I was playing numerous Call of Duty over a little over two hours last week: the next multiplayer maps of Vanguard with other members of the press and influencers/streamers/pros some of whom were far far better than me – but at moments, I think that I have owned it.

On four distinct maps we played various different modes, and I will go into further depth below. Let's first discuss how Sledgehammer Games will be used, gun play and an overall vibe of the next WW2 shooter. Because I did not have access to all 16 MP maps or modes, and could not test all the various weapon, clearly these impressions are restricted.

Gameplay, Modes And Combat Pacing

We played numerous different modes with Sledgehammer and Activision. Some of you undoubtedly know Domination (catch and hold 3 points) and Kill confirmed (TDM with dog-tags you have to collect). We just played the Patrol in the new level, which is fundamentally hard but always goes across the battlefield on an unseen path.

Patrol mode is a fresh and entertaining addition I enjoyed. You can never bunker down and defend a fixed position as it is continuously moving, therefore the game style is a lot more dynamic than Hardpoint. Enemies from all sides can come to you and defenders are allowed to leap on. Everything's really messy.

In 6v6 and large team format I played these modes. A little bit perplexing is Vanguard's new "fight pace" system, that is a great method to choose which size squads you want on a particular map. Something like this goes to fight Pacing:

  • Tactical - Player experience Classic 6v6
  • Violence – Balanced fighting, giving you sufficient space to breathe and a great number of targets to kill. Player numbers range from 20-48 people in multiplayer beta.
  • Lightning - High action lobbies with a curling of intensity.

During the demo session, we played Tactical and Blitz. Tactical is your standard game 6v6, which is my favourite when it calls for duty (save for the special modes I enjoy Gunfight or War Mode)

6v6 worked very well on smaller maps, however one was too huge for such a limited number of players during the demo session (Red Star). We tried it later and that was too chaotic in Blitz mode. Perhaps "assault" is going to be right. We're going to see.

It felt rather decent gunplay. There are many of parallels with things like the double- sprint and the game feels as a whole, as the game is made from the same engine as the Modern Warfare. It may be a little quicker and a little more sharp—Modern Warfare has a dull realism, essentially the reverse of the quick arcade approach of Cold War. Somewhere in the centre I'd say Vanguard falls.

Naturally, the weapons are very different. All these are WW2 weapons, but the fundamental principles remain. You have a sniper rifle, a super quick turning shotgun, SMGs, and Assault Rifles, and a tactical rifle with the M1 Garand (at least that was the only one I recall seeing during the demo). M1 Garand is a classic weapon but I didn't use this much, mostly holding on to the Assault Rifles.

The second major feature to the multiplayer is walls that may be destructed. These are particularly visible since they are mainly boards rather than walls. You may fire, slide or fill them in, open new ways or take down opponents that are erroneously covered. In terms of destructive settings, this is really the barest of bare minutes and I think it adds nothing to the game and may really make it fairly distractive—but not as terrible as in Champion Hill mode, with spawn killing a direct consequence.

All in all, I had pleasure with the multiplayer online session, but the experience as a whole has yet to be sold out. Partly because I am acclimated at this time to Black Ops Cold War and nothing seemed as wonderful or as natural in Vanguard, even maps. Let's have a look at the ones after that.

Maps

On the four maps we played during our meetings, one thing I will say is that they were all quite distinct from one other. This contrasts with the Champion Hill mode, which seems very comparable in terms of colour palette, all of which were brown, grey and green in military style. It was quite difficult for such maps to observe opposing players. It didn't really matter at the MP session.

EAGLE’S NEST

Eagle's nest—the iconic mountain base of Hitler—was one of the four maps we played on the smallest. It consists of three lanes and a complex. The left-hand side of the road skirts along a wooden footpath or a more open outdoor corridor, passing through the windows and interior walkways. The right lane is a large outdoor passageway that may be used on both sides.

However, the most of the action is taken inside. A number of medium-sized rooms with many exits and entrances on either side are available. This map is quite chaotic, as most commitments are in the immediate vicinity. I'm going to admit, I didn't enjoy this flow, but neither did I dislike it.

GAVUTU

Gavutu is a tiny map of the island of South Pacific. There are several twisting routes, a long open centre road ideal for snipers, and many exploration areas. The locations A and C are both on the playground on a Domination map while Bravo is in the greatest complex. Here, from the roof up and down to the inside, the point is, an intriguing twist, a tank on a platform.

I really loved the map. It's medium to huge, but I think it works rather good in 6v6, at least in objective modes. This was our first map and in Patrol mode we played.

HOTEL ROYAL

The Hotel Royal is a midsize map, primarily an inside, but has a roof and lanes on both sides to fight. The roof is decorated in two atria and you can smash glass and fall from above on the suspicious foes. There is a lot of covering inside, bars and several different areas.

It was rather a fun map, although for whatever reason I admit I played fairly badly. You're on your game sometimes, you're not occasionally on your game.

RED STAR

Graphics, Killstreaks, Etc.

Vanguard looks okay graphically, but nothing amazing. Modern Warfare had a slightly colourless palette yet it worked in a realism conjuring a distinct sense for the game. Cold War's Black Ops gave way to reality to shining colours and varied settings. This facilitated the spotting of adversaries and contributed to the enjoyment of the game. At the beginning I did not like it as much, but it went up and I prefer it to the stupid presentation of Modern Warfare.

Again, Vanguard falls in the middle somewhere. It's not as unpleasant as Modern Warfare, but not as colourful as Cold War.

Speaking of Cold War, Treyarch accomplished some amazing stuff with Vanguard and the much bigger control points in Dom and Control and Hardpoint modes. Those modifications I really liked, but now we are back to considerably smaller points.

I'm also a bit bumpy about Killstreaks being back instead of Scorestreaks. Killstreaks punish goal-based play and reward killing. Players like myself who each time die too much to acquire many killstreaks, hurl themselves on the objective. Only when I disregarded the Doms and played as a sniper did I get my all in a single match. This is a strange stimulus. You're just screwed as Killstreaks reset on death.. Cold War's system, which encourages remaining alive but does not reset a streak on death, is my favourite. Here are the Killstreaks that we are aware of.

  • Intel: 3 kills (Personal Radar)
  • Spy Plane: 4 kills
  • Counter Spy Plane: 4 kills
  • Glider Bomb: 5 kills
  • Care Package: 5 kills
  • Strafe Run: 6 kills
  • Dogs: 10 kills

The mini-map is the same as Modern Warfare, meaning that when they fire unsuppressed weapons, players are not revealed as red dots on the map. There is a radar advantage which turns this feature on, but naturally removes other beneficial advantages. I'm not sure why we go back to that method, which pulls important information out of players, but I think it's even a bit on the field, and hamstring better players for leisurely guys.

Verdict

All in all I have had fun with the multiplayer from Vanguard but I have to spend a lot more time there to truly get a complete feel for what I'm expecting from this game. There are a lot of firearms to select from. The gunplay is really amazing. Since Gunsmith is back, you may select from all the fastener combinations to your heart's delight.

We'll have a lot of opportunity to dive in and out more arms and get a good sense of the Vanguard's gameplay cycle with a couple of Beta weeks. I'm cautiously optimistic—not sold at all.