The one Call of Duty that was condemned pre-release for straying too far from its roots paradoxically plays more like a regular Call of Duty than its last two antecedents. At least when you're not flying spaceships, which still play more or less like any other flying vehicle in any of the previous CoDs.

I think overall it's a more coherent experience than Black Ops 3, but that also makes it less interesting. We've basically seen what it has to offer a million times already. The changes are mostly decorative. Yet it still tacks on the fucking jetpacks and robots and the limited customization system that doesn't have any effect on the game, perhaps even more so here than in BO3. I guess the good thing is it's easier to just ignore those things this time around, as the game's focus is clearly on delivering your regular cinematic train-ride.

Also, idk if it's just me, but I found the story here more intrusive than normal. Maybe I'm just burnt out, but I just had no patience for the cutscenes and scripted scenes. It's just more of the same shit, generic soldier characters protecting their homeland, except now it's the Earth instead of just America and Europe, but basically it's just America and Europe. I even spotted some Russian and Hispanic accents among the Martians because of course your enemy has to be ethnically different from you.

I kinda feel like, if you wanna play something like this, just go back to Ghosts or Modern Warfare 3 and you won't have to download like 70 GB for a 5-hour linear spectacle ride. Nevermind that this one is set in space, it doesn't play any different.

Also, I still prefer it over Advanced Warfare or Modern Warfare 2. But it's just that I'm so tired of the same mediocre shit that I can't force myself to complete it.