The boots have been planted firmly on the ground once again and I have visited World War II. Has Sledgehammer managed to bring new life to the series?
About three years ago, the Call of Duty series saw a drastic change of both pace and atmosphere. Sledgehammer Games took us all the way from a tactical, slower and more thoughtful style wI saw in Call of Duty: Ghosts, to a structure that made it more inspired by Halo with jetpacks and lots of verticality, as I saw in the Call of Duty : Advanced Warfare. Now the development cycle has been restarted between the studies, and the game is once again landed at Sledgehammer Games. Traditionally, the study has planned yet another significant shift for the series, because they go all the way back to World War II, where the dirty soldier boots are planted firmly on the ground, and where some of the feelings that the series are built on returns.
2008 was the last time the Call of Duty series took place during this period; Treyarch took advantage of Infinity Ward's success with Modern Warfare, reusing the brand new create-a-class multiplayer system, and at the same time they constructed an amazing, dirty and brutal story - and when yes, they also introduced Zombies- part with the famous Nacht der Untoten, and created a now iconic game type that would sell many copies of the Call of Duty series for years. Tackling World War II is a brave decision from the latest and greenest of the Call of Duty studies, and it is a decision that can easily prove to have negative consequences if the product does not meet expectations.
So let's get the bad news of the way from the beginning; This is not the best Call of Duty game ever. The heavy crown is still on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfares head. The good news? This comes very, very close. Each aspect of the game represents such a decisive improvement compared to what I have seen over the last five years, so this could truly be the title that once again sets in the series and closes down to the stereotypical idea that, that there is no more steam on the creative locomotive.
Since the game was revealed earlier in the year, the campaign has been marketed as an emotional story that uses the personal perspective, and which really goes into the depth of what it was like to be a soldier in the war. It's about fighting side by side with his comrades, and possibly watching them die for the eyes of you. It sounds exciting and keep the vacation it delivers. You play the bulk of the campaign like Ronald "Red" Daniels, a member of the American First Infantry Division, from Normandy during D-Day, through the release of Paris to Germany and the final defeat of the Nazis.
There is one thing that quickly becomes very clear when you start the singleplayer campaign, and it is that Sledgehammer Games has managed to capture and express the war's authenticity. In the very first mission, you're stuck inside a gangway on your way to the beach with your friends, while hostile shooting flies over your head. You are like sardines in a barrel, and the danger is on all sides. Then the ramp goes down without further hesitation, and suddenly many of the friends you have come to acquainted with just pierced bodies in the water. Few of them come in well, and this brutal invasion of Normandy's beach sets the tone for how dark the rest of the game is.
A significant mechanical change differs from the crowd, and only applies to the campaign, and your life points do not regenerate. Instead, like Elizabeth, throwing useful things to Booker in Bioshock Infinite, your soldier mate can give you bandages that you can then use to get some life back. These bandages can also be found around the courts if you have the courage to explore a little, but there is nothing fatter than grabbing the bandages with one hand and firing projectiles against the enemies with the other.
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