Every fall season, Activision releases their latest release in the “Call Of Duty” series. Despite the new game being named after the original trilogy, this year’s new title is ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.’ It is a soft reboot of the series, taking place in a new universe, but with the same characters and a similar setting. 

I had the chance to play it the day of release, and I must say, it definitely blew me away. I had heard of its initial release trailer back in May, and thought, “Oh another Call Of Duty. I might rent it for the weekend and that’s about it.” But after more and more of the trailers came out, it started to pull me in with it’s extremely impressive graphics and a very compelling, and relevant story. 

Typically every COD has the Campaign, Multiplayer and some form of co-op, whether that be a zombie survival mode, or extra missions related to the story you can play with friends. When I started the game, I decided to try out the Multiplayer first. The gameplay felt very engaging and pretty realistic. Everything, from the reflections on the ground to the smoke leaving the barrel of the gun, really made me feel like I was a part of the game. 

After playing around an hour of Multiplayer, I decided to switch to the story. This was the moment when I fell in love with the game. The first cutscene is very raw and unforgiving. It starts off with a video of a terrorist propaganda video, as the camera moves around a van full of men with guns. The camera finally lands on a man with an explosive vest, as he and the other men get out of the van, which is parked in the middle of Piccadilly Circus in London. The men all go their separate ways, as the camera keeps the man with the vest centered as he raises his arm, with a detonator in his hand. But as you look around the scene, you see civilians all noticing the men and started to panic, and as the man with the vest hits the detonator, the screen cuts to black with the words, “Modern Warfare,” in white. 

This initial scene blew me away. I was shocked seeing all the terrorists commit an attack on a crowded civilian environment. A later mission shows the same attack in further detail as you play the role of an SAS soldier who is a first-responder to the scene. It is also during this mission, where we get re-introduced to Captain Price (played by Barry Sloane), a main character from the original trilogy. That scene alone is enough to cause controversy, not to mention the later scenes and scenarios you see and play through, which depict more senseless attacks and war crimes. From this point in the game you play as Sergeant Kyle Garrick, a member of the SAS, and a CIA agent named Alex, as you help take down the fictional Middle-Eastern terrorist group Al-Qatala. 

What makes this game so fantastic is the attention to detail and realism. The game runs on a completely new engine, allowing for the most realistic depiction of characters I’ve ever seen. 

But the realism doesn’t just come from the gameplay, it comes from the things that happen in the story and how often these things happen in real life. Modern Warfare doesn’t hold anything back. You see children in the background of the terrorist attacks. You will see characters make hard decisions that may affect the outcome of innocent people. 

The game is a representation of real-life issues, and that’s what makes it great. It’s trying to show people what really goes on in the world. I feel like Captain Price said best, “We get dirty, so the world stays clean.”