After a few years, Call of Duty finally went back to its roots and made a WWII story. I think Call of Duty is always at its best when it does a WWII story and Call of Duty: Vanguard is actually pretty amazing. I won’t say that it’s the best Call of Duty game set during World War II. Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty: World at War are still absolutely amazing games and they’re still fun to go back and play on an old console. I mean, I’d be lying if I said that soon after I was done with the Vanguard campaign, I didn’t start Call of Duty 2 again on an Xbox 360 and World at War is next. Call of Duty is still the biggest first-person shooter franchise in the gaming world, but it does have a few hit and misses. Unfortunately, as cool as it might be to go back into the Modern War franchise or the Black Ops franchise as in the case of the last two games that the Call of Duty put out, those stories still never beat a good WWII story. For all the complaints that we’ve had at That Nerd Show about Call of Duty not really being that good anymore, I can honestly say that Call of Duty hit it out of the park with Vanguard.
While this campaign is not your typical WWII story, it does give us a different side of the war we’re Gamers deal with Allied special forces and more behind the scenes warfare than the typical battles that we know from history. Those are always fun to play. But we’ve also played those campaigns before in other Call of Duty games so it’s only right that we get a brand-new campaign and get to see something different set and WWII. Well, I’m not going to spoil the entire campaign, the basic story is about a Special Forces Unit made up of an American Soldier, a Russian soldier, an Australian Soldier and an American pilot who are tasked with hunting down the remaining members of the Third Reich as there trying to escape Germany when they know that the Nazi regime has lost the war. But the bulk of the campaign is playing each of the soldier’s backstories where you get to see the different war fronts like the Airborne invasion of France after D-Day or the Battle of Midway in the Pacific and my personal favorite, a Russian sniper surviving the Battle of Stalingrad. You get to participate in all of the battlefronts that we are used to seeing within the Call of Duty franchise while at the same time dealing with a stealthier type of war as in the case of the sniper story. So, the gameplay isn’t just playing through different battlefronts like in Call of Duty 2. Players actually get to experience the same kind of gameplay, but also mix in with a little bit of Black Ops in a retro setting, which is fantastic. And of course, the campaign does leave you hanging a little bit knowing that Nazis did Escape Germany and that they had future plans for what would be the Fourth Reich so I’m sure there will be sequels with a storyline. And who wouldn’t play a storyline while you’re hunting down Nazis that are hiding all around the world after World War II. I would play the “shit” out of that game, would you? But when it comes to grading the campaign itself oh, it’s definitely an “A.” My only complaint is that it feels too short.
The gameplay is decent although there’s a few bugs that need to be worked out. I shouldn’t have to drop it down to an easy level just to kill certain bad guys and it shouldn’t take 5 headshots to get some of them down. I think my biggest complaint on the gameplay is when using a sniper rifle it should only take one shot to get someone down and I’ve had to use more bullets with a sniper rifle. As in other Call of Duty games it’s a good technique that when you are controlling your breathing the game slows down a little bit to make the shot more easily, but even in a video game, a headshot is a headshot and you’re not coming back from that. One-shot, one kill and that’s all it should take. I did find some glitches throughout the game that can easily be fixed with “patches “and I’ll be interested in seeing if those get fixed the next time I go through the campaign because the campaign is good enough that I will replay it. All Call of Duty games have glitches, it’s going to happen. However, a lot of these shouldn’t happen on a “day one” launch like getting killed by grenades and not being able to see the grenade indicator, especially when there’s smoke or sand being blown all over the place in a firefight. I think I was killed more by enemy grenades and not being able to see the grenade indicator and throw it back than anything else
The only other big complaint I have is flying should be a bit easier, especially when dive-bombing and pulling up during the Battle of Midway. I found myself having to drop it down to an easy level just to accomplish the task because the correct buttons you’re supposed to press didn’t pop up in time and I crashed on the hard deck of an enemy aircraft carrier more than once. Also, I have to remind myself that this is Call of Duty, and their strong suit is not aerial combat. but even with some minor critiques, I was still able to enjoy the gameplay in the campaign. As for multiplayer, it’s the same kind of multiplayer that you’re used to accept that you are on more WWII Maps with more sophisticated weapons. the same problems we all always have in multiplayer are still there. I have found the best strategy is to get a good scope on whatever rifle you’re using and find a way to hide behind doors or entryways along paths where there’s a lot of traffic and then you can easily pick off the enemy. But the same problems with every other multiplayer where it takes multiple shots to the head to get a guy down is still an issue and very frustrating. The zombie mode is good, but different. I won’t say that it’s the best zombie mode we’ve ever had in Call of Duty, but zombies never truly disappoint. A zombie mode with different portals that take you to different survival missions is interesting. It’s something new and if you like playing zombies in Call of Duty then just be aware that it may not be something you’re not used to, but you can still have fun with this mode. Although there have definitely been better zombie maps. Call of Duty Black Ops 3 was not a very good game, but the zombie Chronicles are incredible. Sometimes the weakest campaigns have the best zombie modes when it comes to a Call of Duty game so I would look at the zombie mode in Vanguard as just average, but you can still have fun with it.
Overall, this is a good Call of Duty game. It is worth the price and will certainly have some replay value unlike the last two Call of Duty games. Getting back to its roots and having an interesting WWII story at the tail end of the war that could lead into post-World War II stories is a good thing unlike having ridiculous storylines set in the future where they’re just trying to be the Battlefield Franchise or Halo. I’m talking about Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare. In Vanguard, each of the characters’ backstories are incredible stories, especially that of the Russian sniper because it makes you feel like you are in the movie “Enemy at the Gates.” I would honestly say that out of all the World War II Call of Duty games while Vanguard is not the best, it’s certainly one of the better ones and the future of this storyline looks bright. I have not necessarily been impressed with Call of Duty over the past few years since the last World War II story, but this game made me want to continue playing the Call of Duty franchise, especially if they’re going to continue this storyline. I had pretty much given up on the franchise, but I can honestly say that Activision has won me back with Vanguard and I hope they continue to make sequels within the storyline. Overall, Vanguard is a good game. if you’re a fan of Call of Duty, this game will make you excited for the franchise again. Call of Duty: Vanguard is a 7.
