It's a truly magical moment when you discover a brand new game from a brand new franchise that manages to captivate your imagination and draw you into a brand new world with ease. This is the kind of game that energizes you in such a way that you find yourself searching out every single entry in the franchise to experience the entire series first hand and the game that pulled off such a feat for me was, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

After all, this is the game that thrust COD into the spotlight and with good reason. This is a game that was filled with a powerful story set in modern times that managed to more or less provide us with imagery ripped from every day headlines and its gritty approach and unfettered violence instantly drew us in and what's incredible about this particular game is that it has managed to withstand the always difficult test of time. It still sparks conversations, people are happy to discuss what it felt like when they first embarked on this adventure for the first time and plenty of folks, myself included, have replayed this game over and over to enjoy it's incredible story one more time. 

Granted, all that praise by no means solidifies the game as perfect, and perhaps the most glaring issue when it comes to Modern Warfare is the fact that this is a game that was in many ways released ahead of its time. It arrived in stores well before the current crop of stunning next generation systems, and other first person shooters subsequently released on the Xbox One and PS4 more or less put MW to complete and utter shame when it comes to graphics. But the classics can never die and thankfully, Activision has decided to join the 'Remastered' trend because bundled with the release of Infinite Warfare, Modern Warfare has finally received the graphical treatment it has deserved from day one and this new iteration of a gaming classic, is nothing short of stunning.

Every frame, every level, every moment of this game is jaw droppingly gorgeous with scenery so crisp and clear that one often finds themselves stopping in the middle of combat to simply take it all in, but while one might expect that new shine to dull when you come to realize that the game's structure and design when it comes to its levels are identical to its predecessor, there's a special treat waiting for everyone by way of the fact that this new and improved Modern Warfare has taken full advantage of the new graphics available to it, by adding more realism than one might expect and well...it's actually a gorier and far more realistic game when it comes to the violence it presents. 

Yes, believe it or not, Modern Warfare has managed to up the violence quotient by adding brain matter into its head shots and sometimes you'll even watch your fellow soldiers suffer from their wounds before they die and while those decisions may seem a touch sadistic, it's all part of the experience. This is a game that wanted to present 21st Century Warfare in brutal and realistic fashion and this new version of it, accomplishes just that. Either way, while it may seem familiar and repetitive at times due to the fact that we have been here before, Modern Warfare Remastered is still a tale to marvel at, and one that reminds us just how incredible an experience a video game can be when the story is the focus over anything else and it was an absolute blast to revisit this world one more time.

It's an interesting and tumultuous time for the Call of Duty franchise. This beloved saga, one that inspires people to line up in droves for hours on end at midnight release parties to take home the latest and greatest adventure in the series, is taking some serious heat from the fans this year, and all of it seems to be directed at the latest entry in the series, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.

The disdain for this particular story started off earlier in the year with the release trailer receiving a ridiculous amount of dislikes on YouTube (3,400,689 dislikes to date) and that 'dislike' translated into disappointing sales numbers out of the gate, which left me, a long time fan of the franchise wondering...was the game worth my time or not? 

Which meant the only way to find out for certain was to pick up the game and give it a try and well, when all is said and done, I don't understand the ire that this game received because holy cow...this is one impressive ride. For starters, while all the familiar tropes and designs of the COD franchise are present, in many ways this doesn't feel like a COD game in the slightest. Much of that can be attributed to the vastly different storyline present in this game, one set far in the future where mankind has colonized other worlds and those other worlds now view Earth as the enemy. It's a story that feels like classic science fiction come to life and it's one that instantly draws you in.

But perhaps what I appreciated most about the story, is the fact that in many ways this game pays tribute to some of the classics that come before it and every single time my character stepped into the cockpit of his fighter before being sent out into space, I was instantly reminded of Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom and that sense of nostalgia adds an extra layer to an already incredible gaming experience. 

Speaking of that experience, let's take a moment and talk about the graphics in this game as well because holy cow...they're absolutely breathtaking. There were literally moments that I found myself just standing there while the action or plot unfolded around me to simply gaze at the red spot of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn because the graphics are simply that good and there's a real thrill in being able to duke it out for the future of humanity on these alien worlds and combat is where the everyday COD fan will find their fix because all the familiar fun and controls the series makes use of are found here, making the game accessible to gamers of all skill levels. 

But, when you take into consideration the stunning plot, top notch acting and wonderful graphics, one still has to wonder why the hardcore fans of this franchise seemingly wrote this game off in their minds and well...after digging into the interwebs the consistent theme I discovered was that this game being set in the future seemed to irritate the fans. So one has to wonder if the next COD will be set in present day since hey, sales/money do talk and the fans did send a message when it comes to this release. But in the meantime, I know I'm going to enjoy this little slice of science fiction, one filled with dystopia where mankind's conflicts continue because this really is one incredible game and I hope others give it a chance and discover its wonder as well.

