review addiction visited a private show Call of Duty: Vanguard and shares the first details of the project Sledgehammer Games…
After dissatisfaction around the topic Call of Duty: WWII, which was dedicated to the western front of World War II, the developers from Sledgehammer Games in the “sequel” of the game decided to touch all the main military theaters of World War II – yes, including the Eastern one.
Campaign
At the presentation, we were shown one of the first levels – the night before the landing in Normandy (which is a bit ironic, considering that WWII started from “D-Day”), when hundreds of soldiers parachuted in an attempt to weaken the defenses of the Germans in France.
The mission, of course, did not go according to plan, and the planes came under fire from anti-aircraft equipment of the Axis forces. The main character barely managed to get to the ground intact, but lost all his equipment. The level is very similar to the last game of the studio – dominance of QTE, cutscenes on behalf of the hero and many scripted scenes. Character control is often taken away.
Sledghammer’s approach differs markedly from Treyarch, Infinity ward and Raven… However, it is not worth drawing conclusions on the actual training mission – perhaps further levels will become more ambitious and non-linear, providing more tactical opportunities.
But visually, the game makes a strong impression – WWII still looks great, but the transition to a new engine (the shooter is made on the basis of technologies Modern Warfare 2019 with its own range of modifications) only revealed the talent of the studio artists more.
There are four heroes in the story campaign – one for each front. Russians represent Polina Petrova, which was created on the basis of a real war hero, a sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenkoalso known as “Lady Death”. She managed to kill more than 300 opponents.
The plot about the Eastern Front will be limited to Stalingrad – for the first time players will see it in the summer of 1942, before the battle begins, and then by the end of the six-month confrontation, that is, in the winter of 1943. The developers want to show both the calm summer period and the harsh Russian winter.
“Here players will be able to fight in the snowy expanses during the Russian winter, which became so iconic in World War II“
Unfortunately, the fragment of the campaign for the Russians will be limited to Stalingrad – it will not be possible to look at other cities like Legingrad. Which is a little strange, considering that they themselves speak of a desire to show decisive battles for the war.
The developers call them Tide Turning Battles
The level in Stalingrad will be remarkable also thanks to the calm passage – we will be able to look at the city, still untouched by the war, from the side of an ordinary inhabitant, not a soldier. But they also promise scenes for civilians already in besieged cities.
In terms of the plot, the developers want to talk about the beginning of the formation of special forces (in multiplayer, however, you have to play for various specialists from them). The story revolves around the “Phoenix Project”, for which the allies created a special squad.
The main characters represent each country of this detachment, but neither the state nor the soldiers themselves still know what this project is. This they and we have to find out during the passage.
What is Project Phoenix?
Everything is surprisingly simple – the search program is the heiress of Adolf Hitler. It is handled by the Gestapo and its director, Heinrich Freisinger. He also acts as the main villain of the game.
We were not told how the switching between the plots of the main characters will occur, but there is an assumption. During the war they were all taken hostage and taken to the Gestapo. Through interrogations, apparently, we learn the history of each.
The Sledghammer notes that Vanguard’s plot is fictional, but based on a true story. This seems to imply that the developers have come up with a plot that is authentic for a real war.
By the way, even before the show, many journalists drew attention to cool music – as it turned out, the composer is responsible for it. God of war (2018), “Walking Dead” and “Battlestar Galaktika“Bear McCreery.
Multiplayer
We were told much less about online – they will tell more about it at a special event that will take place sometime in September. However, there are interesting details here. We will tell you about them in a thesis.
- on release there will be as many as 20 cards – 16 traditional (“6 vs 6”) and 4 for small battles (“2 vs 2”);
- the Gunsmith system will return and expand;
- will return and the ability to change the types of cartridges (incendiary, armor-piercing, etc.).
But the most interesting thing was the appearance of detailed destructibility in the style Rainbow six siege – doors, shelves, shelves, glass, wooden shutters and the like can be beautifully broken, which the team actively uses when creating locations, promising an increased level of interactivity.
At the same time, the shooting became “harder”. The developers are trying to make it more fierce, so that the weapon feels more “weighty” when firing and normal movement.
The studio is also preparing a new regime. Champion hill, however, it cannot be talked about until the upcoming multiplayer premiere.
Warzone
Unlike last year’s Black Ops Cold War, the integration with Vanguard in Warzone will happen on the day of the release of the new item – along with this, a new map authored by Raven and a new system against cheaters will be added to the battle royale.
Integration problems, as was the case with last year’s Cold War, are also not expected – Vanguard and Warzone work on the basis of Modern Warfare technologies, so the weapon should work as it should without surprises, as was the case with Cold War barrels.
Now, traditionally, Activision promises huge support for free content.
Zombie
Not much was said about the mode with the walking dead, only noting that he was suddenly responsible for it Treyarchmaking the Cold War zombie story continue here. Games are now in the general canon (like the events of the story campaign take place in the universe of Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War).
Call of Duty: Vanguard launches November 5 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC. Like Black Ops Cold War, the next-gen versions of the shooter will cost more.
And if you liked the PlayStation 5’s implementation of the DualSense features in Cold War, then don’t worry, Sledgehammer promises the same in Vanguard.
