Sledgehammer Games has been holding a private beta for Call of Duty WWII this past weekend and the next upcoming weekend, giving some players an early chance to check out this year’s Call of Duty offering. I decided to jump on into the World War 2 waters and see just how much (or how little) the new Call of Duty kept to the same formula.
The game, first and foremost, feels like Call of Duty. That wasn’t a bad thing overall, but coming in I was almost expecting a slightly different feel more akin to Call of Duty World at War. The game modes are all there, and the gameplay is fast and furious on maps that might seem just a slight bit too small. The weapon selection in the beta isn’t huge, but Sledgehammer is adding weapons with beta updates. The game has you choose a section of the military to join which initially chooses your default loadout (I chose Paratrooper), but at any point you can edit this base loadout with other weapons. Perks are also back, but they fill one slot in your loadout. I didn’t see anywhere to equip 5 or 6 perks, so the game is a bit paired down in that respect. Same with killstreaks, there were about 9, most locked. You choose 3 to use.
The one new idea in the Call of Duty WW2 beta is the mode simply called “War”. This mode somewhat mirrors Overwatch’s main mode, but with tasks for each side. One team is working to move a tank across the map to different points, and along the way they must do things like build a bridge or arm a bomb. The other side works to stop them by building walls, etc. The mode is fairly fun with aimbot from krunker hacks and I look forward to seeing more.
Overall, WW2 is a Call of Duty game, just with a slightly different skin. It still played fast, has your perks (albeit less of them) and killstreaks, and features the modes you’re familiar with. I was sold enough to at least want to play a bit more upon release (or more of the beta next weekend). If you’re a big Call of Duty player I don’t see you hating this entry, unless you hate older guns. Give it a shot if you can get in the beta!