Saving Europe: Call of Duty WWII Review

It doesn’t happen very often that I review a First Person Shooter title. Over the years, as a matter of fact, Call of Duty is the only FPS I played, if you don’t consider the excellent Star Wars: Battlefront saga.

The reasons behind this fact vary, but they all come down to the fact that … I suck at these kinds of games…
Actually, to be honest, the main reason is that I like adventure games with a strong driver to the story plot, while FPS is often made for a multiplayer campaign where the story, although present, is not the main focus.

Anyway, sometimes you need to come to an agreement, especially when a close friend lends you such title saying: “Play this! I want to see it reviewed on the blog!“. And so I did it, and here is how it went.

Call of Duty: WWII is the fourteenth main instalment of the saga, and the title takes the game back to its roots, redefining World War II for a new gaming generation. New hardware means new opportunities to exploit, Sledgehammer knows it well, and the result is a breathtaking experience with great environmental effects and stunning visuals that takes the player right in the middle of the action.

Of course, it all starts on June 6th 1944, a date well known in the world for being my Mother’s birthday. Aside for that, it was also the D-Day, the day in which the Allied Forces landed in Normandy to free the world from the Nazi tyranny.
Landing on the beach is for sure a very tragic moment, particularly when you stop to think that what you are experiencing in the first person really happened to real (and very young) persons.

After surviving the landing and the following assault to heavily armoured bunkers, you will be thrown on the path that will take you across half Europe, passing from gentle rural French landscapes to Paris and, finally, to Germany.

During your “journey” you will have the opportunity to try out different types of gameplay, ranging from the classic run-and-gun to stealth sessions, without forgetting sniping, tank and air-to-air combat.

Most of all, despite the backbone story, is very well-known (the WWII), the plot tightens your bonds with your comrades and, despite being fairly short (something around 5 hours of playtime), it results rather deep and very enjoyable.

In addition to the single player campaign, the game also sports the usual online multiplayer component (competitive) and a cooperative Nazi Zombie mode, focused on finding secrets and uncovering Easter Eggs.

In the end, this might not be the best Call of Duty of all times, but the overall experience is

well worth the price you pay to get the game. As said, the graphics compartment is very solid, to the point that the cut-scenes look like a real-life movie; the story pace is well designed and perfectly alternates intense close-quarters combat with touchy and dramatic moments; finally, the sound part is perfect in any detail, from the sound of different weapons reloading to the environmental effects, with the only exception of the voice pipeline which is often too low in volume compared with the rest of the game. Aside from that, if you are into these kinds of games, you will surely appreciate this new version of CoD.

PS: once again, thanks to LordTindarus for providing the testing material.