This Multiplayer reveal has truly shown that Sledgehammer Games has undergone a huge overhaul of the normal Call of Duty multiplayer experience. If you have not watched the reveal, I suggest watching it on youtube or other means of viewing because there was so much packed into this reveal. We are going to focus on a few main things that stood out and are completely new to Call of Duty Multiplayer.
Exo Suit:
The exo suit is something we saw in the various levels and trailers for the single player. Well, it is also coming into the Call of Duty multiplayer in a huge way. Each player will have their own exo suit which they can customize to fit their play style. The exo suit adds extreme levels of verticality and more momentum to the game. You can boost jump, as well as boost dodge, both on the ground and in the air. You can also slam onto the ground from the air onto enemies and kill them. On top of the movement, the exo suit adds other ways each player can customize their suit by adding attachments and perks. For example you can add a cloak, a shield, or a wrist mounted rocket launcher that you may use. Things like the cloak and shield use energy, limiting the time you can use your exo suit's selected attachment. There are also perks like overcharge, which allow you to use your attachment longer or perks that silence your boost jump so you do not show up on the map to enemies. The exo suit is huge. It completely changes the game and will revamp how you play COD. The multiplayer has always been fast paced but now it is going to be even faster.
Class Customization:
Like all other Call of Duty games it is based on XP progression, no surprise there. But now, aside from your normal unlocks through level progression there is going to be even more, what i want to call "sub-customization" aside from normal weapon unlocks and customization options. There are things called supply drops that come in 3 different rarities that will alter your weapons and gear in ways that you can tailor fit them even more to your individual play style. Sledgehammer games has taken a page from Black Ops II with the pick 10 system for class customization and now has moved to a pick 13 system. This is huge. Now you can equip up to 13 items and attachments as well as selecting up to four score streaks all of which are also now customizable. You can make your score streaks more deadly by adding special bonuses but with a cost of increasing the score required to unlock the streak. This will be a truly epic addition for veteran players like all of us at Haptic Intel. In addition to those changes to score streaks there is also now the option of co-op score streaks. That means if you are controlling a streak, a team member may come up and join you and get assist points by marking enemies and helping you out. In addition to class customization they are bringing back the create a soldier from Ghosts and allowing even more room for customization, I just hope that it is not as convoluted and frustrating as it was in Ghosts.
Maps:
They only announced four maps at this reveal but said that the game would ship with 12 total playable maps at launch. One thing that stood out during the reveal was that now, in addition to the dynamic map changes through the match, you can now swim in multiplayer in certain scenarios. It is a cool feature but i feel as if it could be a cheap way to get a quick kill.
Day Zero:
For all those that have pre-ordered Advanced Warfare you can now get the game a day early with the added bonus of 2 weapons and 24 hours of double XP before everyone else. This is a really nice gesture for all those fans who pre-order the game early and get it day one every year.
These are just the main things that stood out at this reveal to us. Overall this multiplayer reveal has gotten us excited here at Haptic Intel and has rekindled some love for COD again after what was a disappointing year, personally, with Ghosts. This seems to be a huge overhaul for the franchise and I hope it truly is. I can't say what the game will actually be like until we get hands on but for now Haptic Intel remains optimistic for what is coming with the next generation of Call of Duty Multiplayer.
Written By: Josh Tull (Co-Founder)