Call Of Duty: WWII
I used to play Call of Duty all the time. I mean every single night. It was my go to game. But over the last few years Call of Duty has fallen off my must play list, to a point where I can’t remember the last version that I played. I started to loose interest after Modern Warfare 2. Activision seemed hell bent on making the series more and more futuristic, maybe in an effort to win some Halo players? Who knows.
So each year a new Call of Duty game would be announced and I’d stifle a yawn and move on to something more interesting. That was until earlier this year when Activision announced that they were returning to there roots with Call of Duty: WWII.
Call me interested enough to give a fuck, but wary enough to believe they’d some how make it alternative reality and make you into a super solider or some shit.
Fortunately they grounded themselves mostly in reality. I mean, c’mon, everyone knows that the paratroopers dropped the night before and therefore would not have been in the sky as the grunts hit the beaches.
Of course there is some alternative reality, but that’s mainly because Call of Duty: WWII is a game of three parts.
The first part is the single player campaign. This is where you play the role of Ronald “Red” Daniels, who is part of the 1st Infantry Division. You basically follow the entire war from the Normandy landing to the heart of Germany. You pretty much play Red for the whole game bar a couple of missions where you play different characters to spice up the game play.
Call of Duty: WWII is the first game since the early days that does not feature health regeneration in the campaign. Rather Red must find health packs scattered throughout levels, or grab one from his medic squadmate. Other members of the player’s squad can provide ammunition, grenades, call in mortar strikes, depending on the mission. This tends to make you a little more cautious, especially when you’ve used up your last health pack.
The campaign story is pretty solid and has enough emotional weight to keep you interested. Graphically the game is, as expected, amazing. Being lost and alone in the Hürtgen Forest, with the smoke of battle all around is an nerve racking experience as you never know what is lurking in the wispy smoke or tress. Creeping through the forest the sense of alienation is all too real.
If you’re one of the many players I’ve come across that never play the single player campaign, this is one you should play.
The second part is Nazi Zombies and this is pretty much a love it or hate it kind of thing. I lobe zombies but just don’t have time to put into a horde mode game. I played a couple of rounds, and the progression of zombie types and strengths is terrifying and really keeps you on your toes. You are seriously going to need to be playing with capable players if you want to get the most out of this mode.
Then the probably the most popular part. The part that gives Call of Duty it’s longevity: Online multiplayer. The surprising thing is that most of the multiplayer maps seem to have been made from scratch rather than ripped from the campaign. Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just a little surreal fighting a game of Domination, trying to gain control of a US Battleship form German infantry!
All up the maps and game play seem pretty balanced and the only time I’ve been in a game where my team has been totally dominated is when you realise that half your team dropped out mid game and you were fighting 3 vs 6! Multiplayer is often fast and furious, but also allows you to take things at your own pace, though if you just walk around the map without keeping and eye on your six, you’ll probably get stabbed in the back.
Pretty much I’ve yet to find any real issues with Call of Duty: WWII, and if it wasn’t for the number of games I have to review at this time of year, I’d still be playing it every single night.
In fact, i’d have to say that thus is the best Call of Duty game since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which still holds the crown (in my head) for best first person shooter ever.
Rating: R13 Strong violence & offensive language.
GAMEGUIDE rating:
