Giving the term “Modern Warfare” new meaning

Call of Duty is most likely the most successful first-person shooter in Zimbabwe (just like it is in most of the world) and if you’ve ever truly been a fan of the franchise, chances are you’ve played at least on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game. The Modern Warfare trilogy was released in the PS3/Xbox 360 era and pretty much often set the standard for what made a great first-person shooter for it’s time. The original Modern Warfare put Call of Duty on the map as the world’s most popular FPS franchise, and it’s two sequels were must haves for any FPS fan, so when the next Call of duty was rumored to be part of the Modern Warfare series again, you can imagine fans were pretty excited about what the expected Modern Warfare 4 would bring. And the first thing it’s brought is an interesting name change, along with a reveal of being a reboot of sorts: it’s simply called Modern Warfare.

Now for many, this could be the type of news that disappoints you and I can get why. For anyone looking for a return to form of the old Modern Warfare formula almost ten years after Modern Warfare 3, this reboot might seem like it’s going to be a letdown. But once you understand the nuance behind the simple name and reboot, you can actually get excited for what might actually be a thought-provoking and perhaps even intriguing take on the Call of Duty formula. Where the first three games got their name from simply being based in a modern setting (as most COD games before that where based in historical wars), this new Modern Warfare is aiming to be a nuanced, gritty and relatable experience that mirrors the complexity of real-life conflicts. It aims to show how in the real world, it isn’t always as easy as “Good Guy vs Bad Guy”, and this is signified by the fact that the campaign will put you on both sides of a conflict as a high ranking U.S. special ops soldier along with a Middle-Eastern Rebel fighter. Based on the dialogue in the trailer alone, the toll these conflicts take on the people fighting them might be a focus too, and this makes the game potentially a highly emotional yet highly intriguing experience. Of course, this is all based on the promises developer studio Infinity Ward has made and Call of Duty has aimed high and fallen short before when it comes to story (case in point: COD Ghosts). But we feel if they at least put in half the effort they seem to be promising in the first trailer of the game, then we would have arguably one of our best COD stories to date and in a world were God of War and even Mortal Kombat have evolved to start telling more mature and captivating stories, we can’t wait for Call of Duty to truly embrace such storytelling endeavors as well.

What do you think about the new Modern Warfare? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media.