Sledgehammer Games has created a complete reboot of the original Call of Duty game with Call of Duty: WW2, wherein its familiar gameplay mechanics and fast-paced action sequences leave no opportunity to create an emotional bonding with the characters or NPCs in the game.
A novice gamer will be at ease with playing COD: WW2, thanks to the way too familiar mission objectives and set pieces in the latest game published by Activision. A sneak peek at the game's multiplayer reveal trailer from E3 seems to mirror the same kind of experience we had in the single-player campaign, albeit the NPCs are replaced by human players from across the world.
In the thick of action that a world war game often throws at you, one will barely notice the subtle improvements and earnest efforts of Sledgehammer Games in making players feel some kind of bonding with buddy NPCs in the game.
No doubt, the game's storyline keeps you hooked and engaged for several hours of playtime in the campaign missions. It also has crisp narratives and references to the emotional toll of war and memorial tributes for those who died fighting for their nation.
The storyline focuses entirely on the game's key character, a young American named Red Daniels. Daniels will be ably assisted by his rag-tag team of soldiers in their quest to preserve freedom in a world on the brink of tyranny, which reminds us of the popular American TV mini-series called 'Band of Brothers'.
Another biggest change in COD: WW2 is the addition of squad abilities that replaces self-healing mechanics. Players will now have to get first-aid and health packs from their teammate 'Zussman'. The game developer has left no stone unturned to make the in-game characters feel a sense of belonging to each other, even at times of war and atrocities.
With the addition of squad abilities, the COD: WW2 brings enhanced tactical combat experience to the fore. Talking about the challenges of creating the emotional connection between players, the game's multiplayer designer, Greg Reisdorf, had this to say in his recent interview with Techradar:
"It is hard to get across those emotions [in multiplayer mode]. A lot of the time in multiplayer mode we do have more freedom with that. I mean, it's multiplayer, you're there to have fun you're there to play it and that's what we want to get across to players. With that, it's all about the guns and the gunplay and being able to have that tactical combat is great."
There is no dearth of fun and entertainment for all those trigger-happy gamers around the world as the game promises the traditional run-and-gun style of gameplay with little emphasis on learning the true emotional turmoil of war.
If you are still hard-pressed to get a glimpse of the game's multiplayer mode in action, just check out the latest COD: WW2 reveal trailer from Sledgehammer Games:
