Terminata la open beta, we are ready to tell you some first impressions in the our preview of Call of Duty: Vanguard. The new chapter is based on WWII clashes, with a decidedly Sledgehammer Games twist. Clearly we are not dealing with a simulation title and the freedoms taken are different, but this does not scare us. COD is famous for something else, certainly not for historical realism and, for us, that’s okay. The beta allowed us to touch the last stages of development awaiting the official launch scheduled for early November. At the moment, we don’t want to give a definitive judgment on the title, also because we have really tried too little to express ourselves so thoroughly. With our preview of Call of Duty: Vanguard we want to tell you a little about what we have experienced, waiting for the release.
Call of Duty: Vanguard Preview – A Step Back?
To be honest, the Call of Duty: Vanguard beta wasn’t the best ever. This happens for different reasons, some certainly negligible, others a little less. During our game preview, we stumbled upon some small technical problems, in particular related to some glitches. Nothing striking and not even that absurd. All in all, in a beta phase, we can accept it without any problem.
What hasn’t wowed us too much, however, is the rest of the technical side which seems to be a bit superficial and approximate. The constitution of the characters, in fact, does not surprise at all positively. The details appear to be less than in previous titles. We lose some realism and find a sketchy style. Again, nothing too striking for a shooter that focuses on very fast and decisive gameplay. The real problem is that, although the details are not in top form, the title will have a considerable weight. What seems more accurate, however, are the weapons; these are all very beautiful to look at and above all to play.
A bit’ as with every FPS in its debut, Call of Duty: Vanguard also suffers from a weapon imbalance. As usual, sniper rifles show themselves a step above the others. In this case, not only for the firepower, but also for their fast reload and good stabilization. I am sure, however, that this will be a detail that will be corrected and taken care of during the early stages of the game. Creating a fully balanced FPS at launch is utopia.
Still too little
What was proved in the our preview of Call of Duty: Vanguard is still too little. We’ve only seen four multiplayer maps and nothing more. Those shown had something interesting, no doubt, but even here the level design was not the best presented. There are a lot unbalanced map areas, some spots sparsely populated and others too advantageous for one team or the other. Unfortunately, on some occasions, being born on one side (or the other) of the map, determined the outcome of the battle from the beginning. Interesting, however, the destruction (certainly we are not talking about Battlefield), but the possibility of some breach becomes interesting for the game strategy.
Another sore point is respawn. This is a point on which other previous chapters had not given their all and, even in Vanguard, we are not at all satisfied with it. Not so much the points, but more than anything else the respawn criterion: on many occasions we have been reborn in the middle of the battle, dying without having had a chance to fire a single bullet.
The title will be released on November 5, 2021 and that will be the moment of truth. We will wait for that date to be able to deliver our final verdict.