If and when humans finally have the technology to reach the far depths of space, what will be our first move? Well, if we follow human history, countries will most likely be jockying to gain control of important minerals that are now rare on Earth. This is the reality in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s campaign mode.

A new hero emerges from the ashes. 

Now that (wo)man can reach the far depths of space and colonize the solar system, the countries of the world come together to create the United Nation Space Alliance to keep the peace. Because as we know, important resources (or lack thereof) can lead to war. The problem is that one group splintered off from the UNSA, the Settlement Defense Front (or the Front), and as you guessed, they want to control all the space colonies as well as all their wealth. This story will very much be about two opposing forces at war, as opposed to the more intricate (and sometimes confusing) plots of recent CoD titles.

Another change of pace comes in the form of our main protagonist, Reyes. Unlike most other characters we play as in previous titles of the franchise, Reyes is a commanding officer and not a grunt.

A devastating sneak attack from the Front leaves Reyes at the helm of one of Earth’s last warships, the Retribution. This massive warship that signifies Earth’s last hope will act as your hub.

But why should you care? This ship also holds your entire crew, and will be where you get to learn more about them–hopefully even building bonds with them. After going on missions, people will react to your accomplishments, grunts will acknowledge you when walking by. You are their Captain, after all. While there’s no relationship system in the game (it doesn’t make too much sense for CoD), Infinity Ward is hoping the natural interactions will create an emotional bond between the player and these characters. Basically, if you invest your time in talking to your crew, you’ll be getting a much more immersive experience.

Though it does seem strange that Infinity Ward is so focused on creating an emotionally driven narrative, it makes much more sense when you realize that two Naughty Dog vets have joined the team: narrative director Taylor Kurosaki and design director Jacob Minkoff. That’s not to disparage the rest of the incredibly talented team working on this title, of course, but the addition of these two talents makes sense with the direction they’re taking it.

Space’s vastness is now your playground. 

Narrative and relationships notwithstanding, what’s a Call of Duty game without incredibly robust action sequences. As you may already know, space combat is now a thing in this franchise. You’ll be piloting your very own advanced space combat jet-fighter, which is named the Jackal. During our preview, we witnessed an exhilarating scenario in which the player seamlessly went from boots on the ground combat, to space dogfights, and then later infiltrating another ship–and all this with very minimal loading (if any at all). Depending on how this new gameplay mechanic is implemented throughout the campaign, it could provide some thrilling combat situations.

While we didn’t get to pilot the game ourselves, Infinity Ward stressed that the controls for the Jackal will be familiar for CoD fans as the jet will work the same as if you’re simply on the ground doing the usual CoD thing (button inputs do the same thing). That’s promising.

Other important things to note: You will travel to different planets, which will provide their own obstacles to overcome, like trying to avoid direct sunlight because you’re so close to the damn thing that it’ll burn you to a crisp. Secondly, there are no aliens. Sorry.

Narrative still matters. 

As you can see, Infinity Ward is making the campaign mode a focal point in Infinite Warfare. This is where the team is really focusing on once again making the narrative in the campaign unforgettable.

Most forget that part of the reason Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward was so popular was because of the epic single-player campaign. There were memorable moments, and even characters that gamers fell in love with like Captain Price.

I for one think this could be a return to form for Infinity Ward, but we’ll have to wait and see until we get hands-on time with the full game. Are you guys excited to check this out? Were you surprised by the trailer shown off at Sony’s E3 briefing? Let us know in the comments below!

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Images: Activision