E3 2014: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Xbox One Trailer Impressions

At its press conference, Microsoft revealed the first gameplay demo of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The game was showcased on the Xbox One and depicted a strike team entering Seoul, South Korea, via a highly advanced dropship. The drop goes awry, and the team crashes into one of the city's many futuristic skyscrapers.

From here, the player character, named Mitchell, advanced through the building and down to street level. His assault rifle featured a holographic display which showed the remaining ammo count on the gun itself. We saw Mitchell use his exo-suit to perform high jumps onto wrecked cars and other vantage points, creating what looks like new gameplay opportunities for the series' typically on-rails combat.

Advancing through the ruined city, Mitchell crawled under a massive spider tank, after which he and his team were assaulted by a swarm of nanobots--hundreds of small robots that flew in formation so precisely that they resembled a giant black tentacle.

Grenades also appear to be upgraded with futuristic tech, having multiple detonation modes including frag, EMP, and a mode which homes in on an enemy once thrown. Mitchell's heads-up display highlighted enemy targets through walls, and we saw him pick up and use a shield drone to defend himself from incoming fire.

Most impressive was the detail present in the environment. Advanced Warfare certainly looks like a next-gen shooter, and the gameplay we saw hinted at interesting ways to employ the game's futuristic new abilities.

See more coverage of E3 2014 →