Call of Duty: World War II - Good luck getting off that beach

Good to hear. I'll be jumping back in later.

Seems like I might have been right about HQ being disabled. They could at least put some information about the issues in the News tab.

http://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/35 ... se-cod-ww2

But yeah, at least matchmaking has been speeded up.

Played some more of the campaign last night to the end of chapter 3. Enjoyable romp. Typical CoD. Loving the gruesome headshots though

I am enjoying bayoneting people.

I like the Orders stuff, but I think Contracts are a bit beyond me at the moment. I managed to complete six daily orders in 24 hours, but can't see what I've got as a reward. Maybe it'll be in the next Mail. (Some of the pre-order bonuses just arrived that way.)

Played through the opening 2 levels of the campaign. Cut scenes look excellent (particularly the facial animations) but then the graphics inevitably degrade when the actual gameplay begins. Looks really good in places though, and it does have HDR. Playing the PS4 Pro version. Plays exactly as you'd expect. If I was coming at this with fresh eyes I think I'd be pretty amazed and blown away by it. Even with the substantial gap since COD visited WW2, there is the unshakable feeling of having played it ALL before, with the same set pieces being wheeled out in quick succession. Partner getting shot through a door; COD3 ambushes; slow motion bits; gun emplacements shooting down waves of Germans; gun emplacement shooting down airplanes; driving section down a narrow path that turns into another 'shoot down waves of Germans on the back of said vehicle' section; hiding behind moving tank section; oh, and now here's the 'get in that barn and snipe something!' bit...in my mind the game always looked like this, so it's like playing the same stuff all over again for the hundredth time. It is quite literally the same format we've all been playing since Frontline on PS2, but in greater detail. Hell, the opening mission is Frontline rebooted. Even down to the boat beside you getting blown up in roughly the same place I remember it happening originally. And just like MOH, health packs are back too (no regenerating health here) albeit in plentiful supply. I would love to know if teenagers today will be as in awe from the D-Day mission as I think everyone was back in 2002.

Thoroughly enjoyable, and quite gory in places, but it almost has that feeling of a game designed for a younger generation that missed the WW2 games the first time out. Maybe there will be some surprises further in, because it's amazing just how many WW2 game tropes they've already shoehorned in after just 2 levels (exploding red ~~barrels~~ canisters are back!). I guess this is why they stopped in the first place, because there is nothing more to do than an updated graphical showcase.

This is the first game I've played with my sound bar/subwoofer that was legit shaking the floor and my couch though.

I personally find the current/past real life settings far more relatable than the futuristic stuff, which is why this is the first COD campaign I've properly sat down to for the past 4 years or so.

I can't get a read on that Pierson guy. Is he the one that was being talked about on the tank ride at start of 2nd level? The one that got demoted and *will do anything* to get back his rank? Is he the bad guy of the piece?

I've (accidentally) killed so many surrendering soldiers :slol:

War crimes all over the shop.

KK wrote:health packs are back too (no regenerating health here)...many WW2 game tropes

This makes me more interested in the campaign than anything else... there's something comforting about playing a WW2 game with all the classic design choices you expect.

The campaign really feels like a greatest hits catalogue of every single WW2 game ever. Further into the Campaign, and I've had to snipe enemies from a church tower (which promptly collapses around you in grand fashion), hold off the enemies until reinforcements from the sky turn up (though you do get access to a flamethrower this time), a basic stealth section that goes loud (or maybe that was just my eventual incompetence), and for the second time a 'driving segues into on-rails shooting out of the back of a moving vehicle' bit (which also ends in a spectacular if overblown train crash).

Dare I say there is not one new thing in the entire campaign, though there are aspects brought about by possibly just my own tech purchases which have made the overall experience more immersive, such as the sound. I've never played one of these on a 55 inch TV before or with a sound system where the floor is actually shaking along to the explosions. I'm sure my neighbours don't approve, but it's pretty amazing in small doses. I'm sure these things were probably available on PS2 and 3 though for those who had it.

The cut scenes look spectacular, the 'I can move my head in this' parts also really great, but there's a noticeable drop off in quality once the game starts. It's that old engine again with a load of stuff layered on top of it. So for every crappy fire effect or skirting on the stairs animation, there will be lighting or a particular scene that looks truly incredible (such as the opening of level 2 before you load up onto your tank). It's Pro Enhanced, so it would be interesting to know what specifically has been added compared to the normal version. Loading is ultra quick, practically nonexistent, restarts immediate, and I've not noticed any screen tearing or frame rate issues. So if any of that exists on the Xbox One and PS4 versions that's presumably what's been rectified. I don't know if it's outputting in 4K (in motion it's genuinely very difficult to tell between 1080p, 4K checkerboarding and native 4K on a 4K TV - you'd probably have to put it side-by-side).

I think you could easily give the single player a 6 or an 8, depending on whether you've ever played this stuff before or not, or how interested you are in playing it all over again.

Does the campaign have local co-op? I'm guessing not but I can always hope (and a quick search didn't find me an answer)

Nope

There was perhaps a general feeling that CoD isn't that popular now... a perception that it was on the slide.

Well, Call of Duty: WWII made more than $500m in three days. It remains a massive title!

The Resistance mission is very good, probably my favourite so far. A lot of tank-based shenanigans later on (driving a tank, blowing up tanks, crouching up behind a tank etc). Nearing the end now I think looking at the Trophy unlocks. Campaign appears to be around the 7 hour mark including cut-scenes, so not too bad.

Interestingly, the Trophies are all pegged as "Rare", which I guess shows not many people are playing the Campaign at the moment, instead opting for zombies/multiplayer.

jawafour wrote:There was perhaps a general feeling that CoD isn't that popular now... a perception that it was on the slide.

Well, Call of Duty: WWII made more than $500m in three days. It remains a massive title!

It's the return to a WWII setting, people lap that up (especially in the US and the UK for obvious reasons). Virtually every one of my irl friends that used to play online together most nights every week weren't interested in any of the future or near-future games after Black Ops 2 but there's big interest in this one. Personally I'm not arsed about it as I'm not really interested in revisiting that setting and I found Infinite Warfare far more appealing.

jawafour wrote:There was perhaps a general feeling that CoD isn't that popular now... a perception that it was on the slide.

Well, Call of Duty: WWII made more than $500m in three days. It remains a massive title!

It’ll be interesting to see what era of warfare they choose next for CoD, the obvious choice would be Vietnam but there’s Korea to consider as well.

Mafro wrote:...Virtually every one of my irl friends that used to play online together most nights every week weren't interested in any of the future or near-future games after Black Ops 2 but there's big interest in this one. Personally I'm not arsed about it as I'm not really interested in revisiting that setting and I found Infinite Warfare far more appealing.

Yeah, I kinda prefer the modern / futuristic settings too, Mafro. It seems that the bulk of folk are keener on the older stuff!

I think the next game is a Treyarch one and they did the Vietnam stuff really well in Black Ops 1. Still think that was one of the best COD campaigns.

The multiplayer is weaker on the modern settings - all that jumping, sliding and wall running gooseberry fool wasn’t as good. Black ops 3 did it quite well but advance warfare and infinite warfare weren’t as good.

It’s a refreshing change to go Back. It has attracted a lot of its old fans back with that gambit.

I think they got too carried away with all the jetpack stuff, especially after Titanfall 1. It just didn't feel like COD any more.

Exactly that.

Call of Duty: World War II - Good luck getting off that beach

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