Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Tested on: PC
Call of Duty: WWII – Preview
Call of Duty is known for a multiplayer experience that is more toxic than the Elephant’s Foot. It’s also explored different modes of getting across the map which, with each passing iteration in the series, became more and more balls to the walls and frantic as you gunned down other players while wallrunning, boosting and 360 noscoping people without even having set foot on the ground. Players and fans had been clamouring about a return to the olden days, a time where the games were set into a time before the whole futuristic setting. So Sledgehammer took it upon themselves to set the game in a WWII setting and abolish any form of momentum when it comes to traversing the map. You want to get from hardpoint A to hardpoint B? Don’t set your hopes on doing it in a mere hop, skip and a jump.
First thing you have to wrap your head around is the fact that, if you’ve played every game in the Call of Duty franchise and have applauded the gameplay evolution when it comes to the multiplayer, you’re about to be set back. It’s like the developers stomped on the brakes, got out of the car and slashed the tires only to try and drive on with the vehicle. It might seem a little harsh critique-wise, but if you’ve played the beta, then you’ll notice where this is coming from.
Where the more futuristic ‘Black Ops III’, ‘Advanced Warfare’ and ‘Infinite Warfare’ were experimenting with new add-ons to make the gameplay more ‘floaty’, Call of Duty: WWII is more about skill than it is about momentum. It’s more about knowing when to crouch, duck or jump, to get the bead on an enemy and to be fair, it works. It somehow feels more about teamwork and co-operation than just wildly blindfiring and killing a dozen enemies in a single match.
The beta, even though it only featured multiplayer, was quite extensive with five gameplay modes. There’s the good old-fashioned ‘Team Deathmatch’, which needs no explanation, it’s just you and your team killing enemies or getting killed until either side gets 250 points and the match ends.
Domination is all about capturing points and keeping them. As long as you captured a point every single second you’ll be rewarded, if you’ve captured all three points on the map, you’ll get three points every second. The game has a halfway point if either side gets 100 points and the map resets putting your team on the other side of it and letting you, your team and the enemy vye for control of the points again. The points are set in stone in each map.
Another possibility is Hardpoint. This a variation of the above but the only difference is that there’s one point to capture. The point stays for a set time on a location after which it’s randomly relocated. In this case it’s a frantic rush from capturing point after point, hold it for as long as possible and then rush to it again when it appears somewhere else. Once either your or the enemy’s team gets the target amount of points, the game ends.
Mosh pit switches modes so you can enjoy all of them if you have no favorite one or want to randomize the content to get the most out of it while the final mode was War. This feels like a mini singleplayer campaign in multiplayer. There are four phases to the game. First you have to either defend a library against allied attacks or you have to conquer it from the Germans. If the Germans are succesful in defending the game ends. If the Allies are succesful, the game rolls on into the second phase, and so on. Every phase lasts about 3-4 minutes, depending on overtime, and can be really tense for both teams as this mode really incorporates teamplay and coordinating attacks together.
The gameplay is fun and a breath of fresh air but the real question is if the server connection will be good enough to warrant the multiplayer, seeing as the beta was really laggy at some points which cuts down into the frantic and panicky gameplay at some times and can be really frustrating. Should the servers be no problem then it’s a must that the player match-up is handled better. A level 1 being tossed with a group of levels 20 and up is quite bad, seeing as you unlock better gear as you progress and struggling to get kills because your weapon is absolute garbage can be frustrating if you are being shot down with a single bullet several times in a row.
There was little to no verbal communication, so either that was because it was limited by the beta or no one felt the need to shout obscenities about parents online. Either way this made it possible for the players to enjoy the tense music that accompanied the matches. Which was also a notch on their ‘we’ve got this type of gameplay down pat’ cross of Sledgehammer and Activision. Graphically the game looked a little dated, with a very bad case of pixelation in the pre-rendered cutscenes and some textures but other than that, WWII is not a bad looking game.
Conclusion
Call of Duty isn’t going anywhere, it might change up the formula and stir some pots, but whether you love it or hate it, you can’t deny the fact that the gameplay is being refined in every entry in the series. Call of Duty: WWII goes back in time when it comes to over-the-top features, but doesn’t feel dated somehow. It’s fleshed out well enough on the multiplayer side when it comes to pvp and there’s still more co-operation content coming. So if you are a fan of online shooters or just shooters in general, you might want to take a look into this game.
Call of Duty: WWII - Preview,
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