The soft reboot for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is nearly upon us and with it being so close, here is why it is shaping up to be the best the franchise has been in the last 10 years.

Back in 2009 the iconic Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released in what was largely considered to be the golden era for the franchise.

The two previous instalments – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War – are often regarded as being the pinnacle of the developers’ achievements.

In 2010, Call of Duty: Black Ops was released and while it proved to be a fun experience, it paled in comparison to Modern Warfare 2.

The release of Black Ops, arguably, signalled the downfall of the franchise and not because the game itself was bad, but because it gradually moved away from the dark, gritty nature of the earlier entries.

Before too long the Call of Duty franchise tried to mimic the Halo franchise, implementing jet-packs and other features that might have been enjoyable for a young audience, quickly became tiresome for those who had grown up with the earlier entries.

It tried to evolve and lost of the essence of what it was and what it could still be.

In my mind, the new Modern Warfare won’t hold a candle to the original Modern Warfare if only because it will be plagued with microtransactions.

Likewise, it won’t shine as bright as World at War or Modern Warfare 2, but at the moment it looks like it could insert itself nicely into one of the best Call of Duty releases that we have ever seen.

The new Modern Warfare looks incredibly dark compared to recent entries and it looks set to recapture the grit of the earlier entries to the franchise.

The road to launch for #ModernWarfare is in its final stretch. Gather your intel and get ready for the Open Beta next weekend. pic.twitter.com/agQvlqR4lC — Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) September 5, 2019

Returning to the glory days of multiplayer

It remains to be seen how the campaign mode will fair, with narrative director Taylor Kurosaki revealing “the length of this campaign is exactly in line with the lengths of what you would expect in a contemporary Call of Duty campaign” to GameSpot.

Call of Duty campaigns are never lengthy, especially compared to role-playing games such as The Witcher 3.

This doesn’t work against Modern Warfare though, Call of Duty has stood out amongst its peers for its multiplayer experience.

Even without multiplayer, the original Modern Warfare, World at War and Modern Warfare 2 campaigns were an incredible, enthralling journey and if this new one can capture any of the same magic, it is bound to be a stellar campaign.

Fans of the so-called golden era games will remember Captain Price and the top notch voice acting accompanied with the character.

It has been confirmed that Captain Price will be returning and in a trailer he can be heard saying he will be working with a squad he is already familiar with.

This is a possible indication that fan-favourite Ghost could be returning which would shake the Call of Duty world up.

Like with every entry to the franchise the soft reboot has a lot of emphasis placed on its multiplayer mode.

Perhaps the best indication for why the franchise is back on the track is the absence of a battle royale mode.

The mode has been popularised by arcade-style shooters such as Fortnite and Apex Legends, but for hardcore first-person shooter lovers, they still prefer the grass roots-style of the earlier Call of Duty games or even the Battlefield games.

This is bound to attract old fans back to the franchise they may have grown out of love with.

This – twinned with the tactical 2v2 game mode which encourages frenetic, smart play and the large-scale ground war mode which promises to be a spectacle – helps shape the soft reboot into an incredibly promising title that looks to recapture that which has been lost in recent memory.

It is set to be a fresh title that will attract its current player base while also reeling in the player base it has lost.

It is unlikely it will topple the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare from its crown but it stands a good chance of cementing itself as a modern great and earning its place in the pantheon of iconic Call of Duty games.

To add to the excitement the new game will also be cross-platform meaning there are no restrictions on who players can play with. It will be the first Call of Duty game to implement cross-platform support as well.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

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