Call of Duty: Vanguard is the 18th title in Activision’s long-running, yearly released, first-person shooter, war franchise.
Vanguard is split into three different sections, Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies. Campaign mode serves as Vanguard’s story mode which is told throughout various points in time in a non-chronological order during World War II
Multiplayer mode is a continuation of the campaign mode, which sees the main characters leading new task forces of their own. Zombies will act as a prologue to Black Ops Cold War’s zombie story.
Vanguard’s campaign mode is set in World War II and puts you in the shoes of four soldiers as they form a special forces team.
The team is made up of a diverse group of characters, British paratrooper Sgt. Arthur Kingsley, Russian sniper Lt. Polina Petrova, US navy scout Cpt. Wade Jackson, and Australian infantryman 2nd lt. Lucas Riggs.
Vanguard spends a lot of time exploring the four characters and what makes them different from other soldiers. Missions will take place at different points in the war across the globe, showing each character's background.
Call of Duty has struggled in the past at creating characters worth investing in, especially as the series is not squeamish it killing off its characters, but Vanguard showcases some really compelling and emotional storytelling, especially during Lt. Polina Petrova’s back story.
The missions tend to play it safe and other than a few standout moments, most missions will see you charging from one objective to another.
A lot if not all of the campaign mode's success rests on the four playable characters and even though missions themselves may not necessarily be as varied as they could, having four characters with different abilities really helps to add extra substance to each mission.
Playing as Lt. Petrova is probably the biggest highlight as it puts all of her stealth and sniper abilities to the test. Having said that, Vanguard only really pushes its creativity boundaries during the team missions which go from zero to one hundred real quick.
For its relatively short playtime of around five hours Vanguard’s campaign mode is a visual spectacle that has done a great job at interweaving different stories while keeping a coherent plot.
That being said, other than the stunning aerial fight, the campaign mode is lacking vehicle usage and that extra bit of creativity we’ve seen in previous games.
Multiplayer mode returns with a few new updates that look to improve the overall experience.
Players will be able to pick from different unlockable operators from the campaign mode, however, these are essentially just character skins meaning choices won’t affect your performance in matches.
This year Vanguard launches with twenty playable maps from the get-go, which is huge compared to Cold War. Fans will notice some slight enhancements which improve the overall visual quality giving much more clarity during matches.
Gameplay generally feels faster, even though it may come off feeling a bit cartoony, it makes for really intense matches.
Levels are filled with destructible elements that not only increase the chaos but allow for new tactical pathways or options.
The new Combat Pacing will allow players to dictate how hectic matches can be by picking for one of four options: All, Tactical, Assault, and Blitz.
This is a great way for allowing new players to ease into multiplayer matches by picking how intense they want a match.
A lot of the core modes return, but Vanguard also has a new mode called Champion Hill, which is kind of a revamped version of the Gunfight Tournament system in past Call of Duty games.
This mode pits teams of two or three against each other in a last man standing match. Each team will be given a set amount of lives to whittle down their opponents until one team wins.
Even though there are only four maps that can be used in this mode, it is definitely one of the highlights of Vanguard's multiplayer experience that rewards great team play.
Vanguard features a slew of accurately recreated World War II weaponry. Like before players will be able to earn XP in various different ways to customise their weapons.
Call of Duty wouldn’t be complete without its bizarre Zombie mode, which has seen some changes from Cold War.
Players will now start in a hub area where they can upgrade their character with earned points.
Here players will be able to take a portal to different levels that have their own objectives which eventually leads to having to survive hordes of zombies.
This mode feels a lot more clear and concise than before, especially with the objectives allowing for new players to ease their way into this mode.
That being said, Zombie mode is being launched without a few features that made it so engaging, so it will be interesting to see how this mode develops over the next year or so.
Verdict
Call of Duty: Vanguard features a few good additional tweaks that improve the overall experience. The amazing writing and focus on characterisation in the Campaign mode really raises the bar of storytelling, even if it is rather short.
Graphicly it is the most visually impressive, which is saying something for such a stunning looking series.
The multiplayer mode is still fast and exciting with the inclusion of Champion Hill, allowing for a slightly more varied experience than before but still without straying too far from the tried and test formula.
Vanguard feels like so much like the previous Call of Duty games and even the WWII setting isn't enough to elevate it.
While a strong entry in the franchise, there really isn’t enough here that sets it apart, however, it does feel that much more accessible and what is here has been polished till it shines.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is out now for Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and PC
