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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review Roundup

Find out what the critics are saying about this year's game.

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Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has arrived, and so have a host of review scores for this year's entry in the perennial powerhouse first-person shooter franchise.

Advanced Warfare has a few interesting storylines around it. It's the first Call of Duty game developed over the course of three years and it's the first title Sledgehammer Games has led development on, after working alongside Infinity Ward on 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

The game, which is set in the near-future, also gives players a range of super-human abilities through the exosuit. On top of that, award-winning actor Kevin Spacey plays a lead role in the game.

How did Advanced Warfare come together? Check out the reviews below and GameSpot sister site Metacritic for more.

GameSpot -- 8/10

"The last time Call of Duty had 'Warfare' in its subtitle, it led to a well-received trilogy that deftly transitioned the series away from a well-trodden global conflict to modern-day combat. If the settings of today have run their course just as World War II did years ago, Advanced Warfare makes for a convincing foundation of futuristic yet relatable combat that is worth exploring and expanding further. The huge change in player mobility is less of a paradigm shift and more of an overdue retooling for an 11-year-old FPS franchise, especially in a year of mobility-focused shooters. Yet for all its predictability, Advanced Warfare is a deluge of action-film bravado, and it's difficult to not be carried away by its tidal forces." - Miguel Concepcion [Full review]

Giant Bomb -- 4/5

"Advanced Warfare doesn't reinvent Call of Duty. It's not the same dramatic shift that we saw when the series went from World War II to the modern era. Perhaps holding out hope for something as revolutionary as Modern Warfare was when it hit back in 2007 is foolish. Be that as it may, as someone who has been drifting further and further away from Call of Duty for the past few years, I can certainly say that Advanced Warfare's mobility kept me interested much longer than Ghosts or Black Ops II has. It's the best multiplayer the game has seen in some time and the whole thing totals up to a satisfying, if familiar experience." - Jeff Gerstmann [Full review]

USGamer -- 3.5/5

"Tasked with leading Call of Duty into the next generation, Sledgehammer Games is off to a cautious start. Advanced Warfare executes the formula competently while adding a handful of bells and whistles like mechs, laser cannons, and double jumps; but Sledgehammer Games seems reluctant to really cut loose and push the setting to its fullest potential, making Advanced Warfare a solid but ultimately unexciting entry in the series." - Kat Bailey [Full review]

The Sixth Axis -- 9/10

"At the heart of Advanced Warfare is the exoskeleton and all of the possibilities it opens up, transforming the way that you get around amidst the futuristic setting. Yet it delivers on many more levels too, from a compelling story and cast of characters to the graphics and the vast array of options for multiplayer character and loadout customization. Sledgehammer have shown that there's life in the long-running series yet, and thrown down the gauntlet to Treyarch and Infinity Ward." - Stefan L [Full review]

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Joystiq -- 4/5

"Despite the familiarity, it's been years since a Call of Duty campaign was as coherent and fast-paced as this one. Within the confines of its franchise, which has yet to make much room for a mature look at the subject matter, Advanced Warfare works with aplomb and, at the very least, plays its Big Dumb Movie card wisely. If you're running out of bad guys, borrow some from Hollywood." - Ludwig Kietzmann [Full review]

USA Today -- 4/4

"Beyond the engaging story campaign, Advanced Warfare has an online multiplayer mode that brings the new weaponry and boost jumping in live 16-player contests. And one to four players can team up to fend off waves of computer-controlled enemies in another game mode, the fun and furious Exo-Survival co-op game. If this is what Sledgehammer Games delivers as rookies at the helm of the Call of Duty franchise, players have plenty to look forward to." - Mike Snider [Full review]

Polygon -- 9/10

"For whatever minor missteps Advanced Warfare makes with its story, it more than compensates with vision and remarkable execution. The latter has never really been Call of Duty's problem--Ghosts notwithstanding--but Advanced Warfare adds enough and moves far enough forward with its new abilities to feel like a risk. Turns out, that's just what the series needed." - Arthur Gies [Full review]

GamesRadar -- 4/5

"Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare excels in online multiplayer, with brand new mechanics and a complex, loot-filled progression system that hooks you in. But the surprises stop there. With a by-the-numbers campaign structure and unimaginative co-op mode, the competitive multiplayer mode stands as Advanced Warfare's strongest asset." - Lorenzo Veloria [Full review]

VideoGamer -- 8/10

"For a future warfare title with drones and jetpacks, Sledgehammer's success is partly to be found by looking to the series' past, and by combining its own ideas with COD's natural appeal it has reinvigorated the franchise." Steven Burns [Full review]

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