Activision released a behind-the-scenes look at Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare earlier today, and scattered throughout are a number of worthwhile tidbits about the upcoming first-person shooter. You can check out the video above, but the most attention-grabbing comment came from art director Joe Salud concerning the game's "photorealistic" graphics.
Because our subject matter is very advanced and technical, and we're kind of peering into the future, we did whatever it took to make the game look as photorealistic as possible. The first thing the gamer's going to notice when they see our facial performances, they're going to wonder, like 'It looks like it's on TV!' And then they're going to realize, 'Oh my god, that's a game.'
Oh my god. That's a game?! While Salud's words may be interpreted as highly promising by some, I'm a bit skeptical that a title not even confirmed to be running at 1080p resolution will be fooling players into thinking it's real life anytime soon. Still, the game will undoubtedly be the prettiest Call of Duty to date, and the video touches on other aspects of visual presentation as well — including animation. This time around it was animation director Christopher Stone dishing out the details.
We're building a whole separate character skeleton on top of the character animation to be able to see all those articulated parts and things moving as he's running. It's really going to let you feel like a badass, which is something that everybody needs to feel like playing Call of Duty. It's not an experience like you're used to from Call of Duty. It's going to blow people away.
Related: Advanced Warfare Has "Hoverbikes"
Now there's a pitch I find a bit more feasible. I've always said that the one thing capable of drawing me back into CoD would be a jaw-dropping visual overhaul, and Stone's words start to make that sound like a possibility. Given that Advanced Warfare is already stacked with an impressive number of new gameplay mechanics, a quantum leap in visual fidelity could make the new game this generation's Call of Duty 4 in terms of milestones. But let's not board the hype train just yet.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare releases November 4th on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and PC, so we'll know by the holidays if it's the real deal.
