CoD as usual? Not quite: After two hours with the beta of Vanguard we draw a first conclusion about the multiplayer.
It’s no secret that Call of Duty and Battlefield have increasingly fished in each other’s pond in recent years. Modern Warfare suddenly staged big battles with vehicles and helicopters in 2019. Battlefield specifically lured fans of chaotic infantry battles without a breather, with modes like Grind and maps like Metro.
But CoD Vanguard now seems to want to break the cycle. We were able to test the multiplayer extensively ourselves and noticed immediately that the developers are deliberately relying on the old strengths of the series without throwing the progress of Modern Warfare out the window, as they did with Black Ops Cold War. But does this calculation also work out?
Just so that no misunderstandings arise: By the “old strengths”, we of course mean fast arcade shoot-outs, in which above all reaction skills and a nimble trigger finger are required – Vanguard also unsurprisingly does not fundamentally change the Call of Duty formula.
But where Modern Warfare and Cold War still tried (with rather poor success) to copy Battlefield, Vanguard sets its own accents and stages larger mass battles in a very clever and simple way.
No more Battlefield copy
Through the so-called combat pacing, we can determine how many players should take part in a match. No matter which map and which game mode, from the classic 6vs6 up to 84 players, almost anything is possible, but on the way we are always on foot. This is a clear departure from the shaky attempts with Ground War from MW and Combined Arms from Black Ops Cold War. With their often chaotic match progression and questionable vehicle balance, these were not particularly successful or fun.
It’s been clear since 2019, therefore, that in order to successfully steal a march on Battlefield, it would take far more than a few maps that are as large and winding as possible, on which you slap vehicles and then expect an exciting match to develop. Vanguard, however, doesn’t even try to ingratiate itself with Battlefield, but instead merely enlarges the scale of the usual Domination or Kill Confirmed rounds.
And this worked surprisingly well in our first rounds: In 20vs20 on the Pacific map Gavutu, a great flow is established surprisingly quickly, clear front lines emerge and an exciting tug-of-war for the mission objectives begins. A large group of our team storms the beach first, pushing the enemy back to a rusty shipwreck in the interior of the island.
Our opponents fall back to a row of palm trees that provide good cover and pick us apart with machine gun fire. As a result, some of our teammates run around the enemy line and attack from behind. The map offers enough running paths to fall into the flank of the enemy or to take up defensive positions around your own flags. A dynamic up and down game develops.
For example, that’s because this time nothing upsets the balance of weapons, killstreaks and gadgets, all of which are designed for infantry combat. Of course, the big Vanguard variants are a bit more hectic than usual. But they remain down to earth in the truest sense of the word and still offer a nice change from the gameplay of the time-honoured 6vs6 battles, without losing the identity of Call of Duty along the way.
At the same time, they also satisfy the grind needs of shooter fans when it can just be mindless action. After all, it’s no secret that Shipment from Modern Warfare and Battlefield maps like Metro or Locker are still extremely popular for simply experiencing purist run&gun.
Vanguard cleverly addresses this urge for shooter grind: Combat Pacing allows me to experience the meat grinder anytime, anywhere at the touch of a button. On the other hand, those who don’t feel like continuous fire without interruption simply stick to the standard setting with the somewhat more leisurely pace of play and don’t have to click Cancel in matchmaking when the “wrong” map suddenly appears in the rotation.
And before anyone calls for a shooter revolution because of this: Vanguard’s mass battles still feel like CoD. Just a little more intense. Conversely, this also means that anyone who hasn’t been able to get on with the series’ uncomplicated after-work shooting will definitely not be happy in 2021 either!
The Modern Warfare Evolution
Happy, however, will definitely be all those who already had fun with Modern Warfare, because Vanguard builds consistently on the game mechanics of the 2019 spin-off. Mounting, i.e. propping up and stabilising weapons on obstacles, is back in an expanded form, so that we can now even move along surfaces or shoot blindly from cover.
The tactical double sprint, interactive (and now destructible) doors, and a massive arsenal of weapon attachments are also back on board. Speaking of attachments: The Gunsmith should once again become a true paradise for weapon tinkerers, offering up to 60 different conversion options for some guns, from aiming sights to grips to entire calibre conversions.
This time, however, we no longer have to guess what the effect of an attachment will be, but can see in detail in the statistics menu how damage, recoil, spin, reload speed or aiming accuracy change. This is a sensible innovation, as we had to rely on the measurement results of youtubers in case of doubt in the predecessors.
How does it all feel?
An important factor for every shooter is the weapon handling and here CoD Vanguard is almost in no way inferior to the great role model Modern Warfare: The MG42 rattles deafeningly, shotguns spew smoke and sparks, and a volley from the Mauser C96 jerks the sights violently upwards. Hits are accompanied by smacking sounds and explosions or large-calibre bullets also send body parts flying.
The animations are done with attention to detail, such as when our character keeps his fingers on the breech when reloading the Kar98 so as not to waste a fresh round while repeating. So Vanguard finally brings Call of Duty back into the upper league in terms of gunplay. And when running, the character gives us a feeling of weight and momentum.
Somewhat sobering, however, is the destruction on the maps, which the developers praise so highly: Although wooden fences and barricades are broken in certain places, this rarely made a real difference in the games we played. The system even seems a little artificial, since only certain wooden constructions can be destroyed, while others can withstand even grenade fire. So the feature remains merely a nice gimmick without any real benefit.
By the way: If you just want to get an idea for yourself, you can also test the version we played yourself – we have summarized all the information about the Open Beta of Vanguard
CoD Vanguard: All info on Alpha, Beta and Champion Hill Mode
CoD Vanguard: All info on Alpha, Beta and Champion Hill Mode
