Call of Duty: Vanguard [Xbox]
Call of Duty’s latest cash cow, Vanguard, soared to the top of the UK charts in its first week of release, showing once again that annual releases are as alive and thriving as ever. Yet another World War II-flavoured title, the fifth in an eighteen-strong series, it tells the stories of six soldiers: Riggs, Jackson, Petrova, Webb, Kingsley and Novak, who are recruited into the first ever special operations task force; Vanguard.
We’ve got three main game modes, Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies; a little something for everyone. The campaign sees the aforementioned crew on a secret mission to deal with a Nazi program known as ‘Project Phoenix’, but before we reach the nitty gritty of that, they get captured (and not everyone makes it). So then we get to live through various parts of the war as each of the surviving soldiers - giving us a little bit of backstory on each character and their abilities in battle. Lt. Pollina Petrova, voiced by Laura Bailey, is by far the best character to play as, with some fantastic skills including climbing and being able to squeeze into small spaces; she is a Queen of stealth. For the ‘big bads’ we’ve got Dominic Monaghan in the role of weaselly Jannick Richter, and Dan Donohue as the very intimidating Hermann Freisinger. It leans more to the action-movie style storytelling, with its roots in reality (to some degree!) but with many points that make it feel more… exaggerated.
We are now at that point in time where things are struggling a little to look better than their predecessors, yet Vanguard still manages to look impressive, although it did suffer from an occasionally juddering frame rate. Fantastically detailed environments, across all of the modes, that look stunning, with gorgeous lighting and just the right amount of shine to the thick, gloopy blood-puddles everywhere you look, and highly detailed character models that are almost uncanny valley in how realistic they look.
Within the Multiplayer mode, each of the Operators has their own introductory video showing off a little bit of their personalities and what they can bring to the team. There are different Operator types, with only a few unlocked in the beginning; and more being gained through completing various challenges such as Drone Kills, and hitting a certain number of kills with specific weapons. There’s a new game mode available called Champion Hill, a variation to previous titles’ Gunfight, and this can be played in Solos, Duos or Trios, with the aim being to be the last man standing in the arena.
The maps are really well designed, having a good flow to them whilst still having ample locations for scoping out enemies. It’s enjoyable to play, and although it does feel familiar in terms of core gameplay, the good selection of maps and game modes, as well as satisfying combat ensures that it continues to feel exciting and fresh. Additionally, the multiplayer has different Combat Pacings available, altering the number of players in any one match - allowing you to get a feel for all different levels of intensity with certain maps, and this adds a bit of variety into the way you’ll need to approach things.
Finally, we’ve got the return of the fan-favourite Zombies mode, but this time it’s a little different. With one map, Der Anfang, consisting of a hub area and alternate zones you’ll teleport to for objectives, Zombies get progressively more challenging with every objective you complete before turning into a typical never-ending horde mode. It’s got a lot of cool elements to it, such as upgrading to access various boosts at certain locations, including using sacrificial hearts at the Altar of Covenants, and this will help to make you even more formidable against the zombie hordes. You can improve upon your movement speed, your health and more, with the first of each being a free boost, and additional boosts requiring you to spend different kinds of currency that you’ll earn from mowing down the undead.
There are three mission types taking place within Zombies, including escorting an Aether Orb from one part of the map to another, whilst defending it from the lumbering, red-eyed flesh-sacks that are polluting the world - once you’ve completed the objective, you’ll teleport back to the hub area, with different upgrades available here too - in a somewhat roguelike style. Aside from the upgrades you willfully purchase, you can find random power-ups dotted around that are often far superior, and a lot of fun, too. You’ve got Artifact abilities, with one of four able to be assigned to your loadout, including Aether Shroud - a five second invisibility perk that will help you quickly get out of danger if you find yourself in a bind.
As it currently stands, the Zombies mode does feel quite limited in what it has to offer - but with plans for a main quest line to be added to Zombies next month, this should hopefully bulk it out and give it a more story-driven vibe akin to previous iterations. Overall, we had a decent time with Call of Duty: Vanguard, and whilst it wasn’t enough to completely blow us away - we had a fun time, and are looking forward to what else they’ve got to offer when the Zombies update goes live.
In the end, we decided to give Call of Duty: Vanguard the Collecting Asylum rating of 8/10.
Have you played Call of Duty: Vanguard yet? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Activision for the Call of Duty: Vanguard Ultimate Edition Xbox review code!
