‘Call of Duty WWII’ Beta: A Bland Start to the War
Just how uninspired can the Call of Duty series get?
Oh.
Oh no.
Not World War II. Not the war that started it all. Not the game that was meant to be the saving grace of the series. Sledgehammer Games, what happened? This was your chance to prove that modern, advanced, and infinite warfares had nothing over the memorable history of the Nazi Party and the European Theater.
But if the recent multiplayer beta is an indication of what’s coming our way on November 3rd, things aren’t looking that great for the Second World War. Granted, the beta obviously wasn’t the full game and what I played wasn’t necessarily bad, but there is a serious lack of charm and remarkableness that, I fear, will cause it to get lost in the overly saturated crowd of multiplayer first-person shooters.
Ultimately, all of WWII’s faults fall on one thing — it has really bland gameplay.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the WWII beta also happened to be one of the best aspects of Call of Duty 2 — the weaponry.
Sure, there’s a pretty decent selection, but the fact that most of the weapons feel identical to one another kills that variety. The M1 Garand, the shotguns, sniper rifles, and explosives all felt unique. Though I found the bazooka to be as reliant on direct hits as the sniper rifles and most weapons had a slight firing delay after sprinting.
The rapid-fire armaments, while visually accurate, were largely disappointing. Nothing had any substantial kickback or felt like it carried the weight I’d expect from antiquated weaponry. In fact, they all felt very modern, as if Sledgehammer forgot World War II was over 70 years ago.
If one can look past what felt like huge historical inaccuracies in functionality, weapons like the Grease Gun and M1A1 Carbine at least played well and were unstoppable with later unlockable, stat-altering attachments.
Whatever weapon you use, just don’t expect hip-firing to be of any use. Especially with the M1 Garand, shooting without down-the-sight aiming was the equivalent of firing with a blindfold on, even at ranges where missing entirely was impossible.
Not to get too caught up in the arsenal—though it does feel like a rather important part of a first-person shooter—WWII does deliver on a few varied styles of multiplayer matches.
You have your standard team deathmatch and domination, but the last update to the beta also added a mode called “Kill Confirmed.” Like team deathmatch, the objective is all about wiping out the other team and reaching the goal score. But to gain a point, not only do you have to kill your opponent, you then have to pick up their dog tag.
This either required some frantic face-to-face combat or a good sniper and some spot-on team coordination. While the frenzy of “Kill Confirmed” was maybe my favorite part of the entire beta, the most unique mode out of the five was War.
The map used for this objective-based match pushed Allies toward German flak guns. Along the way, Allies had to repair a bridge, overtake a German command post, and escort their tank to the primary target. This was probably one of two aspects of the WWII beta that actually helped me feel like I was a part of the war.
That second aspect, of course, were the maps. Though extremely polished, slightly cramped, and without any of the grit you’d expect from a period piece about one of the worst wars in history, the maps did feel like the warzones of the 1940s.
Sledgehammer addressed concerns of a lack of sniping points in what looked like a map made for long-range combat, but there was otherwise little about the maps that hindered the matches.
In a move that proved to be pretty beneficial to WWII, Sledgehammer opted to completely change Call of Duty’s class system, instead replacing them with five different “Divisions.” Each division — Infantry, Airborne, Armored, Mountain, or Expeditionary — comes with its own set of skills or perks. For instance, selecting Expeditionary starts you off with incendiary rounds for your shotgun while Mountain lets you focus your breathing for precision sniping.
Divisions were a step in the right direction, especially since they eliminate the need to select perks for individual classes. While you can completely customize your loadout regardless of the division, as you level up, you unlock even more unique skills—such as an immunity to stun grenades or lower score streaks—which turn your soldier into a true weapon of war.
What, did you think score streaks weren’t going to be a thing? Well, they are, and they are pretty much what you’d expect. Call in recon planes to reveal enemy locations, earn a deadly Molotov cocktail, guide a bomb down to your desired target — they’re all pretty standard at this point in the series.
In fact, that’s all I walked away with after my time with Call of Duty: WWII. The series continues to be a rehash of itself with minor tweaks that, while sometimes good, merely give the illusion of something new.
Sadly, an interesting addition to WWII’s multiplayer, the Headquarters hub, was absent from the beta. Hopefully the social aspect of it will add a little depth in the full game, but I really can’t see it being a saving grace.
Call of Duty: WWII’s multiplayer is so far bearable at best, but continues down the path of arcade-style war when it should be tightening up realism even just a little. With some weapon balancing, it can get a little better. But to go into the full release expecting drastic gameplay improvements that would put it on par with Call of Duty 2 would be much like marching into Russia in the winter: ill-advised and with disappointing results.
Mark LoProto is a horror-loving gaming enthusiast who also has a soft spot for Ghostbusters, bubble wrap, and kittens. Look for his work here, here, and here.
