Call of Duty was over half a generation in the modern era. Nothing against, of course, but the fans were already saturated and, let's face it: the franchise was definitely not improving every year. Back to WWII in Call of Duty: WWII was not just a return to a remarkable period, but a complete return to the roots of the franchise. Sincerely? Sledgehammer hit his hand.
The new game in the series has managed to create great moments of adrenaline, striking missions, fun multiplayer and slightly refreshed zombie mode, bringing a good combo of content that is ideal for players who just want to turn on the console / PC and play something very fast and simple.
Triumphal return of a great campaign
Let's start by talking about the game's campaign. It is very satisfying to return to World War II again. The most beloved historical period for the fans has been saturated for a long time, but it is good to revisit the Normandy beach, the cities of France, advance through Germany and kill a lot of Nazis along the way. The variety of locations is quite large and we have, in general, a very good single player mode.
The electrifying and stuffy campaign rhythm of memorable moments is back with weight. The beginning can be a bit slow, but when things get hot, we have several missions that can be placed at the most remarkable level of the whole franchise. My only complaint of the campaign is just the beginning: Normandy beach, perhaps the most awaited stretch by the players, is too short and too simple.
The Sledgehammer team was able to master frantic action with levels that require stealth, offering moments of tension in other creative ways. In an hour, we have to stop a moving train inside a jeep, while in the other we are infiltrating the Nazi headquarters in the heart of Paris.
The story of the game portrays the entire First Division platoon and puts us in the role of Daniels, a country boy who must deal with the legacy of troop achievements and win the approval of his superiors, such as Sergeant Pierson, who prioritizes the mission above all, and Lieutenant Turner, who values staff and human life always.
This conflicting relationship brings a good deal of depth to the plot, which is well constructed and arrests from beginning to end. Of course, there are very predictable times and the lack of a figure that works as a villain can give a drop in quality, but nothing that spoils the experience. The story recalls much of the early CoDs' climate, focusing more on war than the characters in it.
There are a wide variety of sites, the missions are very striking and the history is, in general, quite satisfactory
The developer spared no effort and picked up the references that fans most expected, with a lot of movie atmosphere like "The Rescue of Private Ryan" during the Normandy invasion or "Inglourious Basterds" on an infiltration and espionage mission. The setting is actually very good and it is noticeable how much work has been committed to create believable scenarios of that time.
Call of Duty: WWII is not the best of the franchise, but is the best of the generation
An old-school shooter with little emotional impact
The cool part is that the developer did not just decide to go back to roots in the historical time window. In addition to returning to WWII, the game also brought a mechanics well of the old ones, which we saw only in the first Call of Duty: the bar of life. Shot? You can only recover with medical kits scattered around the scene or delivered by the friends of the platoon. This encourages strategic progress, since life will not regenerate itself.
Do you know this friend who delivers a medical kit? This is part of another new mechanic, which is that of Heroic Act. By saving a soldier in battle, you gain his company in your group and he supplies supplies. You must run to rescue an ally in a short time in very dangerous situations. After being saved, these people will be able to give ammunition, call air support and more.
The return of the life bar is great and the Heroic Acts are interesting but could have been better used
Unfortunately, the developer missed the chance to build stronger emotional ties with the characters or compose really shocking scenes that explored the losses or horrors of the war. Failure to perform a heroic act does not move, just makes your game less easy. Sledgehammer could have used this heavy weather to really shock and make us feel the loss of each member of the group. However, this does not happen. In addition, violence is moderate and predetermined: brutal scenes occur only in cutscenes, but not during gameplay, as Call of Duty: World At War did with enemy dismemberments.
The campaign is not very long and follows the standard of Call of Duty, with a maximum duration of 7 hours. But do not worry: when the campaign is over, there's plenty of content ahead of you, starting with the classic online multiplayer. Just like in single player mode, we have a much better experience on the ground, without too much exaggeration and with the classic Call of Duty sensation.
More robust and low perfumery multiplayer
Here we have the essence of the series with the theme of World War II, but with the fast pace that the franchise always had. Overall, because we have a gameplay with less parkour and no big stunts, the games end up getting more fun and tactical. Therefore, there are more options for grenades, traps and elements of the old ones, which replace the thermal sights and the chance to look at the walls - something that we saw in the last titles.
Part of this fun game is because of the new class system, which offers advantages with some weapons. The Expeditionary class, for example, is more focused on 12-gauge shotguns, while the Infantry mixes rifles and submachine guns. It's cool to test each of them and evolve the rankings. In total there are five of them and there are many weapons, equipment, "perks" (which are not well perks) and other elements to release and customize.
Each map is designed for specific weapons such as the shotgun in the trenches, the machine gun indoors and with runners or the sniper on more open and empty maps. Of course, there are some levels that mix a level design for all types of weapons to work. Why highlight that? Basically, map level design is very well done and easy to decorate, helping to create a well-balanced overall experience.
