Call of Duty franchise is undoubtedly one of the biggest franchises in the gaming world and the developer behind the franchise, Sledgehammer is now back with the next iteration of Call of Duty.
This time the study will yet again take us to the tour of World War II however, they’re trying not only a more global approach but according to sources, the studio will also spin the story with a bit of historical fiction.
So let’s discuss what the Call of Duty: Vanguard’s campaign will look like with its World War II viewpoint. The developers stated that they want Vanguard to be true to history by taking heavy inspiration from real people and events.
However, they want the game to ask a very important question regarding the events and that question is “what if?”. Sledgehammer will be introducing Project Phoenix, a fictional operation schemed up by the remaining members of the Nazi party who are trying to find a successor to Hitler after the fall of Berlin.
And our plot starts, we will have special forces formed by a group of four individuals which the Allied powers put together to combat the plot. From the rumors, it’s expected that the story will primarily follow Sgt. Arthur Kingsley, the leader of the squad.
There will also be a story and playable option with each of the other three members on their corresponding war fronts (Eastern Front, Western Front, Pacific, and North Africa) where they each prove their bravery and capabilities before being tapped for this special unit.
- Sgt. Arthur Kingsley (Western Front) is a member of the 9th Parachute Battalion in the British army. His character is based on Sidney Cornell, a paratrooper who played a part in Operation Tonga. For Kingsley, Campaign Creative Director David Swenson explained he has to take charge and successfully help complete the operation to make a particular beach safe for D-Day the next morning. Kingsley is voiced by Chike Okonkwo and written by Tochi Onyebuchi.
- Lt. Polina Petrova (Eastern Front) is a member of the Soviet Union’s 138th Rifle Division inspired by Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a sniper nicknamed Lady Death. Petrova’s story starts in her home of Stalingrad where she worked as a nurse and is eventually becomes an ace sniper when her home is invaded by the Germans.
- Cpt. Wade Jackson (Pacific Front) is a pilot of Scouting Squadron Six of the United States Navy. Inspired by the actions of Vernon “Mike” Micheel, Jackson fights in the Pacific Battle of Midway before being shot down over the Solomon Islands and must adapt to fighting on the ground with a team.
- 2nd lt. Lucas Riggs (North Africa) is an Australian infantryman in the 20th Battalion. He’s inspired by Charles Upham and the Rats of Tobruk. Riggs fights as one of these Rats of Tobruk in North Africa to take out opposing forces there.
Sledgehammer also has revealed some light details about the multiplayer details coming to the Call of Duty: Vanguard which is that the game will have 20 multiplayer maps at launch that are set across the Western, Eastern, Pacific, and North African fronts.
And out of the 20 multiplayer maps, 16 are 6v6 maps and four are 2v2 and as far as customization goes, Sledgehammer is bringing back Gunsmith and adding custom ballistics and ammo types to the game.
Mounted weapons can also be moved across surfaces and multiplayer mode will also have “reactive gameplay environments,” or breakable elements like boards and other weak structures in the map, which will allow players to open new paths and vantage points in the game.
The game will also introduce a search option that will work across all maps and modes making the multiplayer mode a little less hectic. This tool is called Combat Pacing which changes the player count through these three options:
- Tactical – Fewer players for slower gameplay
- Standard – 6v6 traditional player count
- Blitz – More players for chaotic, fast gameplay