I’ve always been fascinated with what I’ll call “behind the scenes.” Whether it’s stagecraft in live theatre, making-of techniques in films, (cinematography, lighting, and sound design, etc.) or creating convincing immersion in video games through artificial intelligence or world-building, I’ve always felt a drive to determine just how my favorite forms of entertainment are made. In some films or video games, depending on my mood and how successfully I’ve been drawn in, I’m always analyzing in the back of my mind just how things are done. Sometimes, as when I watched the 1930 film All Quiet on the Western Front last month, this exercise is fun and entertaining. I found myself trying to determine the details of their sets since, after all, there was no CGI in 1930. Often I would guess that only the nearest ten feet or so would be actual set, with the rest of what I could see simply a backdrop, painted to give perspective. This was probably a symptom of my theatre experience giving me a bias though, and I was frequently surprised; often something would happen in what I had believed to be a static backdrop, both proving me wrong and leaving me pondering just how big their set actually was. Whether in film or on stage, I find this sort of guessing game to be quite delightful, adding an extra element of fun and awe to the experience. It helps that I am able to shift my focus from moment to moment, becoming either a critical analyst or an acquiescent observer as desired. Unfortunately, in video games, the effect of these revelations is rather more severe.

I live with a computer science grad student and often, whatever we may be playing, we’ll discuss how things are done: weapon stats, environment design, Artificial Intelligence, pathfinding and behavior trees, and other parts of the experience. While these often provide fun insights (even if they’re only guesses) my discovery of them, especially AI behavior, can take me out of the experience. For example: I no longer see NPCs as a people, but think of them as machines: analyzing their pathfinding for patterns or exploitable behaviors. I no longer guide my character (or better yet, myself) through a living world full of thinking, feeling, beings, but become a rat in a lab, pushing the right levers at the right times to achieve the optimal result.
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At its base, of course, this is what all gaming is: input the correct commands in the correct sequence and timing and you achieve whatever constitutes “success.” But a game’s real appeal is in its ability to immerse you; to make you forget that you’re operating levers and instead make you feel like you are truly in another world. Seeing and deciphering the underlying rules and systems which make up that world make it feel less real and reveal its nature as a predictable machine, making you feel less like an actor in the world and more like a person sitting on a couch pushing buttons. For one of the main purposes of a game to be subverted or damaged in such a way can certainly remove all the fun. I find this problem most affecting in horror games, when the strange and terrifying forces which pursue and haunt me become only machines, and the terrifying environment itself becomes only an elaborate carnival ride, its monsters reacting to particular stimuli as I progress down my predetermined path. I know now that the monster that jumps out at me doesn’t appear because it’s been tracking me or because it has stumbled across me, but because the puzzle I just solved, the door I just opened, or the light I just turned on flipped a switch somewhere in the game’s code and made it spawn and begin the hunt. It’s no longer a specter of imminent doom and suffering, but simply a consequence of a machine. It hurts too when pathfinding is at all predictable; when I can see all the if/then conditionals as plain as day, like the monster itself is branded with chunks of its code like warning labels or user guides: If a noise happens go here, if a light is present go here, if the player exceeds a certain speed move towards them.  It removes all the fright. After all, ghosts aren’t so bad once you figure out the trick behind them.

On the one hand, deciphering the underlying systems satisfies my deep craving for behind the scenes knowledge, so it’s not all bad. Some of my favorite moments are when I’ve figured out just how a developer has managed a particularly impressive behavior or aspect of the game, or even when I was just discussing the scope of a problem and its possible solutions with my roommate. These discoveries are gratifying on an intellectual level, and, to a point, enrich my gaming experience by broadening my understanding. On the other hand, such glimpses into the game’s inner workings may irreparably spoil the experience of playing the game.

It’s sort of like growing up: when I go to Disneyland I know, somewhere in the back of my mind, that I’m not looking at Mickey Mouse, but a man in a Mickey Mouse suit. But that doesn’t stop me from voluntarily buying into the world and suspending my disbelief so that I can enjoy the experience. With video games, however, I have trouble with this voluntary shift of focus. Once the façade is broken I cannot reassemble it; like the Wizard of Oz my game cannot simply pull the curtain and resume the illusion, but must now be laid bare with all its little ingenuities and imperfections visible to the world and plain to see. Perhaps this is simply a problem with my own mind; I have no trouble switching perspective at will where films or theatre are concerned, after all. Or maybe it’s in the nature of the medium: even when I’m enjoying a film as intended I am still an outsider observing the story externally. Whereas when games are working as intended I am inside them, an actor within the world, both given form and constrained by it, and I must remove myself from the experience in order to inspect it the same way I do a film. But removing myself from the experience leaves me bereft as a player: no longer inhabiting my character and losing the immersion which is key to the gaming experience.
           
This all raises a broader question: when is learning and discovery a direct impediment to happiness? And is it worth it? Is it enough to seek knowledge for knowledge sake, however satisfying it might be? Or should there be a practical and immediate benefit in order to make your newfound understanding worth the loss of your blissful ignorance?