‘It Represents an Evolution of the First-Person Shooter’ — Why Infinity Ward Is Giving Extraction Shooters Another Shot in Modern Warfare 4’s DMZ Mode

Giovanni Colantonio is a video game journalist who has covered the industry for two decades. He was formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends and has contributed to publications like Inverse, Fanbyte, and Hard Drive. His specialty is criticism, as he’s focused on a modern approach to video game reviews that’s focused on the nuances of how interactivity communicates to players. He is currently a member of the New York Video Game Critics Circle. Developers big and small keep hitting the mark this year

A few years back, Warhammer: Boltgun hit PC and console and won me over with its snappy combat, crunchy retro visuals, and dark humor that made it clear that the people who built the game understood the universe of W40k. And at first, Boltgun 2, out now, didn’t seem like a huge improvement over the last game. But as I’ve played more, I’ve discovered that this new sequel is bigger and better in every way. Boltgun 2 is set directly after the events of the first game, but you don’t need to have played that game to hop into this one. Long story short, you play as a tough-as-nails Space Marine who is focused on one thing: Destroying enemies of the Imperium of Man and doing it as brutally and effectively as possible. This involves a lot of shooting and explosions. Heretics tend to put up a fight. This time around, however, players can take up the fight against heretical demons and soldiers as either returning protagonist Malum Caedo or new playable character and badass Battle Sister Nyla Veyrath. Both are very deadly warriors, but they get the job done differently. Malum hits hard and moves slower.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4’s campaign is available now in early access, and is arguably the strongest the series has been since its 2019 revival. Those who have played it will be aware that a lot of its heroes and villains meet their end in one of the darkest COD entries to date. It makes it all feel like a bow being tied on this particular storyline. Activision has confirmed a new Call of Duty subfranchise outside of the traditional Modern Warfare and Black Ops rotation is in the works, further signalling that it may be the end of this particular road. But is that Activision’s plan, or if MW4 turns out to be a smash success, will the developer be tempted to head back to Captain Price and gang well one more time? The final mission of the campaign, taking place during the middle of the game’s credits, appears to suggest it might be the end of the line for the saga and one of its most beloved characters. It begs the question: Is this the end of the rebooted Modern Warfare story? “It's a good question, and you'll not love the answer,” Jeff Negus, narrative director at Infinity Ward, told IGN. “I don't know.

Image credit: Infinity Ward, Activision. In yet another surprising move for Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 4 studio Infinity Ward has announced that the game's extraction shooter mode, DMZ, will be released prior to the game's official launch. DMZ will be available starting 20th October for players who pre-order a copy digitally.

While the returning ships from UQM have had their flight and weapon characteristics lovingly re-created in Fred Ford’s new SIMPLE game engine, there are some important differences this time around—chief among them the fact that, unlike in the 1990s, the ships now can turn much more naturally. UQM melee pros will find that their skills with existing ships will translate pretty well to the new melee environment—but they’ll also have some brushing up to do. In the older game, at least for me, melee was the drug that got me hooked—it’s accessible, easy to figure out, and fun as hell. I can’t count the number of hours my little brother and I spent locked in mortal space combat, blowing each other up with different ship combinations. (My favorite matchup was to let my brother pick the Ur-Quan Dreadnought, one of the most powerful ships, while I would hop into the lightweight Arilou Skiff and, in cruel older-brother fashion, mercilessly reduce him to frustrated tears. Ah, siblings.)

Chromatic Beings Everbright, the latest major Infinity Nikki update, has arrived, bringing Chinese New Year celebrations vibe to the game. Infinity Nikki, the free-to-play, open-world dress-up RPG, has delivered yet another big content drop in the form of Chromatic Beings Everbright. The latest update brings the game up to version 2.2, and introduces a new narrative chapter, and gameplay taking place around a festival narrative.