Off the bat the CoD:WWII is solid. I’ve managed to play the
beta rather extensively and haven’t found anything that would prevent me from
buying the game. It has all the aspects one expects from a Call of Duty game
such as: create a class, fast pasted classes, snipers, shotguns, well designed maps.
Divisions
Divisions have replaced 'Create a Class'. Essentially, Divisions are 'Create a Class' with a special skill that provides bonuses to that
class. For more information please check
out my YouTube video on Divisions.
There are five divisions that you can choose from. When
you enter multiplayer for the first time you are asked to select a division.
You can change your division later (well, at least you were able to in the beta).
I don’t see this changing in live as the amount of rage on the forums would
probably overload the servers causing someone to go into early depressions
trying to fix it all.
Each Division has a “Base Perk” associated with it, or as
it’s known, a Division skill. As you level up the class you unlock Division
skills such as Sprinting for longer or extra attachments on your primary
weapons.
Let’s go over the five Divisions and their skills.
Infantry (Assault Rifle Class)
Division Skill:
- Bayonet
Division Training:
- Additional Primary Attachment
- Extra magazines
- Moving faster while aiming down sights
Airborne (Submachine Gun Class)
Division Skill:
- SMG Suppressor
Division Training
- Sprint for longer distances
- Climb over obstacles faster
- Increased sprint speed
Armored (Machine Gun Class)
Division Skill:
- LMG Bipod
Division Training:
- Immune to Shell Shock and Tactical equipment
- Take less fire damage
- Take less explosive damage
Mountain (Sniper Class)
Division Skill:
- Sniper Sharpshooter
Division Training:
- Invisible to enemy Recon Aircraft while moving
- Hidden to player-controlled Streaks
- Silent movement
Expeditionary (Shotgun Class)
Division Skills:
- Shotgun Incendiary Shells
Division Training:
- Select both Tactical and Lethal Equipment
- Throw equipment faster, farther and while sprinting
- Resupply equipment from killed enemies
When you reach the final rank of each of the Divisions you
will unlock the Divisions class specific prestige weapon. We couldn’t get this
in the beta because the developers wanted to save some stuff for the game
release, but it’s something to look forward to when the game releases on
November 3rd.
Potentials Problems with the Game
Balancing
Weapons need a little bit of tweaking
Teams need balancing put into place. I’ve had many games
where we got destroyed because the other team were all maxed leveled and we were
all level 1-5.
Lag and game matching
I noticed a few problems with net code that just did the
weirdest things. I would start shooting at someone and get half my magazine
out into him, then I would drop dead and on the kill camera I didn’t even look
his way. That was very frustrating and would be the only reason so far that I
would consider not getting the game. There were also games where it felt like I
was playing with a group of people on the moon. The lag was crazy. When I found
P2P games that were in my own country then it was amazing and enjoyable. The net code problem is ultimately what will make or break this game. The
game runs smoothly with very few problems. On the PS4 Pro it doesn’t run at 60
FPS. All my game recordings in at 29.9 FPS, which is good enough.
Melee
I personally don’t know the load out of WWII soldier but I’m
sure they carried a knife. You cannot one hit melee kill people anymore (unless
you have the bayonet). I’ve been killed many times due to the fact that when I
sneak up to people and try to melee them, I hit them once, and then I need to hit
them again. This does get a little annoying but one can learn to live with it I
guess.
A note for streamers
If you own a PS4 pro and are waiting to stream, I would
suggest not doing it. The stream comes out at 1080p but if you move, it becomes
beyond pixelated. This is due to the PS4’s H264 encoder. This is really
disappointing on Sony’s side. You are going to want to pick up a capture card
if you want to stream at any kind of acceptable quality. The Twitch services at
720p may be better, but I don’t imagine it would be much better to be honest.
War Mode
This is a new mode to Call of Duty and is unlike anything we
have seen before. It’s a lot of fun. You play as either the attacker or
defenders. The object for the attackers is to try and take over a strategic
building. You do this by having no defenders on the point and only attackers. Obviously,
defenders must defend. If the attackers get hold of the first point then they
move to stage 2/4. Stage two consists of trying to build a bridge to get the
tank to the other side. This mostly just turns into a sniper convention. Stage
three the attackers need to destroy an ammunition supply with a bomb. Only need
to plant a bomb and defend it. Stage four you need to escort your tank to the
final maker. However, if no one on your team is near the tank it will start to
retreat. There are checkpoints so the tank won’t go all the way back to the
start. If each of the tasks isn’t completed in the required time, the defenders
win. This mode is a lot of fun with most of the games coming down to the final
seconds. This does require your team to work together which can be next to
impossible when everyone is trying to get as many kills as possible. However,
it is indeed possible!
Overall
I can only speak from my multiplayer experience of the game
here. The game is good. There is a wide variety of class and gun (could be a
few more guns though, especially pistols), good selection of rewards and kill
streaks. All the game modes we have come to know, and War
Mode. We only go access to three maps in the beta but if the rest have the same
quality as them it will be great. Maps are fresh and have a good variety.
Things I miss
The exoskeleton abilities. I know this sounds strange but
I’ve becomes so accustomed to running on walls and double jumping. Game is still tons of fun and at least I don't have to deal with people flying past me. Thank you Sledgehammer Games for what looks to be an incredible game.
