essentially, 'up-scale' the initial game. Basically, this represents a smoother, slicker version of the original with better graphics and slightly refined mechanics. However, since this is my first time playing through the campaign, I'll be reviewing it as if it were a stand-alone title.
The game plays like pretty much any other 'Call Of Duty' title and, as such, it feels quite sluggish when compared to its (admittedly newer) peers - such as 'Titanfall 2 (2016)' or 'Wolfenstein: The New Order (2014)'. However, you get used to this slightly slower pace rather quickly. It's not like the actual game itself is slow, either. Most levels chuck dozens of enemies at you; bullets whiz past your ear as you dart away from one of the many hand grenades exploding by your feet. At its best, this chaos evokes an anxiety-inducing claustrophobia, the feeling that you're really fighting for your life. At its worst, it makes the game feel cheap, especially when you keep dying to constant grenade spam or getting picked off by one of the often infinite hostiles. This problem is accentuated on the higher difficulties, with 'veteran' (the mode I played) having you die in literally two or three shots. The game is frustrating at the best of times, but some missions just take the cake and force you to hunker down or battle through far too many baddies for the experience to be fun anymore. The campaign itself is comprised of several missions that, essentially, recreate a 'brainless' action movie. The plot only serves to get you from set-piece to set-piece, each probably picked because the prospect sounded 'cool', and the characters, though somewhat charismatic, are all stereotypical and ultimately quite flat. The set-pieces are often impressive, though, and they provide ample opportunity for the gun-play that makes up the entirety of the game loop. Even though they all hold your hand, there are a nice variety of missions. Their visuals are always spectacular and they do a good job of keeping things feeling 'new'. It's the sort of game that guides you down a specifically designed path, attempting to seem cinematic without taking control directly away from you. The seams can be seen if you look hard enough, but the campaign is pacy enough that you might not notice - unless you get stuck at a checkpoint on your 'veteran' play-though.
The 'Call Of Duty' series has become known for its multiplayer and, as you'd expect, it's here in just as 'up-scaled' a way as the story. You tend to get killed quite quickly after spawning - indeed, the 'time to death' is typically very low - and the sluggishness of the gameplay becomes more apparent when versing twitch-fingered online foes. It's fun enough, though, with a decent progression system and some memorable maps. The game also offers up an arcade mode, which presents the campaign with an added 'score' element.
Overall, though it feels quite dated and restrictive in some ways, the game is an entertaining ride throughout. It isn't all that long and its 'veteran' difficulty often feels cheap, but it's a solid shooter with some stand-out set-pieces. 7/10
