Hot take time once again: This is not only the best CoD game set in the future but also the best CoD campaign since Black Ops 1 (though not even remotely close to that games greatness)
I think it all comes down to the characters actually being likeable. Look, CoD games almost always have shit plots, even some of the good ones have shit plots (RUSSIA INVADES AMERICA BABY!) and ultimately imo whether a CoD campaign is good or not comes down to the characters which is why the last like 3-4 CoD games have been so bad, they have entirely forgettable/bad characters which makes it impossible to excuse the dumb plots and over the top setpieces.
Also this is the game where they finally learn that when we play a video game, we want to PLAY it, not watch it. We don't want a cutscene of our character using a gadget, we want to use that gadget in game.
You are finally allowed to use all the cool shit the game introduces, but also the game only introduces gadgets you can use more than once, so no invisibility cloak that you only use a single time or magic spiderman gloves that are just quick time events. An example of a useful gadget introduced in here is hacking robots, it's satisfying to hack a robot then self destruct near like 10 enemies and blow all of them up.
It's actually refreshing as hell for this series at this point. Level design is a bit more open but by a bit I do really mean A BIT since its still linear as fuck.
I enjoyed the gunplay, it wasn't perfect but the guns were pretty cool, I liked the guns that turn into other guns (Sniper turns into assault rifle, smg turns into 2 smgs, etc...) and double scopes. Felt much more futuristic than any guns from the last 2 games.
Story was kinda bad but I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, the dialogue and banter was well written, the themes of sacrifice were the opposite of subtle but they did the job much more than whatever shit BO3 might have had in one of those timelines or AW's basic predictable plot. It actually feels like this game had some heart and passion put into it which I can't confidently say for the last like 6 entries in this series.
It's not the peak of the series, not even close, but it is the closest to a return to good as it gets. Decent shit all things considered.
I think it all comes down to the characters actually being likeable. Look, CoD games almost always have shit plots, even some of the good ones have shit plots (RUSSIA INVADES AMERICA BABY!) and ultimately imo whether a CoD campaign is good or not comes down to the characters which is why the last like 3-4 CoD games have been so bad, they have entirely forgettable/bad characters which makes it impossible to excuse the dumb plots and over the top setpieces.
Also this is the game where they finally learn that when we play a video game, we want to PLAY it, not watch it. We don't want a cutscene of our character using a gadget, we want to use that gadget in game.
You are finally allowed to use all the cool shit the game introduces, but also the game only introduces gadgets you can use more than once, so no invisibility cloak that you only use a single time or magic spiderman gloves that are just quick time events. An example of a useful gadget introduced in here is hacking robots, it's satisfying to hack a robot then self destruct near like 10 enemies and blow all of them up.
It's actually refreshing as hell for this series at this point. Level design is a bit more open but by a bit I do really mean A BIT since its still linear as fuck.
I enjoyed the gunplay, it wasn't perfect but the guns were pretty cool, I liked the guns that turn into other guns (Sniper turns into assault rifle, smg turns into 2 smgs, etc...) and double scopes. Felt much more futuristic than any guns from the last 2 games.
Story was kinda bad but I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, the dialogue and banter was well written, the themes of sacrifice were the opposite of subtle but they did the job much more than whatever shit BO3 might have had in one of those timelines or AW's basic predictable plot. It actually feels like this game had some heart and passion put into it which I can't confidently say for the last like 6 entries in this series.
It's not the peak of the series, not even close, but it is the closest to a return to good as it gets. Decent shit all things considered.