If we were to look only at the sales figures we could easily compare Call of Duty to an unstoppable car, one of those cars so perfect to always cut the finish line first, despite hitches and road accidents. In the year of greatest decline for the brand, with a chapter not particularly loved by the public and with a launch trailer that recorded the absolute record of dislike on Youtube at the time,
Call of Duty managed to establish itself on the market, perhaps losing ground towards Battlefield 1 but remaining firmly anchored on the throne. Already three years ago, however, the vertices Activision had very clear that the public was disaffecting the brand, bored more than the gameplay, a futuristic
setting that now had very little else to say and to offer. The Exo suits had brought the rhythms and movements to an exaggerated level and the players bounced like crazy pinball balls in the small multiplayer maps, making the games difficult to read and extremely chaotic.
Sledgehammer has therefore been proposed to start from scratch, to return to a type of reasoned gameplay that has its roots in a system perhaps more linear but at the same time more technical, less based on reflexes.
The solution chosen to face this radical change was to take a step back and return to the Second World War that was missing from the scene for too long.
This year, among other things, of the Call of Duty campaign and its extra content, very little was said about it, allowing multiplayer to absorb all the attention during events and public beta. A few weeks ago, however, we flew to London to sink our teeth on the complete package and today we come back to you with the final verdict for production. Will the trust placed in Sledgehammer be repaid?
WELCOME TO OMAHA BEACH, GENTLEMEN!
World War II is certainly not an easy topic to deal with. Many other games, well before Call of Duty: WWII, have tried to tell the impressive clashes in Europe between 1939 and 1945, narrating the deeds of the soldiers and bringing to screen some of the most bloody battles that humanity remembers. If we add to this a huge amount of books and films based on the subject, it is not difficult to understand how the events have already been cleared multiple times through many types of media, making it difficult to talk about something new or tell it in a different way.
Sledgehammer has therefore decided to take the bull by the horns and go on the safe side without risking anything, putting on the plate a well-written war story full of memorable situations but built on tracks already traveled multiple times.
In short, an unprecedented reading of the conflict and what you will face once started the campaign for single player will be one of those intense stories albeit without unexpected twists, a tribute to the heroism of allied soldiers with a magnifying glass aimed at obviously on the
American army and on a vision that puts them on the pedestal as saviors of a Europe, held in the grip of Nazi Germany. Call of Duty: WWII is an extremely patriotic game and from the first moments you will understand what kind of experience you will go to live in about six / seven hours of campaign.
You will take on the role of soldier Ronald “Red” Daniels, a member of the United States’ first infantry division and ready to give his life to save the ideals he believes in. And what better theater if not that of the landing in Normandy to start off on the right foot?
This new chapter does not waste any time in useless chatter or preamble and within a few moments we are involved in one of the most important conflicts of the Second World War. Pressed like sardines on the landing craft, the atmosphere is full of tension and fear, cloaked by a sound and a technical sector that are able to do a really excellent job this year. The hiss of the bullets that bounce on the metal body of the boats, the comrades that
fall like flies before our eyes, the water that turns red while we try to understand what to do are perhaps redundant images in our memory but brought back to life in impeccable manner. We move with the whole division in unison, seeking shelter while the explosions
decimate our comrades, you approach the bunkers and you realize immediately that this Call of Duty, from the emotional side has hit the mark.
It will not perhaps be telling a new story but certainly draws it in a credible and realistic way leaving nothing to chance. It is obviously just the beginning ofa campaign that will go on then accompanying us first on French soil and then in the heart of Germany, but makes clear all the intentions of production.
When it comes time to take up the rifle, attention and adrenaline do not drop, despite the feeling of the weapons is extremely recognizable and well aligned with the standards of the series. Other details to hit the attention of the player and as a bolt from the blue some important changes come in the structure of the gameplay that dramatically amplify the need to stay with your platoon.
