The Call of Duty series is the cool kid on the block everyone is waiting to see fall. Howeverm there is no sign of it coming down any time soon. It’s a media giant guaranteed to sell millions of copies year after year, so what reason does Activision have to stray from their blueprint? None.
“Call of Duty: WWII” may seem like an overhaul to the series that has progressively gone further and further into the future, but the only difference this change of setting comes with is a lack of jetpacks. Fans of the series will slip right into this year’s entry, as the shooting mechanics and overall gameplay remain virtually untouched even in the drastically new setting.
“Call of Duty: WWII” is really three games in one. You have the short, single player campaign, a robust multiplayer suite and a spooky-themed Zombies Mode. Each mode has enough content for one game and are all equally worth your time.
The single player campaign sees a squad of soldiers fight their way through key events of the war. From storming the beaches of Normandy to participating in the Battle of the Bulge, players fight their way through some of the most horrific, yet exciting battles of the war. These events are nothing new to games, but seeing them fully realized on current generation hardware makes them a visual treat.
The writers for the campaign seem to be hell-bent on making you care about the relationship between you and your squad mates. Over the six-hour campaign, however, after all the game’s attempts to make me care about my brothers-in-arms, I was unable to recall the names of all but one character. The overall story isn’t fantastic and feels all over the place as you are thrown from one major location to the next, but each individual scene is gripping and invigorating.
The horrors of war are on full display in this overly cinematic campaign. It’s a by-the-numbers take on the World War II setting, but an enjoyable one at that. From train chases, buildings crumbling around players, and high speed car chases, the entirety of the campaign feels like playing through a big budget blockbuster movie.
The gameplay itself is as sound as ever. Shooting World War II-era guns feels great, as the crack of a shotgun and the ping of an M1 Grande play beautifully with an added level of nostalgia for players who played these games when they were kids. One welcome change to the gameplay is a lack of regenerating health. Players are tasked with picking up health packs from around the map to heal when damaged. The packs, however, feel like a missed opportunity, because at least on easier difficulties, these health kits are laughably abundant.
Each mission is broken up by setting and type of mission. Some missions are more guns blazing where players are tasked with taking a position with sheer force. Others take a forced stealth approach as players quietly slink around an area taking guys out. These missions are a nice reprieve from the over-the-top set pieces but are rather shallow. No matter the mission, players are forced down narrow areas with little player choice on how they want to tackle objectives. It feels like a step back from recent Call of Duty campaigns that made considerable strides in the right direction in this department.
The short campaign is a pleasant, predictable romp but does little to reinvent the series outside of the new setting. It’s definitely worth powering through for the awesome action scenes and for the rock-solid gameplay, but overall, it’s nothing to write home about.
Even though the campaign falls flat, a large chunk of players will skip it all together and head right to the multiplayer. It’s the crown jewel of the Call of Duty series and the reason so many people are able to sink hundreds of hours into each year’s entry. “Call of Duty: WWII” plays to the strengths of the series while adding in some welcome changes to freshen up the multiplayer with a new mode and player hub.
The main change comes from a hub mode called Headquarters. In this area, players are able to interact with others in between matches and customize your character. It’s a nice area to make players feel like they are a part of something bigger, even if the hub area is a straight rip-off from the tower in another Activision game, “Destiny.” This is also the area where players are able to open up loot boxes in front of their friends. These loot boxes give random drops that fortunately remain purely cosmetic. They can feel a little obnoxious for players who are not interested in these loot boxes, as they are literally shoved in your face by other players.
The other big addition to multiplayer is the new War game mode. In this new mode, kill/death ratio is thrown out the window, as it is impossible to win if players don’t work well together with teammates. It’s an objective-based mode that sees each team either attacking or defending a particular area. Being on the attacking team and having to build a bridge to advance as snipers attempt to pick teammates off is an invigorating and sweat inducing experience. Every time I went into a game of War, I was shocked at how different each experience was, as each objective can be tackled in a drastically different way depending on how my squad wanted to handle it. One mission tasks players with guiding three tanks, and they can choose to do them each at a time or spread a team out between the three. It’s up to the player to choose and adapt to each situation.
Aside from these two changes, the multiplayer is a familiar addition to the package. Class customization is broken up between different divisions that each have a specific perk attached to them. The expeditionary class comes with incendiary bullets for shotguns, whereas the airborne class gets a suppressor for sub machine guns. Each class goes with a certain gun or playstyle, but you are not forced into using them in that way, allowing for more depth in customization.
This customization consists of a basic loadout system that allows players to choose guns and perks to their liking. It’s not as deep as it was in previous games, as the “pick ten” system that became a staple of the series is nowhere to be found and is replaced with a more streamlined approach. Still, I felt I was able to get a class that fit my playstyle and felt all my own.
The score streaks that are a staple of the series are here all the same, but feel lackluster. I don’t know if this is a product of the lack of options that come along with the World War II setting, but it’s a noteworthy disappointment, as these score streaks have become a predominant aspect of the series.
The multiplayer comes with nine maps and nine game modes that are all varied and enjoyable. The gameplay is solid, as each gun has its own feel and accompanying playstyle. The series didn’t lose much in the change of setting when it comes to gameplay, as the shooting mechanics of the Call of Duty series remain the top dog of all first person shooters on the market. Players still kill and die at a comical rate, but the way you can instantly respawn and get back into the fight keeps them moving and heart rates up until the end of each match.
The last piece of the Call of Duty puzzle is the cooperative Zombies mode. If people played this mode in previous entries of the series, they will slip right in here. The great thing about this entry in the zombie series is it is exactly as complicated as one wants it to be. If players want to just go for high rounds with a friend by opening up the map and mowing down zombies, they are able to do that and have a blast. Or players can get more complex by attempting to unfold the many secrets the map has to offer all while fending off hordes of the undead. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel in any way, but is still as addicting as ever and the premier coop mode of the series.
The Call of Duty series has been doing the same thing for over a decade at this point and shows no sign of stopping. “Call of Duty: WWII” is just another example of this. Players who have grown tired of the series will not find the refreshing restart to the series that they may have hoped for, but fans who love Call of Duty year after year are in for one of the best entries in the series.
Rating: 8/10
