MeinMMO author Maik Schneider had a good feeling about Call of Duty: Vanguard even before the big multiplayer reveal. But after his first longer session in the multiplayer of the new World War shooter, he can hardly wait for the release.
Call of Duty releases a new full-price title every year and knows how to generate hype among its players; so did I. However, the two CoDs from the past years – Cold War and Modern Warfare – could hardly evoke any real enthusiasm in me before release. Other experiences left painful memories that ruined the release of some predecessors.
With this years of trained CoD skepticism, I also took a look at the developments around the new Call of Duty: Vanguard in recent months, and I must say: Away with the doubts, bring on the release – I don’t care what happened before.
Now we are heading towards my third release, and finally, I feel a deep desire to push the release date forward to tomorrow. 16 6vs6 maps, World War setting including a large campaign, killstreaks, combat pacing, Warzone upgrade – I have no idea how I am supposed to hold out until November 5th.
What was played: For MeinMMO, I was allowed to test parts of the beta and snoop around in the game for about 3 hours, of which 2 hours were pure gameplay. The organizers told us when to enter which mode, and so we played Domination, Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and the new mode Patrol on 4 different maps in 6vs6.
The new combat pacing with the setting “Blitz” was also part of the test. At this point, I was convinced – my hype is building up. All the information we have about the multiplayer can be found here in the overview.
Vanguard more like CoD MW – And Warzone
Why is Vanguard more like CoD MW? The new Vanguard uses a polished graphics engine from CoD MW, and you can really tell. Gunplay and movement strongly resemble CoD from 2019, also because tactical sprint and weapon mounting are back in the game.
Why is this a reason for hype? On one hand, because I really enjoyed the gameplay of CoD MW. On the other hand, because Warzone uses the same engine. And if you ask me what the best CoD of recent years is, I will answer “Warzone”.
I was looking for the right battle royale for a long time and finally found a home in Warzone. So much fits, though by no means everything. Especially the cheating situation weighs on my mind, as does the slow content flow in the first year after release.
But in terms of gameplay, there’s hardly anything I can complain about, even MeinMMO author Jürgen Horn had to admit this recently. I like the feel of the weapons that are not hard to control and that I can bring my own loadout into the match. But also the little things, like the respawn duel in the Gulag, as well as the cash and contract system.
That the new premium CoD is oriented towards this gameplay feel makes me smile. My first matches in Vanguard have confirmed this gameplay feel and pushed my anticipation further.
Combat Pacing – I didn’t know I wanted this
What is Combat Pacing? Vanguard introduces this new match option and lets me set how many players I want in my match. There are a total of 3 options for this:
- Tactical: Classic CoD experience with 6vs6 players
- Assault: Between 20 – 28 players can be found on one map
- Blitz: Between 28 and 48 players can go wild on one map
Why is this a reason for hype? The standard maps for normal 6vs6 matches have gotten larger in recent years. This means there has been more time between spawn and combat, but CoD is a fast shooter for me with constant firefights. Start the game, search for a match, start shooting.
But due to the large maps and also the addition of more levels on the maps (keyword verticality), a lot of speed has been lost. Sometimes there were whole minutes in a team deathmatch without even seeing an enemy. That’s not how I imagine my quick firefight for in between.
And this is where Combat Pacing comes in. It’s a very simple solution to one of the biggest problems I’ve had with CoD in recent years. Because I can decide how many players I want to play the maps and modes that were actually designed for the classic 6vs6 matches.
Even with CoD MW, I was happy about every mode in the playlist, that just brought in more players to the normal matches. Now I can always and anytime decide how many opponents and team members I want to approach in a match, and it feels a bit like “Shipment” or “Nuketown”.
Finally Killstreaks again – A bit sad about the score system
What are Streaks? Call of Duty is known for its killstreak system, which rewards me for getting many kills in a row without dying. It raises the pulse, causes frustration when you go down, but also brings a nice dose of happiness hormones when your chopper mows down half a dozen enemies over the area.
Why is this a reason for hype? The current Cold War relies on a scorestreak system, with which I collect points instead of kills. The idea behind it was actually good, so that players who wouldn’t normally rack up big killstreaks can also benefit from the bonuses. However, the implementation led to less excitement and thus also less fun.
Although many kills in a row are still important with the score system because they bring more points and thus faster the strong support machines. However, you miss that kick when you look at your streak bar and think: “Just one more kill, then I’ve got it”.
This slowly filling bar on the side didn’t grab me; the first glide bomb at 5 kills in Vanguard multiplayer, however, did right away.
Top bonus: Warzone announcement drops my jaw
This doesn’t quite fit with Vanguard’s multiplayer, but in the big reveal stream, there was also information about Warzone, and as a fan of battle royale, I was pretty excited.
It was already clear that there would be a new map with Vanguard and that the new anti-cheat system had also been announced. But when the first images of the new map flashed across the screen, I needed a moment to grasp what was happening. The new Pacific map looks mouthwatering.
In almost a side note, Associate Creative Director Amos Hodge added that Warzone would use the technology and engine of Vanguard and that this would all come relatively soon after the Vanguard release on November 5th.
The announcement for Warzone lasted only about 2 minutes but felt like a blockbuster to me – hopefully also with a happy ending at release.
Call of Duty delivered, at least regarding the announcements and my first impression. I haven’t been this hyped about a CoD in a long time, and please, please let the complete game be good. I currently have no worries – although I think that’s normal for a “screaming teenager”.
I also like reading your opinions on the topic. Did the first impressions grab you? Do you also feel some kind of hype or does Vanguard leave you cold?
