It often seems to write about the next Call of Duty It is pointless. Since the series has decided on a winning format, new parts differ from each other not much more than annual issues of sports simulators. Explosions became a little more beautiful, a slightly more diverse setting, the arsenal of the weapon was replenished with one or two experimental rifles, and the list of network modes-another variation of Deathmatch’a. It is not surprising that the flagship of the franchise today has become the "service" royal battle Warzone – regularly updated, but conceptually unchanged.
Nevertheless, the development of new full -fledged parts of the series continues. The finish line goes out Call of Duty: Vanguard, Continuation of the cycle Sledgehammer Games About the battles of World War II. On the eve of the open multiplayer beta test, I ran with a three-line on the roofs of Paris for several hours-and I hasten to tell how (not) the series has changed over the past year.
Ww2.0
Formally Vanguard is considered a sequel Call of Duty: Wwii four years ago. The action is still unfolding during the Second World War, although this time locations are not limited to the Western Front alone. The developers intended to cover the entire scale of the conflict at once: from Normandy hills to distant Pacific islands and snowy streets of Stalingrad.
The variety of landscapes affects the dynamics of the game well, but at the same time deprives it of the specifics. WWII events were as if locked in their own mini-universe: it was an isolated, deliberately leisurely and thorough story. Vanguard seems to be a re-sinus of last year Black Ops Cold War: The same global scope and the rapid pace of matches, the same green-beige hodgepodge from operatives from all over the world. Perhaps the impression was additionally lubricated because the press entrusted the fighters only from among the allies. The forces of the Wehrmacht and Imperial Japan seem to remain behind the scenes up to the release – apparently to avoid scandals on political grounds.
However, these restrictions do not apply to weapons. Arsenal affordable in beta versions includes all hits of the era: American Thompson, British Bar, German MP40 and 98K carbine, Soviet three-liner and Degtyarev machine gun with a branded disk store on top of the barrel. As a bonus-regional exotic, like the New Zealand machine gun NZ-41 and the experimental Italian rifle "Itra", which gives a powerful line of four shots, but then requires painfully long reloading. Middle -distance miss is often a fatal.
Almost everything available in Vanguard weapons was either already announced in WWII or has direct analogues in other parts of the cycle. This is especially true for murder awards, many of which are wandering in a franchise, regardless of the technical level of the era. Second World War Engineers have not yet come up with Predator drones? Not scary, we will use a similar controlled bomb with carefully illuminated goals. Veterans Black Ops I loved a radio -controlled machine with explosives? We blow the dust from the drawings of the German self -propelled mine "Goliath". Players often use flamethrowers and heavy armored vehicles "Jaggernaut"? Well, let's unite them in the same reward and call it … "Plyonaut"!
True, we were not given the last reward, warning us in advance: “Please do not use the flamethrower and Molotov cocktails, otherwise the game will break”. Judging by the fact that seven more were thrown to the aid of Sledgehammer (!) other studios, the development of Vanguard was really associated with some technical difficulties. But, to the honor of the authors, two and a half hours of the beta test passed quite stably. Perhaps the minimum but annoying lags attracted the most attention: judging by the murder repetition camera, some players left the shelter for half a second-second-second earlier than this was displayed by their victims.
Army Furious
The signal delay annoys especially when the match goes at high speed. The developers call this parameter Combat Pacing and give three “pace” battles to choose from. But here we are talking about the concentration of players on the map, and not about full -fledged new modes. According to the same rules (for example, in Kill Confirmed), you can play with different intensity – you just need to choose the desired pacing in advance when looking for a server.
The first option, Tactical, is designed for the minimum number of participants and is sharpened for e -sports: detachments of four people slowly and methodically advance to each other, holding their breath in anticipation. The second “pace” is called Assault and is a classic shootout 6V6, where a clash with the enemy occurs already 20-30 seconds after the revival. Finally, the most frantic battle is at the speed of Blitz: they throw up to 48 fighters into areas of small size, and each intersection turns into an exciting meat grinder.
However, the players have time to estimate their tactics on any intensity-at least in the traditional Team Deathmatch and Domination with their more or less understandable arrangement of the fronts. Those who want to know the absolute power of Chaos, a direct road to the new Patrol regime, which seems to be specially designed for Blitz Tempe. The usual Domination rules are turned inside out: the fighters need to hold only one control point, but it is not tied to a certain location, but slowly “migrates” throughout the map. The spectacle is at the same time comic (a crowd of armed men is chasing a white circle along the country road) and incredibly exciting. Enemies climb from all sides, and the conditions of the terrain are constantly changing.
As it was in charge of Call of Duty, the cards are taken more with a thought -out design than the size. Only four small arenas showed us, but they all differ in commendable verticality, a variety of combat situations and the elaboration of details. The press release also promises a limited interactiveness of the environment (some “tactical destruction”), but, alas, in beta version, interaction with the world is not realized even where it is openly suggested. Noticed a powerful tower gun on the nose of the ship, to which a separate ladder even leads? But no, this is just a beautifully designed sniper "nest". It remains to be content with the fact that at least wooden doors (and those who dared to hide behind them) can be spent through the machine gun.
Interestingly, all cards in the beta version of Vanguard are based on real locations. The most compact arena, Eagle’s Nest, recreates Hitler's residence on Mount Kelstein. The confusing network of rooms and corridors here leads to perfectly shot balconies and steep cliffs, along which you can carefully sneak into the rear of the enemy.
On a similar principle, Hotel Royale is arranged – luxurious penthouse in the very center of Paris. The battles there, as a rule, are concentrated along the cornices and around the central hall, where you can always run into camps armed with shotgun, which are hidden behind the bar.
The Pacific Front is represented by the Gavutu card – a tiny island base, which American troops took in the summer of 1942 on the way to Guadalkanal. Despite the modest size, there was a place for the radio tower, and a wound cruiser, and a long coastline dotted with concrete fortifications. In general, ideal conditions for pumping assault rifles and light machine guns.
But perhaps the most vivid impression is made by Red Star – a free interpretation of the defense of Pavlov’s house in Stalingrad. All Hollywood iconography is on the spot: a fountain with dancing children, icy communities of trams, covered with dry linen corridors of houses and burned ruins of the upper floors where sniper duels do not silence. Of all the areas presented in beta versions, Red Star gives the greatest scope for tactics and requires players not only the reaction speed, but also the knowledge of the map.
Of course, this is only the first acquaintance with Call of Duty: Vanguard. In addition, it is very limited: 20 multiplayer cards, as well as a new global location for Warzone, will include a release version. The plot campaign in which the international detachment of the soldier (American pilot, the British paratrooper, the Australian Infantryman and the Soviet Snight Girl) participates in special operations around the world is also of great interest. Finally, it will not do without the Zombies mode, and the new story will continue the events of Black Ops Cold War.
PlayStation owners who pre-ordered the game will be able to join the beta test on September 10-13. And the cross-testing will pass in a week, from 16 to 20 September. The final release is scheduled for November 5, 2021 – there is just enough time to repair flamethrows in the game!
- How refunds kill developers – a sad story Summer of ‘58
- Review of the film "Shangi and the Legend of ten rings": a very quietly stealing tiger
- The story of Quake. To the 25th anniversary of the legendary shooter series