Sub-D rendering and displacement mapping dynamically scales the polycount as you move closer to or further from the elements in the game world. This allows the artists to create small variations on rock faces, for example, that only render in 3D geometry as the player moves closer to them. The most obvious improvement this new feature offers is the scaling detail on the rifle scopes. Rather than looking through rings made up of hard angles, now when you look down the scope, you'll see a nearly perfectly round scope.Iris adjustment dynamically adjusts the contrast and brightness of a given scene as you move from areas of light and dark. Walking from a sunny clearing into a wooded area will have your view dim as your eyes adjust to the new light levels. Moving back into the light will create a temporary, distracting glare.
While the tech demos are fine for showing off what the game is doing under the hood, what we really want to see is gameplay. Call of Duty Ghosts' scuba level didn't make the visual improvements as apparent as the tech demos, but it still delivered on the series' trademark cinematic moments. The level starts with the player swimming along the bottom the ocean as sharks drift by overhead. As the player swims over coral and plants, enemy scuba divers drop down and engage the player in a firefight. From there, the whole game goes crazy, with the player taking charge of a drone and sinking a massive tanker, and finding himself trapped in a giant sunken lighthouse as it tumbles into a ravine.That said, the latest demo reveals that the price of these undeniably thrilling set pieces is a lot of player handholding. Fans of Call of Duty are already used to having an AI-controlled companion constantly telling them what to do – "Walk here. Stop. Shoot that guy." The new Call of Duty seems to suffer from some of the same bossy scripting, but that's what the series requires to deliver the jaw-dropping cinematic moments it's known for. Still, the constraints put on the player by the mission scripting work against the you-are-there power of the visuals.
One of the most tantalizing teases during our demos last week was the promise that the game's multiplayer maps will shift and move as play progresses. Earthquakes, explosions, and loads of other changes can be triggered on the multiplayer maps. None of these changes should favor one team over the other, but they should add a bit of activity to the otherwise static maps.
We'll be getting more information on Call of Duty in a few weeks when the game is shown at E3 in early June, so be sure to come back for further impressions then. Steve Butts is IGN’s editor-in-chief. Keep up with him @SteveButts on Twitter or SteveButts on IGN.