Could Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Be The Shot In The Arm The Franchise Needs?

That surprise in question was the addition of Kevin Spacey. I know what you’re thinking: House of Cards season three certainly took a new direction; but stepping away from Washington’s corridors of power, it’s understood that Spacey is set to portray the leader of one of the aforementioned PMCs, hellbent on going toe to toe with the American government.

Granted, enlisting reputable industry alum for voice acting isn’t exactly a new feather in Call of Duty’s proverbial cap — what with the likes of Gary Oldman, Kiefer Sunderland and Sam Worthington lending their vocals for previous iterations. However, judging from the brief snippet of footage, Spacey is certainly channeling Frank Underwood for his nefarious role in Advanced Warfare, which will hopefully lend the game’s narrative a compelling degree of authenticity.

Nevertheless, an actor can be only be as good as their script and quite frankly, Call of Duty’s core campaigns have gained a reputation for being undercooked add-ons that serve as nothing more than hyper-stylized appetizers for the overriding multiplayer component. And while Black Ops experimented with the formula back in 2010, the franchise’s storytelling has become so obsessed with topping its predecessor that the hackneyed, patriotic tale of a ragtag group of marines saving the world from the brink is teetering towards stagnation.

Of course, that’s not to say that Advanced Warfare will be the Citizen Kane of Call of Duty games; in fact, far from it. Yes, taking it at face value, the addition of Spacey elevates the trailer in every which way, but the onus is now on Sledgehammer Games to deliver an intriguing storyline that has been AWOL since Modern Warfare’s campaign in 2007.

Speaking of which, 2014’s entry could do well to learn from Call of Duty 4 in the gameplay department as well. Seven years ago, Infinity Ward effectively revitalised the entire genre by hauling the series into a modern day setting all the while establishing parameters that have become pillars of each new release. The hyper-kinetic firefights, incentivized killstreaks and a prestige system have ultimately served as the fundamental building blocks upon which each new iteration has refined and tweaked IW’s esteemed formula.

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