Overview
Call of Duty: Vanguard builds its campaign around several theaters of World War II rather than a single front. Arthur Kingsley, Polina Petrova, Lucas Riggs and Wade Jackson successively explore Western Europe, the Eastern Front, North Africa and the Pacific before their paths converge around the formation of Vanguard.
Developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision, the game was released on November 5, 2021. The platforms listed in this entry are PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC. The associated genres are action and FPS. The specified game modes are Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative and Split screen, and the engine listed is the IW Engine.
The campaign uses this ensemble structure to vary its combat situations. Sequences dedicated to the different protagonists notably include infantry combat, precision shooting, airborne operations and piloting, with each character bringing an approach connected to the front where their story takes place.
Multiplayer, meanwhile, develops reactive environments. Certain fragile walls, doors, windows and sections of scenery can be destroyed during combat, gradually opening new lines of fire and altering some routes over the course of a match.
This interaction with cover is accompanied by several additional possibilities. The player can mount a weapon on a surface and then move it along that surface, while blind fire allows them to return fire from cover while exposing their character less directly, at the cost of reduced accuracy.
Vanguard also introduces Combat Pacing, which allows players to influence the desired density of combat in Quick Play matches. Tactical, Assault and Blitz categories vary player concentration and therefore the overall rhythm of the same type of match, from more spaced-out engagements to much more continuous combat.
The Gunsmith simultaneously deepens weapon customization. Many weapons can receive a large number of attachments, with some configurations allowing up to ten to be equipped at once. Barrel, muzzle, optic, stock, ammunition type and other components can therefore alter the behavior of the same weapon.
Among the new formats, Champion Hill takes the form of a survival tournament spread across several arenas. Teams have a limited number of lives and alternate between engagements while using earned resources to improve their equipment.
Patrol, meanwhile, adopts the principle of area control, but its objective moves continuously across the map. The team must therefore follow and defend a mobile zone rather than hold a fixed position for the entire duration of its capture.
The third major component is Zombies, which continues the Dark Aether continuity introduced in Black Ops Cold War by moving it into the context of World War II. Der Anfang serves as the starting point for this new confrontation and connects several areas through portals.
Rather than relying solely on a succession of rounds in the same arena, Der Anfang requires players to complete different objectives accessed through these portals. Progression then expands the available area and gradually strengthens equipment before players set out on new missions.
Players collect different resources that can notably be used to upgrade their weapons, craft equipment and strengthen their protection. The Altar of Covenants adds upgrades with varying effects, giving each match a combination of abilities that can evolve according to the options offered.
Exfiltration also returns: after progressing far enough, the team can attempt to leave the area and end the match, or continue completing objectives and facing increasingly dangerous enemies.
Vanguard therefore connects its three components through the same reinterpretation of World War II. The campaign crosses four fronts through several protagonists, multiplayer transforms environments and the pace of engagements, while Zombies adapts the Dark Aether systems to a different historical setting.
Key takeaways
- The campaign notably follows Arthur Kingsley, Polina Petrova, Lucas Riggs and Wade Jackson across four fronts of World War II.
- Their paths converge around the formation of the international special operations unit Vanguard.
- Multiplayer introduces reactive and partially destructible environments capable of changing certain lines of fire.
- Blind fire and moving a mounted weapon expand the possibilities offered by cover.
- Combat Pacing allows matches to be oriented toward Tactical, Assault or Blitz engagements.
- The Gunsmith allows certain weapons to equip up to ten attachments simultaneously.
- Champion Hill functions as a survival tournament organized across several arenas, while Patrol revolves around a moving control zone.
- Zombies continues the Dark Aether with Der Anfang, its portals, objectives, the Altar of Covenants and exfiltration.
Conclusion
Vanguard treats World War II as a conflict spread across several theaters rather than as a campaign centered on a single unit from its opening missions. The journeys of Kingsley, Petrova, Riggs and Jackson therefore give the campaign a structure that regularly shifts between fronts and combat situations before bringing them together.
Multiplayer has a more direct effect on the immediate structure of engagements. Localized destruction can open new lines of fire, Combat Pacing changes their density and the Gunsmith greatly expands weapon transformation.
Zombies finally continues the systems introduced around the Dark Aether by reorganizing them around portals and successive objectives. Campaign, multiplayer and co-op therefore use the same historical setting while building three distinct approaches to combat.
Good to know
- Call of Duty: Vanguard was released on November 5, 2021.
- The game was developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision.
- The platforms listed are PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC.
- The associated genres are action and FPS.
- The specified game modes are Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative and Split screen.
- The engine listed is the IW Engine.
- The campaign crosses Western Europe, the Eastern Front, the Pacific and North Africa.
- Multiplayer notably introduces Combat Pacing, Champion Hill, Patrol and reactive environments.
