Much to the excitement of many Call of Duty fans, Infinite Warfare is just around the corner. As a treat for those who ordered Infinite Warfare for PS4, players have been given access to try the Infinite Warfare Multiplayer Beta this weekend. While it’s just a limited beta, there’s a decent amount of content, and things to expect when Infinite Warfare is released. In addition to that, Activision announced the multiplayer beta has been extended for another day in case people haven’t had the chance to p, or can’t get enough of Infinite Warfare’s multiplayer!
People that have previously played Advanced Warfare or Black Ops 3 will find themselves quite at home with the multiplayer experience, with not just the way Create-A-Class is setup, but also the feel of the movement system. A newer addition to the series is the Combat Rigs, which while similar to the Specialists from Black Ops 3, Infinite Warfare gives it a fresh feel with customization. While the maps are nice and fresh with their designs, the weapons in Infinite Warfare will feel quite familiar with seasoned Call of Duty players. Please keep in mind that this is still a beta, so some features may change or be re-balanced for gameplay.
Combat Rigs
The Infinite Warfare multiplayer beta covers three out of six Combat Rigs that will be in the final game. Each Combat Rig has the choice one of three payloads and traits each. Both payloads and traits are unlocked via level progression, so it might take a while to find a set that fits in with a certain playing style. Payloads can be earned by getting kills and completing objectives, while traits are a passive feature. In addition to that level of customizability, Combat Rigs can be switched mid-match, which is a great addition to the multiplayer experience. The three Combat Rigs are as follows:
Warfighter
This is more of an all-around Combat Rig that’s great for new or seasoned Call of Duty players that was made with an all-around balanced focus. Payloads included are the Claw, Combat Focus, and Overdrive. The Claw is a spread-shot ballistics weapon that ricochets, which has the potential to create some mayhem in compact areas or on objective locations. Combat Focus, like in Black Ops 3, allows the player to earn score streaks at double the pace, while Overdrive allows for a burst of speed to get to objectives faster or to get out of dodge.
For traits, there’s Ping, Persistence, and Resupply. Ping will highlight nearby enemies upon kills or assists, which can be a massive help with locating enemies during matches. With Persistence, scorestreaks will not reset upon death while needing a higher score to earn them. For those that remember the Support Package from Modern Warfare and Ghosts, this is a nice tweak on that feature without sacrificing a certain number of pointstreaks. Finally, with Resupply, lethals and tacticals can be resupplied from fallen foes.
Merc
I’m more of a fan of heavy-weapons type setups in Call of Duty multiplayer, so this Combat Rig is a perfect setup for players like me. This Combat Rig is designed for objective games, and it shows. The payloads featured for Merc are Steel Dragon, Bull Charge, and Reactive Armor. The Steel Dragon is a heavy beam weapon that can target multiple enemies at the same time. In short, it’s a massive death laser. Bull Charge brings back a fan-favorite with a twist: an armored riot shield that destroys enemies with a charge that’s great for clearing out areas. Finally, the Reactive Armor is similar to the Reactive Armor from Black Ops 3, which will shield the player from enemy fire.
For traits, there’s Infusion, Man-At-Arms, and Shockwave. Infusion will regenerate health at a faster pace when damaged. which helps with the overall defense design of this Combat Rig. With Man-At-Arms, this eliminates slower movement speed with heavy weapons and also maxes out ammo upon spawn, which is useful for heavy engagements. Finally, Shockwave is similar to the Ground Spikes Specialst Weapon from Black Ops 3, which allows the player to slam into the ground and devastate enemies that are in the affected area.
Synaptic
This is a C6 Class remote-operated droid which has been designed more for speed and close quarters combat. From what I’ve seen, this is more for run-and-gun gameplay, with the ability to be a really strong melee class. The payloads included are Equalizer, Rewind, and Reaper. Equalizer brings out dual under-arm machine guns with built-in suppressors for close quarters combat and can be effective for clearing out close groups of enemies. With Rewind, it’ll bring you back to a previous position while also replenishing health and ammo. Finally, Reaper will turn the droid into a four-legged, rapid melee combat mode machine. Reaper has the big potential to become the go-to for people that love using melee classes, and will be one of the most disliked ones for people on the receiving end.
