Call of Duty: WWII Review

Call of Duty: WWII Review by John Powell

Like wounded soldiers stumbling through a battlefield with smoke in their eyes, and bomb blasts ringing in their ears, the Call of Duty franchise has lost its way for a number of years. Apart from Call of Duty: World at War, historical conflicts have made way for Russian civil wars, secret CIA missions, future wars, robot armies, and battles in outer space resembling something out of Moonraker rather than Full Metal Jacket or Saving Private Ryan. Some of these divergent story lines worked, well while others were received with as much praise as the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Call of Duty: WWII is a return to the formula that propelled the series to greatness. In the outstanding campaign, which harkens back to Call of Duty’s roots, you are Private First Class Ronald “Red” Daniels, an American farm boy who soon realizes he isn’t in Kansas anymore. Stealing a page from one of the greatest levels in video game history – the storming the beaches of Normandy in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault – you do exactly that with your platoon. As part of the largest amphibious assault in history, you are swept up in the middle of the on D-Day invasion locked and loaded as your assault craft is buffeted by the waves.

It doesn’t take long for all hell to break loose. When the gangplanks drop, so do most of your platoon. The Germans know you are coming. Like angry bees, bullets and shells rip through everyone around you as blood, bone, and body parts fly. And that is only the beginning of Call of Duty: WWII’s harrowing and oftentimes emotional adventure. Now, with a rock-solid foothold in France, you and your platoon, with the help of French Resistance, push forward to liberate the country from German forces.

The demanding and lengthy missions don’t only include close-quarters or hand-to-hand combat through the scorched city streets and bombed out and burned out buildings. There are the driving and shooting missions, such as a tank level, in which you not only engage German foot soldiers (some armed with lethal rocket launchers), but also must play a sly game of cat and mouse with enemy tanks in the debris of what used to be a quaint French town. At times, you must drag wounded allies to safety as you dodge and return enemy fire. You also take on the role of a sharpshooter, protecting your fellow soldiers with crucial sniper, and cover fire while they complete vital missions in the streets below.

There are also more delicate and poignant missions too. In one, you must cautiously lead a young girl to safety as armed German troops swarm an abandoned hotel. Another has you playing the role of a French Resistance member disguised as a Nazi officer as you infiltrate their headquarters. Both undertakings emphasize the untold humane price that’s paid whenever nations go to war, and it is the inclusion of these moments and others that have made the Call of Duty franchise so meaningful to so many over the years.

The sounds and images of war have never been so overwhelming either. To their credit, with Call of Duty: WWII, Activision and Sledgehammer Games haven’t shied away from the true horrors of war. All of the violence, bloodletting, and staggering human carnage is presented in all of its gruesome detail as it should be. If Call of Duty: WWII were to showcase sanitized pop-gun violence it would not only be doing a disservice to the experience but also to history itself. Be warned, though, along with the visceral video comes the alarming audio. The Allied soldiers refer to the German soldiers with demeaning slurs that were used by many at the time. Once again, I commend Activision and Sledgehammer Games for accurately portraying the language and behavior as it was at the time. It is ugly, and it may even be repulsive to some, but it is the truth and you cannot sterilize or rewrite history to make it more palatable. We need to reflect on the good and the bad, learning from our past as we move into the future. That is what history is all about and Activision and Sledgehammer Games understand that.

All of the atmospheric sounds add so much to Call of Duty: WWII. The explosions, the screams, the gunfire, the orders, and the commands being shouted over all of the chaos enhance the realism that is war’s complete confusion and utter, perpetual mayhem. Wilbert Roget’s remarkable soundtrack is also inspiring, mournful, and stunning; perfectly capturing the myriad of emotions which tightly frame the experience itself.

Along with the theme change Call of Duty: WWII also has some amendments to gameplay too. The wall jumping, sliding into cover. and all of the other extended abilities are gone. Running will tire you. You will not automatically regain health by resting either. You will need to patch up yourself with consumable health packs that can be found in the environment or are provided by your colleagues. When requested, your squadmates can also give you more ammunition, call in mortar strikes for you, pinpoint enemies and supply you with more grenades. In this way, your platoon is not just some blundering, senseless AI party. They actually play a vital role in your survival and strategy while also taking down some of your stray enemies.

Tango down, indeed.

Whereas Zombie Mode remains much the same except for the new class system and their particular loadouts and abilities, Multiplayer has been completely revamped. There is a new Headquarters, a game hub on a Normandy beach that leads to a range of gameplay options. There’s a target range, a social space, and even a fenced, barbed wire arena where players can do battle one on one.
None of it really interested me very much as all of the options were mostly time-wasters. Hanging out in the social area could lead to better supply drops apparently but I tend to avoid other players like the plague so I never found out if it did or not.

The new game mode, War, blends the best of the campaign and multiplayer experience by bringing more structure to the team aspect of Call of Duty. There are now specific objectives tied to historical events which really forces players to work together to achieve common goals other than capturing a flag or fragging any enemy in their line of sight. War is a tremendous addition to multiplayer mode.

In Multiplayer mode this time around, players are randomly assigned to an Axis or Allied team, and players pick from five Divisions to join. The Divisions are Expeditionary, Mountain, Armored, Infantry and Airborne. Each Division has its own skill sets and special abilities. The Mountain Divisions are known for their sniping skills, Infantry Divisions are experts in general combat and bayonet charge attacks, etc. Depending on their particular gameplay strengths players can pick which Division suits them the most. I much prefer the Divisions rather than the create-a-class system as things are more focused. For an all-purpose player like me who isn’t interested in all of the nuts and bolts that make up a multiplayer character, Divisions simplify things without losing any of the freedom of choice that you want in making a character unique to you.

After some previous missteps, the Call of Duty franchise is back on track with the release of WWII. Sometimes getting back to basics is what you need to do to set things right, and Activision and Sledgehammer Games have done just that. Call of Duty: WWII is a bold, unflinching look at one of the most tragic and yet triumphant chapters in human history that just happens to also be one of the best games of 2017.