…AF shooters.
@Cheeky_Basterds
Another year and another installment into the Call of Duty franchise. After seemingly, and boldly going where no other videogame went before, i.e. space, save for Halo, Red Faction, Killzone, etc. the series has gone back to its roots, from storming the beaches of Normandy to jumping into the trenches! A callback to a forlorn time when we, as gamers, weren’t as jaded and DLC was a faraway concept that we thought would not take off.
I’ll be the first to admit I lost interest in Call of Duty soon after Black Ops, Infinite Warfare I guffawed at (I remember when it was called Halo). Soon after Battlefield 1 dropped and I was enamored from the campaign to the intense multiplayer, COD followed suit by shifting back over to the 2nd World War. I was foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it, purchased COD day one and went boots first into the campaign.
Best way to describe the campaign is if Michael Bay transitioned into videogame making, this would be his crown and glory! You’re in U.S. Army Private First Class Ronald “Red” Daniels boots as you traverse through the European Theatre with your band of brothers, Zussman, Stiles, Aiello, Pierson and Turner. Before you ask.. no, they are not just there to absorb bullets or yell at you about the objective (although they tend to do both); your squadmates have abilities such as providing health packs, ammo, grenades, and call in mortar strikes or spot enemies. As a unit you undertake harrowing missions from assaulting a secret Nazi locomotive to making a stand in an abandoned shell-shocked town. The action is fast and furious and gruesome, clocking at little over 6 hours the campaign is something to be experienced and would be a shame for anyone to pass up.
Then we have multiplayer aspect of the game, personal bane of my existence, why you ask? All of those 8-12 year olds high pitched yelling into their mics, the excessive amount of 420, XxX, dudebros from MLG-ville. Multiplayer is absolutely not for me; this is more for those with the itchy trigger fingers, very close quarter combats where someone can easily dominate with a shotgun. You have the popular game modes Team Deathmatch, Domination and Hardpoint return, as well as a Gridiron and what I like to call COD’s attempt at Operations-type matchmaking with two teams of 6 players perform objectives, called War. As an avid Battlefield 1 player, CODWW2’s multiplayer is vastly different and the scope feels nowhere near as epic.
Also new to the series is HQ Mode, which acts as a social space in the game on a hub set on Omaha Beach. 48 players can be in the headquarters at a time and take part in activities such as watching other players open loot boxes, practicing their shooting at a firing range, and test out scorestreaks.
Lastly we have zombie mode returning with top talent as the protagonists you have Katheryn Winnick, David Tennant, Elodie Yung and Ving Rhames (from Dawn of the Dead to Nazi zombies.. Ving can’t catch a break!). The story is a bit more serious this time around, and the mission linear, but blowing away zombies never gets old! It is a good addition to the overall package and adds considerable play time.
With that being said, the game is alright–if you’re really into COD. But if you were overly hyped off that initial trailer you might be letdown expecting something different but getting more of the same. Different era, same gameplay. The horror… the horror.
