It has been a year since Black Ops Cold War had arrived, and it was a phenomenal game. Now fast-forwarding a year later, we now have the Call of Duty: Vanguard, which takes us back to the World War II era. Funny thing is, the last game that Sledgehammer had developed was also set in World War II. So, it feels like they are somewhat carrying on the series in that era. As with most Call of Duty gamers, the main reason they get the game is for the multiplayer mode. And seeing as the multiplayer in the previous sledgehammer game was underrated, you as a Call of Duty player would hope that Call of Duty: Vanguard is even better than the last one.
Sadly, that isn’t the case, as this game isn’t an improvement to Sledgehammer’s last Call of Duty, as well as last year’s Cold War. Although Call of Duty: Vanguard doesn’t fully live up to its hype, this is indeed a good game nonetheless and can be very enjoyable whether you are playing by yourself or with friends. But some flaws should be addressed to drastically improve the quality of the game. Plus, there are plenty of cool items, attachments, weapons, perks and so on that would motivate you into grinding out this game.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is a first-person shooter that was developed by Sledgehammer Games, and published by Activision, and was released on November 5, 2021. The game is available on platforms ranging from Microsoft Windows to Xbox Series X and S. The gameplay of Call of Duty: Vanguard is pretty good, you get to unlock and use cool items, perks, camos, and so on. There are no drastic improvements to the mechanics, but if you are a hardcore Call of Duty player, that wouldn’t be much of an issue for you. The game is expectedly fast-paced, as none of the maps are massive, which can be a good thing sometimes. Also, the number of players in a lobby makes things more exciting. Instead of 6v6, you’d sometimes have 12v12 matches, to make things a lot more interesting.
I also like the new feature they have added after each match of players getting to choose who should be the MVP. It means much more when they choose you for having an awesome performance. Cross-play is also another great feature. Nice that we can play with not just only gamers from the platform you are playing on, but also from other platforms, as it is more of a challenge. However, there are some negatives. One is the shortage of game modes. There isn’t enough to choose from. Although everyone is different, I feel there are only a few good game modes that I enjoy. Also, some of the killstreaks are weak. For example, imagine having to go all out to get an 11 killstreak to get attack dogs, and it is much easier to kill them than the opposite. That would irritate just about anybody, and this issue needs buffing.
Another issue is the bugs and glitches, especially after a match, and a few times here and there during it. For example, sometimes after the match, when we have to choose the MVP, the players are invisible. Although they aren’t enough to be considered unplayable, they are things we shouldn’t have to see, especially from a game of this caliber.
The visuals are stunning when you are playing on a current-gen console. You can instantly tell the difference in how much more detail has been added to items and characters. Especially to the weapons. The photorealistic effects on each weapon are simply stunning to look at and to make things better if you are playing on a 4K gaming monitor, they will take your breath away.
The audio isn’t great, but as they say, there’s always room for improvement. The sounds of the weapons are unrealistic. It’s like you’re using peashooters, and that can be a real bother for people who especially pay close attention to detail. The commentary, on the other hand, isn’t too shabby. The London accent makes you feel like you are at war and motivates you to complete objectives, get killstreaks, and so on. But the commentary is very limited. It would be to Call of Duty: Vanguard’s benefit if more commentary were implemented but from different countries.
Ultimately, Call of Duty: Vanguard has some qualities to make this an enjoyable game, this is not an improvement to the previous Call of Duty games, by any stretch. It’s almost as if they have just reskinned the game, and just added a few things, and posed it as authentic. The issues discussed, plus more need to be rectified with an update, and soon. Those issues must be dealt with, otherwise, it will be increasingly difficult to persuade a lot of gamers away from gaming rivals Electronic Arts, as Battlefield 2042 is due to arrive very soon.