It was time for Call of Duty to be back on the ground, with more closeness and danger at each corner of the multiplayer
There are two good news as well. Firstly, rewards boxes have little impact on gaming, as they are only focused on the cosmetic section of the characters, such as new helmets, clothing, and skins for weapons. The second is that the developer actually collected feedback from the Beta period and made several changes (for the better) with the classes and game dynamics.
Call of Duty: WWII is not the best of the franchise, but is the best of the generation
Very welcome news
Despite being structurally a Call of Duty like any other, WWII raises some surprises. Among the novelties we have the War mode, which has a kind of online minicampaign in which one team must attack one goal while the other defends it. However, everything is contextualized as a true World War II mission, with goals that vary as the game progresses. At the end of the round, the roles are reversed and the dynamics change. Undoubtedly, it is one of the best multiplayer additions of recent times and brings a good amount of fun that runs away from the traditional kills.
Lastly, there is the online lobby, called the Headquarters, where we can explore in the third person, pick up daily quests, open reward boxes, test killstreaks, and even play 1-on-1 matches while other players attend staterooms . Of course, it's a good addition.
With the exception of some balancing problems, which put a much more experienced enemy team (and sometimes even a closed group of friends) or started the game with one of the sides much more embezzled, and some occasional connection problems, Call multiplayer of Duty: WWII is all you can expect from the franchise, but with a climate of fresh ideas.
Killing Nazi zombies is rewarding
To conclude, we can not stop talking about the zombie way, right? This time we have a kind of campaign that is more focused on advancing in goals than defending ourselves from endless hordes. Although it makes things more interesting, it's a bit tricky at first because many players can get confused. As usual, playing three more people on the team makes the game fun and different from conventional online multiplayer - and that's even better this time around.
It's interesting that we have classes even for Zombie mode, where we can take on group control roles, with offensive skills and even support. Balancing this composition is very important and helps a lot to achieve victory. In addition, rewards boxes have a much more practical role as there are chances to come usable items that can make all the difference during gaming, not just cosmetic items.
Gambling can be a bit chaotic at first, but as soon as the team understands the goals and memorizes where the power-ups are, the games are fun and do the best in a completely cooperative mode. The practice leads to perfection which eventually rewards us with a good deal of entertainment.
One of the best visuals in the series
Although not the type of game recognized by graphic mastery, Call of Duty: WWII does very well in the technical and artistic direction. The game really looks pretty and brings a wealth of great detail. All levels are very neat, with plenty of variety between them. External and internal sections are beautifully built and create a very large degree of immersion.
To complete the icing on the cake, the experience runs constantly at 60 fps (at least on the PlayStation 4 Pro, platform I played) and without any kind of gagging. The previous titles dealt differently with this issue, prioritizing image quality and other effects at the frame rate, which constantly had some drops. There are some minor glitches like low quality textures in some moments, but they are rare (you can see in the last image of the gallery).
Call of Duty: WWII is not the best of the franchise, but is the best of the generation
In the soundtrack, the game also shines: whether in the campaign, with the sounds of shootings (which are still lower than the Battlefield series), rain and even the breath of the character, or in multiplayer listening to footsteps of opponents. The TV is quite competent in passing this well-made sound, but a good headset is great to contemplate what Call of Duty: WWII has to offer.
Unfortunately, our review copy was American and there is no way to change the language. I had a brief contact with the dubbing in Brazilian Portuguese and she was in the acceptable standard, with some weaknesses.
Conclusion
Perhaps, one of the biggest weaknesses is also one of the biggest strengths: the game is essentially and structurally a series game from start to finish. The improvements are great, news is welcome and fun is guaranteed, but a campaign that takes more advantage of the emotional impact of WWII, a multiplayer with even more news and a more extensive single player mode would not be bad at all. Without a doubt, going back to the roots was a great decision, but Sledgehammer could have gone further and captured much of the mood and tension of the early games in the series.
Call of Duty: WWII is not the perfect CoD or one of the best shooters of all time but it is undoubtedly the best of the latest franchise games by far. The zombie mode is very good, the multiplayer, which is more down on the ground, is extremely fun, and the campaign is remarkable. It may not be a game made with soul or passion, but it is certainly extremely well-paced.
This game was kindly provided by Activision for this analysis.
9/10
"Call of Duty: WWII is not the best of the franchise and has its flaws, but it's the kick that the series needed to get back on track"
STRENGTHS
The campaign has returned with everything and, although short is not perfect, it is excellent
The return to WWII was the fresh air that the franchise needed to come back firm and strong
Memorable missions and beautifully made cinematographic scenes
More floorplay multiplayer was something the franchise was needing
The addition of classes and War mode was very good
Zombie Mode even more fun and focused on cooperative
Excellent visuals, all running at 60 fps
NEGATIVE POINTS
History lacks emotional impact and violence is predetermined and moderate
Slips in the visual part
There are some server issues and multiplayer balancing
