The campaign gets additional wrinkles, with each character having unique abilities. Vanguard is a first-person shooter through and through, checking all the basics one would expect from a Call of Duty game. The basic mechanics of Call of Duty remain the same. When it comes to gameplay, though, Call of Duty: Vanguard excels. As it stands, the campaign is underwhelming. If the game focused on a fewer selection of fronts and characters or devoted more time to the campaign for additional missions and story, Call of Duty: Vanguard could have had something special on its hands. There are interesting characters, battles and locations throughout the 4-5 hours, but the story spreads itself too thin. Likewise, you never get a sense of brutality and growing need for revenge from the Russians as they push the Nazis from Stalingrad.Д¬all of Duty: VanguardвЂ™s campaign is a victim of time. The Japanese infantry only uses tree snipers and hidden grass soldiers once in scripted moments, not as genuine threats players encounter throughout. For example, the game never creates a sense of dread while running through patches of grass on the Pacific Front like it did in Call of Duty: World at War. While meticulously crafted, none of the levels truly capture the dangers or tone of their settings. For the most part, these are linear missions with a handful of larger areas that encourage more varied gameplay. For as good as the performances are, Call of Duty: VanguardвЂ™s characters never escape the stereotypes handed to them at the start of the campaign (i.e., angry Russian, cocky American, etc.).ДЄs stated before, the campaign is split into two chapters per front except for the Western Front, which only gets one. Meanwhile, Freisinger is merely portrayed as a mustache-twirling villain with little nuance or intrigue. Unlike the other playable characters, Kingsley and the Western Front only get one mission. ItвЂ™s Kingsley and the antagonist Freisinger, however, that get it worst. Fascinating tales like how Polina earned the moniker Lady Nightingale are unfortunately absent. Polina, Wade and Lucas only get two missions apiece before their tale in the war ends, and rather than watching the characters develop, weвЂ™re told through narration at the end of missions about how the events impacted them. The story tries to cover four different fronts of World War II while personifying four unique characters, but ultimately fails to make any fronts or characters compelling.

The campaignвЂ™s most significant flaw isnвЂ™t its scope, the developerвЂ™s passion for World War II or the interesting representation of history, but rather that it spreads itself too thin during its 4-5 hour runtime. ThereвЂ™s undoubtedly good intention along with an interesting plot in VanguardвЂ™s campaign itвЂ™s just too unfocused for the short amount of time allotted to it. Lucas Riggs and their battles are all based on real people and events. SledgehammerвЂ™s team showcases a lot of passion for World War II in its campaign and selection of characters. Forced to relive their pasts, the team must hold on, find a way to work together and put an end to Project Phoenix. Unaccustomed to working as a cohesive unit, however, the squad is captured by the villainous Hermann Wenzel Freisinger for interrogation. Concerned, the Allies put together the first Special Forces squad comprised of soldiers from Great Britain, Soviet Russia, the United States and Australia to infiltrate Germany and uncover the projectвЂ™s secrets. Can Call of Duty: Vanguard deliver on that ambition and help Sledgehammer carve out its own niche in the franchise or should this entry be relegated to the history books?Д¬all of Duty: Vanguard takes place at the tail-end of World War II, where the Allies discover a secretive plot by the Nazis dubbed Project Phoenix. Promising a gripping campaign, content-rich multiplayer and fun new take on Zombies, Vanguard doesnвЂ™t lack for ambition. With Call of Duty: Vanguard, the studio hopes to discover that by returning the action to World War II. While Infinity Ward and TreyarchвЂ™s Call of Duty titles have developed unique identities, Sledgehammer has yet to find theirs. From there, Sledgehammer worked on a futuristic title ( Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare) and a World War II title ( Call of Duty: WWII). Formed initially to develop a third-person side project, the studio was looped in to help Infinity Ward with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Sledgehammer GamesвЂ™ standing in the Call of Duty franchise has always been an odd one.

Third person call of duty