Call of Duty WWII Review

Once I picked up the new Call of Duty WW2 game, I was only moderately excited to sink my teeth into it. I was unsure whether I would like the game or find it to similar to other Call of Duty games. After completing the campaign and playing for a few hours in the multiplayer modes, I found the game to be another rehash of older CoD games rather than something new, original and fun. I really wanted to like this game, honestly. Games based on history always strike my fancy, and seeing a game set in WW2 was a treat for me, especially after playing Battlefield 1 and Wolfenstein: The New Order. But this game simply didn’t meet my standards for me to call it good. It may be adequate for die-hard fans of Call of Duty, or competitive players, but to me, it was just another Modern Warfare.

Campaign:

        The campaign follows the story of Allied forces during the second World War, and most notably, an American (go figure,) foot soldier named Daniels. Private Daniels, that is. This review isn’t about summarizing the game, so I’ll give you my thoughts on my playthrough of the campaign.

        The campaign’s story is rather generic, showing the horrors of war while mowing down the enemy. Every so often there is a new mechanic you can use, like a stealth mission or using a rocket launcher, but these mechanics only show up every once in a while, similar to other CoD campaigns. Underneath the skin of a World War II game, the same CoD engine peeks through, with the bland enemy movements and predictable AIs, or the strangely similar weapon behaviors.

        The ending is also rather disrespectful. The largest atrocities committed during the Second World War involve Hitler’s “Final Solution,” also known as the Holocaust. But the game never even uses the words “Holocaust” or “Final Solution,” only actually acknowledging the Holocaust by using the words “cruelty.”

        Don’t get me wrong on this. I don’t think fighting in a Nazi concentration camp would be justifiable in this game, especially if you want to keep the realism by avoiding shooting prisoners. It seems almost insensitive, but the game could have done history some justice by even including a cutscene showing the horrors.

Gameplay:

 You’re not a super-soldier wielding the bleeding edge of technology this time. You’re a regular trooper, a fighter who can only sprint for so long and who doesn’t magically regenerate health when you take cover. Developer Sledgehammer Games may have just crafted their most personal tale of bravery in extraordinary circumstances, a story of loss and fortitude in a war which demanded sacrifices from everyone who took part in it.Sounds perfect for Call of Duty’s usual blockbuster weekend single-player action. 

 

• Infantry – Versatile fighters who excel at mid to long-range combat and have a melee charge special ability.
• Airborne – Fast and stealthy soldiers, who make use of suppressors to kill enemies before they even know that they’re there.
• Armoured – The tanks of online, who can drop enemies with the heaviest weapons available in the game.
• Mountain – Long-range specialists, snipers who can kill you from across a map if they spot you.
• Expeditionary – When you need an enemy killed up close and personal, you call on the expeditionary forces and their trusty shotgun which happen to be filled with incendiary rounds.

Multiplayer:

        After completing the game, I dug my nails into the multiplayer modes. Surprise surprise, there’s nothing really new. The same traditional Call of Duty gameplay is there, with all the traditional game modes. To add to the “Modern Warfare” feel, there is a game ending scorestreak, similar to Modern Warfare 2’s Tactical Nuke. This scorestreak is difficult to get still requiring 25 non-scorestreak kills but also requires prestiging in all divisions before actually unlocking.

        The gameplay itself is still very similar. Run around, shoot, kill, die, respawn. Rinse and repeat until you either win or lose the round. The mechanics are all the same, and, somehow, raising a gun to your face when aiming down sights isn’t actually that fast in real life. Players who liked older CoD multiplayer modes will likely still like this one.

        

        As far as other assets in the game, most of it is identical. There is the exact classic hit-marker sound. The same icons to jump over something or climb up. Even the animations look the same. It takes the same amount of time to aim down sights on a rifle. The only things I can think of that are any different is that some animations are a bit more polished, like aiming down sights with a sniper. Some textures and models look quite nice, admittedly, but that doesn’t make up for all the drawbacks in this game.

Verdict:      The game is okay, if you’re looking for a new version of the same CoD. I was really hoping for something new, interesting and exciting so I was thoroughly disappointed with the quality due to my own precognitions and biases.

This game gets a three and a half star rating.

 Not a fantastic score, and I hope that the CoD series gets a good revamp in mechanics soon. 

 Image source 

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Official Trailer