The Alpha of Call of Duty: Vanguard has started, and our CoD expert – MeinMMO author Maik Schneider – has jumped straight into the battle. He shows you his first impression and has also gathered some opinions from other experts to give you a picture of the Alpha.
What’s up with CoD? Slowly but surely, the release of the new Call of Duty: Vanguard is approaching, and now the public is finally allowed to get hands-on with the new CoD, which will be released on November 5th. Currently, an alpha is running for players on PlayStation.
I also played a few rounds of gameplay in Vanguard, and my first impression was: “Wow, this feels familiar.” To elaborate a little, I’ll share my initial thoughts on the alpha test and some issues that recognized YouTube experts see with the new Vanguard.
Champions Hill impresses – But I still see the opponents poorly
What was good? I jumped straight into a game right after the loading screen and had to make important control settings at the start of the round while feeling slightly stressed. Without vertical inverted controls, nothing works for me with the controller. I often forget this when starting a shooter for the first time, and the familiar feelings didn’t stop here.
Even with my first movements, I noticed that I had everything under control right away – first the movement, then the gunplay. Vanguard uses a polished engine from CoD MW and Warzone. Since I have been playing the battle royale since its release for varying periods, I felt at home with Vanguard gameplay immediately. Without much rehearsal, I slide safely around corners and land precise hits. This gave a good feeling right from the start.
Another plus point for me is the new mode “Champions Hill.” You land with an opposing team on a quite small map and have to take each other’s lives. In total, 8 teams are in the game, and all teams start with 12 lives. If a team loses all their lives, the duo is out. The alpha only offers duo gameplay at launch, but trio is expected to come.
You don’t fight desperately for all 12 lives against a team. Every few minutes, a match ends, and a new pair of opponents is randomly selected. This creates good dynamics and keeps the game flowing. There were few campers and almost only action-packed rounds.
Through kills and loot on the map, you also collect cash, and every few rounds is a “buy phase.” I can buy a new weapon, acquire equipment, take perks, and support my gameplay at the supply stations. Eventually, only 2 teams remain, which then fight for victory in a final.
Overall, the small, tournament-like mode convinced me: It was exciting. You were never away from the next fight for long, and Champions Hill offers opportunities for both reserved and aggressive play styles. Due to the short rounds, it felt like starting a completely new match every few minutes, and I went into the next battle with confidence for a new round. This was very motivating and rarely frustrating.
The combination of the coherent, familiar gameplay and the cool game mode from the start gave me a good feeling and a desire for more. But not without some drawbacks.
What wasn’t so good? A problem that has followed me since Cold War is the rather poor visibility of enemies in the multiplayer of Call of Duty. While enemies in Warzone and Modern Warfare are easily and intuitively recognizable, I see the opponents poorly in Cold War, and I encounter the same phenomenon in the Vanguard Alpha. This was also one reason why the title quickly disappeared into the drawer after the release of Cold War.
In the case of Vanguard, the proper color adjustment between background and characters could play a role. Whether maps or operators – everything has a kind of earthy, brown tone and blurs together. Additionally, the screen gets extremely dark when taking damage.
I would like to say that the developers will certainly adjust the visibility factors. However, not much changed after the full release of Cold War, so I am skeptical this time as well.
Another point that caught my attention negatively after the first few rounds was the “permeability” of cover. On the small maps, I could pretty much shoot through everything, and an enemy behind a cover was not safe. Conversely, this also applies to me. I barely reach the saving wing of the plane that someone parked there, only to realize that the enemy can shoot me through the cover. Annoying.
If you want to try Vanguard yourself but don’t have a PlayStation, the beta for all platforms starts on September 16th. All information about the beta can be found here.
Experts praise Ghost and step audio – but see problems
What other opinions are there? To compare my impressions a bit and gather more opinions, I watched a few videos from CoD experts.
For example, “TheXclsuiveAce” complains about the audio of the weapons as well. The maps are set up so that other teams are playing their rounds nearby but unreachable. The shots from these areas are louder than those of your own opponents. The minimap mechanics, which are oriented towards CoD MW, are also not enjoyable for him.
“Drift0r” is particularly frustrated with the spawns. He often found himself in situations where he spawned close to or in the line of sight of an opponent. According to his first impression, the spawns could become a problem again for the larger maps.
“jackfrags” particularly notes the absence of a “Field of View” slider on consoles. PC players can currently increase their field of view in CoDs and see more of the environment.
However, the positive aspects are also highlighted, such as the good movement and gunplay. A change to the perk “Ghost” also excites: players now need to move for Ghost to protect them from enemy reconnaissance. The audio of footsteps is mentioned more positively as well. Footsteps in Vanguard are apparently quieter and less of a factor in detecting enemies.
If you want to listen to the opinions for yourself, we’ll embed the relevant English YouTube videos here:
- TheXclsuiveAce on YouTube: Alpha Feedback
- Drift0r on YouTube: Alpha Feedback
- jackfrags on YouTube: Gameplay Commentary
Conclusion Vanguard Multiplayer Alpha: Warzone fans win
My conclusion in summary: As a fan of the gameplay of Warzone and CoD MW, my first gameplay impression was very good. I focused on the core mechanics to get a feel for what I consider the most important aspects during the first rounds. The gameplay together with the quick game mode really appealed to me, even though the issue with visibility is a bit annoying again.
Moreover, the slightly shorter time-to-kill compared to Cold War is however not quite as low as in CoD MW. It plays well, fluidly, and at the customary high CoD level when it comes to combat.
However, there are also frequent moments of disruption where small mechanics break the enjoyable experience. First and foremost, I must mention visibility, but the permeable covers also cause me trouble.
My general impression was good, and Vanguard is still in alpha – the release is still over 2 months away. Surely enough time to work on the small details. I think if you enjoy the gameplay of Warzone or CoD MW, you will also likely enjoy Vanguard. At least if you can deal with the setting, like I did.
