Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – is it awesome?

One man stands alone in a street, surrounded by charred bodies and the burnt remnants of cars. The camera pans onto him, a close up, showing a blackened face with spots of blood on its brow.

The sound of an army approaching grows louder and we zoom out to see this lone figure facing countless foes and insurmountable odds. He lifts his gun, and a tank flying the American flag comes crashing out of a side street. George Bush sits atop its turret, an M4 assault rifle in one hand and a Bud Light in the other.

He says something unintelligible, before firing hundreds of rounds of democracy at the approaching forces.

Victoria secret models parachute in and land on Bush’s lap.

The war is won.

‘Murica.

That’s the Call of Duty game I want to play. Unfortunately that game does not exist, but Advanced Warfare does – here’s what the reviewers thought of it.

First up, Metacritic, then on to the international reviews.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Platform	Metacritic Score (/100)
PC	N/A
PS4	81
PS3	N/A
Xbox One	84
Xbox 360	N/A

Joystiq – 4/5 (Xbox One)

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.

Gamespot – 8/10 (PS4, Xbox One)

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.

Polygon – 9/10 (Xbox One)

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.

GameInformer – 9/10 (Xbox One)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s single-player campaign is a ridiculous summer movie romp with sobering visions of the future of weaponry. Bring popcorn, because the real fun begins with the multiplayer, where the wealth of customization options should have players coming back for game after game.

Metro – 8/10 (PS4)

In Short: Despite a few pulled punches this is the best Call Of Duty has been in years, and the multiplayer in particular is the most innovative since Modern Warfare began.

Pros: The EXO concept is implemented extremely well and gives the multiplayer a real boost. Loot system and sci-fi weapons are also good. Story mode is well written, with some great set pieces.

Cons: Multiplayer and story campaign are surprisingly dissimilar, with the latter relying too much on franchise convention and not enough on the EXO. Survival mode is pretty basic.

VideoGamer – 8/10 (PS4)

A superb overall package, one that has me interested in Call of Duty again. 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.