suppliedCall of Duty: WWII
Developed by: Sledgehammer Games
Published by: Activision
Released: November 3, 2017
Addressing fan complaints about lack of innovation in the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: WWII includes a strong campaign and makes tweaks and improvements in multiplayer to stay relevant, but not enough to sway the strongest of skeptics.
Call of Duty: WWII is the 14th installment in the military first-person shooter Call of Duty franchise and the first game to return to its original World War II setting in almost a decade. The single player campaign follows a rookie in an American squad in the later years of World War II, starting from D-Day and continuing throughout Western Europe and into Nazi Germany. The multiplayer features a variety of classic game modes, including the new objective-based “War” mode, and a revamped class system. Alongside its multiplayer component, WWII also features the fan favourite “Nazi Zombies” game mode, a wave-based co-op survival mode focused on surviving endless waves of reanimated Nazi corpses.
In terms of the singleplayer campaign, Sledgehammer Games prove themselves to be the more artistically skilled and insightful developers in the Call of Duty franchise, having developed the critically appraised Advanced Warfare in their first solo outing. You play as PFC “Red” Daniels, confronting the lessons of his older brother about what it means to be a hero amidst the bloodiest conflict in human history. Instead of previous titles showing the extraordinary actions of elite supersoldiers, the campaign wants to show the ordinary heroism of regular people in World War II who stood up and quite literally answered the call of duty. However, the game plays it safe and makes a half-hearted and lame effort in the campaign to accurately portray the Holocaust, partially kneecapping the emotional impact of the game.
Themes of heroism and brotherhood are even emphasized in-game. You are much more vulnerable than in previous games, leaving you to rely on your squadmates to give you health kits, extra ammo, and other abilities in combat. There are also optional “Heroic Actions,” like pulling injured allies to safety or sparing surrendering enemies, which add a lot more nuance and thoughtfulness to usual combat. There is a healthy blend of gameplay scenarios and battles that keep the campaign fresh, including stealth missions, sniping galleries, aerial dogfighting sections, and even a tank battle!
For the multiplayer and all its talk of “boots-on-the-ground,” Call of Duty: WWII still refuses, by corporate mandate, to change dramatically from its predecessors for fear of upsetting its casual player base. Gunplay is still too twitchy to be deep and nuanced and the time to kill is frustratingly fast, making your individual actions feel inconsequential and unsatisfying. Its new class system is not incredibly revolutionary and does not alter gameplay in significant fashions. Nevertheless, if you liked previous Call of Duty multiplayers, then you’ll feel right at home with this newest release. Its newest game mode, War, is incredibly fun to play, where the Allies and Axis teams take turns attacking or defending objectives in large, asymmetrical maps. It makes for dynamic and objective gameplay, either capturing strongholds or escorting tanks, even if there is nothing in WWII to promote teamwork as in other shooters like Overwatch.
Be forewarned, as I do consider myself to be a Call of Duty apologist against the popular opinion of Call of Duty as the soulless, cash-grabbing corporate giant in the video game industry. Nevertheless, I would still recommend buying the game if you’re looking for a casual experience to relax and empower you as a player. In spite of lacking significant development in its core game design, Call of Duty: WWII offers a fantastic single player campaign, a serviceable multiplayer, and an enjoyable if uninspired Zombies mode.
