{"id":33516,"date":"2021-12-05T17:58:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-05T15:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/?p=33516"},"modified":"2021-12-05T17:58:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T15:58:35","slug":"call-of-duty-vanguard-review-is-this-the-best-cod-to-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/call-of-duty-vanguard-review-is-this-the-best-cod-to-date\/","title":{"rendered":"Call of Duty: Vanguard Review \u2014 Is this the Best CoD to Date?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest entry into the FPS behemoth that is\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>\u00a0sends players back to the trenches of World War II, as Activision and Sledgehammer Games aim to recapture the magic that made gamers fall in love with the franchise in the first place.<\/p>\n

For this latest iteration, the game marks the series\u2019 return to its 1940\u2019s roots, and is a \u2018coming home\u2019 of sorts for developer Sledgehammer Games, who helmed the 2017\u2019s brilliant\u00a0Call of Duty: World War II<\/em><\/a>. While other FPS shooters on the market have opted to forgo a single-player campaign for their latest offerings, with\u00a0Battlefield 2042<\/em>,\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>\u00a0has doubled down on the solo mode of their franchise. The result is a game that offers players an interesting spin on the usual\u00a0WW2\u00a0<\/em>story.<\/p>\n

CAMPAIGN<\/h3>\n

\"Call<\/p>\n

Also read:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Top 5 PS4 Exclusives You Need to Play<\/a><\/p>\n

The single-player picks up towards the end of WW2, and follows four characters, each from a different nation among the Allied forces, who essentially formed the first special task force team during that era. Most of the missions are comprised of flashbacks and past heroics, which gives some insight into what these characters have endured throughout the war, eventually culminating in their mission to uncover some secret Nazi plans. From a gung-ho American pilot to a charismatic but cold Russian sniper, you get to play through some truly interesting scenarios throughout the game. You\u2019ll be jumping from cockpits and deserts to sniping missions and all-out warfare in classic\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>\u00a0style, which makes you feel like you\u2019re covering a lot of the \u2018ground\u2019 of World War II events.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a great choice from a narrative perspective too, as what\u2019s common in the genre, you tend to play as a faceless soldier with little to no context of who they are.\u00a0Vanguard\u00a0<\/em>throws the player 4 seemingly random characters, who are then unravelled as the game goes on, helping you understand why they are the way they are, along with their own personal motivations to participate in the war.<\/p>\n

The campaign itself, while not very long, is as big, bombastic, and stunningly polished as you\u2019ve come to expect from a\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>\u00a0campaign in this generation. The visuals are spectacular, the character animations are sublime, and the scenes you encounter (whether choreographed or not) never fail to capture a sense of awe.\u00a0The single-player campaign is great overall, and while it may not hit the heights of the franchise, it takes some interesting turns and rests of some tried-and-tested (and incredibly enjoyable) mission designs that longtime fans will have fun with.<\/p>\n

\"Call<\/p>\n

Find the best prices on games online with PriceCheck now:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"view<\/a><\/p>\n

MULTIPLAYER<\/h3>\n

In terms of the general feel of the multiplayer gameplay,\u00a0Vanguard<\/em>\u00a0feels very in line with that of 2019\u2019s\u00a0Modern Warfare<\/em>\u00a0reboot\u00a0(it\u2019s running on the same engine) which is a good thing, as the fluidity, momentum, and speedy weight of that entry felt great and a real refinement of the\u00a0CoD<\/em>\u00a0pacing and gameplay dynamic. It\u2019s snappy and responsive, but climbing through windows and making more tricky manoeuvres do carry a bit of realism to it in order to balance the speed of the experience.<\/p>\n

Returning from previous entries, although featuring a bit of a revamp is the Combat Pacing system, which helps you find a style of game to suit your needs (so to speak). The options include:\u00a0Tactical,\u00a0Assault, and\u00a0Blitz; all with their own unique gameplay quirks.\u00a0Those who want to hop into a game can also set the Combat Pacing to \u201cAll\u201d and get a variety of Combat Paces between each match, in a similar fashion to how Quick Play allows you to hop between an assortment of modes you select.<\/p>\n

\"Call<\/p>\n

There are some highlights in the set of new maps, including the rooftops of Hotel Royal, the snowy Russian cityscape in Red Star, and the pacific island of Gavutu. The best thing about these maps, as opposed to some other\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>\u00a0titles, is that every map is vastly different. The maps and Combat Pacing system also work together well. On larger maps, like Red Star, playing in the Blitz gameplay mode works, as there are more than enough players around, fitting the atmosphere and frenetic action with the environment size. On smaller maps, like Hotel Royal, playing on the Tactical option is better, giving you a closer, (and aptly named) more tactical experience.<\/p>\n

In terms of game modes, Team Deathmatch operates as you\u2019d expect, along with the favourite Kill Confirmed \u2014 and a new one called Patrol, delivers an interesting spin to keep the action going. Based on the Hardpoint game type, Patrol is an objective-based mode that features a scoring zone in near-constant motion; if Operators want to rack up points for their team, they should keep up and move around the map within this Patrol point. It causes opposing teams to find one another with ease, and almost feels like an escort challenge \/ moving flag that forces your team to have your back.<\/p>\n

\"Call<\/p>\n

There is the beloved Zombies mode too, which provides that same manic, frantic, and enjoyable undead-shooting experience fans have come to love. There are some interesting maps that keep you on your toes, but the main story element of the mode is yet to be released; which is an interesting and admittedly baffling decision from the developers.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0Call of Duty: Vanguard<\/em>, it\u2019s clear that Sledgehammer Games is developing its knack for storytelling and slickly-produced campaigns for the franchise, and is further providing arguably the most versatile multiplayer\u00a0CoD\u00a0<\/em>experience to date, allowing you to adjust almost anything to suit your needs or what you\u2019re in the mood for. It may not be reinventing the wheel, but\u00a0Vanguard<\/em>\u00a0gives\u00a0CoD\u00a0<\/em>players, whether single-player fanatics or multiplayer die-hards, exactly what they want from a\u00a0Call of Duty<\/em>\u00a0game.<\/p>\n

Call of Duty: Vanguard<\/em>\u00a0is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, and PC.<\/p>\n

Find the best prices on games online with PriceCheck now:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"view<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does Call of Duty bring the noise with its return to WWII?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":33522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"amp_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115,2869],"tags":[7255,238,8867,8868,8869,8870,8871,1821,1601,5517,8872,874,1614,4666,2712,7734,4305,7261,792,843,5742],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Call-of-Duty-Vanguard-header-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33516"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33516"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33635,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33516\/revisions\/33635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}