Traits included for Synaptic are Combat Burst, Propulsion, and Rushdown. Combat Burst will give the player a burst of speed after each kill, which will be key for people wanting to get rapid kills during matches. Propulsion not only recharges the player’s jump pack at a faster pace, but it’ll also damage any enemy unlucky enough to be underneath from the blast. Finally, Rushdown will allow dashing in any horizontal direction, which is useful for avoiding enemy fire.
Maps
Included in the multiplayer beta are Frontier, Frost, Throwback, and now Precinct.
- Frontier is a small section of a giant space station that is in orbit around the planet Neptune. The action is funneled down a long, central corridor with side paths offering an element of strategy and a constricted lower lane for players craving chaos. This map is small enough to bring forth really intense Deathmatch battles and games go fairly quickly. It’s a nice two-lane map with a lower level to it that make for some tight gun engagements
- Frost is a research facility set atop the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Ample opportunities for vertical combat and rapid encounters around sleek modular elements highlight this frozen battleground.
- Throwback is 1950’s ‘Main Street USA’ locale sits on a giant, rotating, torus-shaped space station. A large circular lane rings the perimeter, while a large center square with multiple avenues of approach and two opposing windows offers a wide range of engagement opportunities. This was the first map I played on and my first impression was that the space station gave off a feel of the Halo Ring, in addition to that, it’s a nice moderately open three-lane map.
- Precinct is a medium-sized map that uses grand interiors and the city’s winding backstreets as primary locations for combat.
Gameplay
For the casual or seasoned Call of Duty player, they’ll feel at home with the pick 10 Create-A-Class system, while most of the weapons are mostly redesigns from previous entries from the series. While the weapon designs are getting repetitive from playing the games, it’s fun to shoot lasers for the hell of it. In addition to that, a nice touch are the “classic” weapons that will be available to use in the full game, like the M1 and the big fan favorite, the pump shotgun. All-in-all, it’s a decent fit and easy to get into for players. The transition from end of matches to the lobbies are the smoothest I’ve ever seen in a Call of Duty game, which is very nice aesthetically.
The overall netcode seems like it’s almost there, as I’ve experienced a number of players suddenly drop from matches pretty quickly, and getting into matches can take a long time. Since this beta is also being used to stress test ability for the game servers to handle player load, I’m not surprised. Hopefully, issues will be minimized for launch when the servers to full load. That said, I’ve played several matches without issue, and gameplay is fast and fluid like it is for Black Ops 3.
Game modes featured in this beta are classics Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and the new game mode Defender. With Defender, your team must grab a drone and defend it, gaining points while holding on and keeping it out of enemy hands. Teamwork is essential here in order to make sure your points add up until the drone resets and the cycle starts again. It reminds me of Single Flag Capture the Flag from Modern Warfare 3 in that the player has to grab an objective and hold onto it to score points. People held onto the flag in MW3 to keep getting high personal scores instead of bringing the flag to the place that it needs to go to, so it’s a welcome twist to the game mode.
The pointstreak system is just like how it was with previous entries, while feeling like a reduced version of Black Ops 3’s offering. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it keeps options a bit more simpler. Compared to Ghosts (and even MW3), the overhaul of the pointstreak system is a very welcome change and makes it easier to keep track of the setup. Some Poinstreaks included are the standard UAV and Counter-UAV, airstrikes, Drone Packages in place of Care Packages, and even a hidden Tactical Nuke that can be activated after reaching 25 weapon-based kills.
Conclusion
Now that I’ve finally had the chance to play hands-on, I’m excited for when Infinite Warfare comes out next month! Aside from the rehash of weapons and connectivity issues, multiplayer is pretty solid at this point, and I can’t wait to try the other Combat Rig setups. While I’m waiting to see how Infinity Ward handles Zombies, I’m looking forward to the single player storyline. While the multiplayer beta will be ending on October 18 at 10am PDT (5pm GMT), Xbox One and PS4 players who preordered will be able to play again this weekend from October 21 10am PDT though till October 24 10am PDT. Expect a full of Infinite Warfare next month.
Infinite Warfare is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on November 4, 2016.