Call Of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer – a few series firsts and as slick as ever, but no g

http://media.edge-online.com/wp-cont...s1-610x343.jpgWell that’s a first. Two firsts, in fact. We’ve never seen a canine killcam in an Infinity Ward Call Of Duty game, but here it is: someone’s faithful, four-legged companion just earned the final kill of the match, and it plays out in slow motion for all to see. More importantly, perhaps, the other first in this sequence is that the throat our furry teammate has sunk his teeth into belongs to a female soldier.The presence of soldiers of both sexes makes precisely zero difference to COD’s combat mechanically, but it belatedly arrives as part of an increased focus on cosmetic character customisation. The Create A Solider option on Ghosts’ lobby screen hybridises loadout adjustments with purely decorative tweaks, letting you change your soldier’s headgear, while also deliberating over what sidearm they’ll equip and which perks they’ll use in a modified version of Black Ops’ flexible Pick 10 system. As with last year’s game, the shift away from defined numbers of perks, grenades, and tactical equipment should allow for more freedom to experiment when creating soldiers – though during our hands-on we’re limited to the pre-built loadouts.It’s a significant change in that it waltzes right across the most recent dividing line in Infinity Ward and Treyarch’s approach to the series’ multiplayer, but in truth Ghosts’ combat feels distinct from Modern Warfare’s anyway. Or at least it does if you’re intimately familiar with the series’ combat rhythms – this remains a Call Of Duty game, after all, built on quick kills and the powerful incentive of strike package rewards.Streaks retain their prominence and importance, but they’ve been literally grounded in comparison to the aerial excesses of Infinity Ward’s last two games. There’s a genuine focus on ground-based equipment over sky-based assistance here. The ubiquitous UAV has been shot down for the last time, instead three kills earns you the right to place a satcom – a bulky satellite scanner – on the ground, whereas five points lets you ensure that singleplayer’s extensive canine motion capture sessions haven’t gone to waste.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/...-leap-forward/