Call of Duty: WWII (BETA)

I’m not sure what I was expecting. Something new? Something different? I thought that by taking Call of Duty ‘back to its roots’ – so to speak – we might see a change. But no. Call of Duty: WWII is just . . . more of the same. It’s the same tired formula with a new skin.

It’s the same chaotic clusterf**k of an experience. Maps are small, the action is fast, and the TTK (time to kill) is extremely low. If you thought a WWII CoD would feel at least somewhat different to play than those of the more recent modern and ‘future’ warfare trend, think again! This is a game where even WWII shotguns can be equipped with ‘reflex’ sights. No, I’m not joking. I don’t want to call it a lazy re-skin, but based on this beta, that’s exactly what it feels like.

Visually, it looks muddy and dated, yet would frequently gobble up all 8GB of VRAM on my new 1080. Why it’s such a resource hog, I just don’t know, because the visuals certainly don’t justify the high demand – so I can only assume it’s due to extremely poor optimisation.

The beta had a couple of maps available and a fairly by the numbers selection of modes – TDM, Domination and Hardpoint. The only interesting addition is War – an objective focused mode with ‘attack’ and ‘defence’ phases for each team. But if you’re expecting this mode to shift away from the chaos that is the typical CoD MP experience, you’ll be disappointed.

I went into this beta hoping for more. I played the original CoD titles upon release and enjoyed them a lot but the series feels like it’s been stuck in a rut ever since the release of Modern Warfare 2 – which is the last CoD title I purchased.

I guess the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to design applies. CoD has an established audience that knows what it likes – more of the same. Nothing too radical. Nothing too new. Same shit, different skin.

But I thought this title would be an opportunity to break free of that formula. That’s what I wanted to see. I wanted a new CoD that would bring me back to the series. But instead, CoD WWII just plays it predictably safe. Can we blame them? I mean, why take the risk?

If it sells, why change it? If people want it, why not just give it to them? If you like the established CoD experience then you’ll probably like this too. If, like me, you were hoping for something new, then I wouldn’t bother. Oh well, I suppose there’s always next year.