It’s been roughly a decade since Call of Duty breached the battlefronts of the historic World Wars, but with the upcoming release of Call of Duty: WWII, that’s all about to change.
Set for release on November 3rd, 2017, Activision and developer Sledgehammer Games gave us an idea of what to expect earlier today, satiating fans with a realistic, gritty depiction of war. Suffice to say, the bombast of previous titles has been left well behind.
Though they obviously didn’t reveal too much – saving a lot of the juiciest details for E3, no doubt – here are 7 key things we learned from Activision’s presentation.
You’re Playing As A Young Texan Man
You’ll play as 19-year-old Private Red Daniels in WWII, a young boy from Texas who says goodbye to his family and is plunged into the heart of war.
Along the way, you’ll come face to face with a new cast of characters, including William Pierson played by Josh Duhamel (who confessed on air that his character is a bit of a “dick), 1st Lieutenant Joseph Turner played by Jeffrey Pierce, and Red’s best friend, Private Robert Zussman, portrayed by Jonathan Tucker.
We’re Revisiting Normandy
The trailer dealt extensively with the Normandy beach landing, famously recreated in Saving Private Ryan and Medal of Honor, among many, many other films and video games.
IGN’s Marty Silva suspects that there’ll be a prologue level that sets the scene before plunging you head-first into the chaos of Normandy; a scene that asks that you avoid a hail of gunfire and get behind tank traps to stay safe.
It’s Not A Globetrotting Adventure
Cleverly, Sledgehammer has decided to limit Red’s involvement in the war to a few key moments, as the game takes place from 1944-1945 as the Allies push towards Germany. It follows the First Infantry Division in particular and takes in France and Belgium (including the aforementioned Normandy and Hurtgen Forest) as the battalion pushes towards Germany’s stronghold.
We’ll almost certainly not be visiting Asia, Italy, Russia or Africa, then. The developers have learned from past mistakes and are trying to tell a more focused story here. Still, Sledgehammer has promised that we’ll meet memorable characters along the way, including Special Operations Executives and French resistance fighters.
There’s a huge amount of emphasis placed on camaraderie as well; this word was mentioned several times during the reveal and there’s the sense that you’ll build a rapport with your superiors as well as your best friend, Zussman. At least, we hope.
Regenerating Health Is A Thing Of The Past
Marty Silva of IGN has played the game to some degree and spoke afterwards about some of the features he’d noticed. One of the big ones? The regenerating health mechanic of games past is… well, a thing of the past.
Instead, you’re going to need to rely on your AI squadmates for support, be it searching out the medic and grabbing a medkit when you’re injured or getting ammunition of another soldier.
Don’t expect to find trinkets littering the battlefield, then.
Published: Apr 26, 2017 02:58 pm