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Call of Duty: Vanguard Review

I didn't like cold war multi at all, but loved mw19 multi. Will this be to my liking?
It's a middleground between the two. It plays like MW but faster. Weapons have almost no recoil. It looks better than BLOPS. Mounting is back and the maps are huge. Too huge for some of the modes. On the other hand, the maps are ten times better than anything Black Ops had. So.. I'm loving it so far and I really hated Cold War.
 
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Played about 4 hours of multiplayer yesterday which I basically never do. WW2 is my favourite setting for these kinds of games and it using the MW engine is just everything I wanted. I really tried to get into Cold War but there’s just too much that I don’t care for in there. Not sure the reviews are going to mean much to anyone who is in a similar position to me.
 
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DinoD

Member
I'm half way through the campaign. Its okayish. Being temp. immobile due to the back problem, it helps to kill some time just nicely. On PS5. There are some serious frame drops when stuff gets really busy, and sound goes out of sync in the cut scenes. Not ideal but also not a deal breaker. Will try MP and Zombies over the weekend.

Edit: a couple of additional observations. (Campaign)
- sound in the game is really good. gunfire sound changes depending on the environment where its fired.
- lightning seems really good.
- enemy AI is pretty dumb on regular diff level.
- dual sense implementation seems nice. gives a nice sense of weight to weapons.
-
 
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Ogbert

Member
I’m really, really not one of those types that constantly moans about ‘woke’ nonsense, but it’s beyond cringey in this.

The multiplayer lobby appears to default to black female soldiers ‘looking tough’. It’s embarrassing. To say nothing of the excruciating ‘play of the game’ where the same ladies do their Marvel ‘badass’ turn.

It’s just so lame.
 

clarky

Gold Member
I’m really, really not one of those types that constantly moans about ‘woke’ nonsense, but it’s beyond cringey in this.

The multiplayer lobby appears to default to black female soldiers ‘looking tough’. It’s embarrassing. To say nothing of the excruciating ‘play of the game’ where the same ladies do their Marvel ‘badass’ turn.

It’s just so lame.
Agreed. But surprisingly I'm really liking the multiplayer so far. I'll hang on until new game syndrome wears off for final judgement but I'm having fun so far. Better than I expected, but then again I'm treating it like filler until Halo arrives.
 
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I’m really, really not one of those types that constantly moans about ‘woke’ nonsense, but it’s beyond cringey in this.

The multiplayer lobby appears to default to black female soldiers ‘looking tough’. It’s embarrassing. To say nothing of the excruciating ‘play of the game’ where the same ladies do their Marvel ‘badass’ turn.

It’s just so lame.
I assume u are also aware that u unlock operators now by completing different tasks. The black female operator happens to be the first one everyone's unlocking. But I guess u'd know that if u had indeed played the game.
 

Arun1910

Member
These reviews must just be on Campaign, or at least heavily focused.

Been a long while since I've played CoD, but the MP is being praised a lot. I doubt reviewers really spent much time, or enough time there. It's very rare to see the CoD community praise a launch day.
 
This is the first cod ever I'm not going to buy. Actually preordered for the beta and cancelled. It's not dramatically bad. Just every year I buy it and barely touch. Last cod MP I really enjoyed was BO4.

Mad to think how I've bought so many of these things since the beginning. Fuck I'm old.
 
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Draugoth

Gold Member
Attack of the Fanboy - Diego Perez - 4 / 5 stars

All in all, Call of Duty: Vanguard is a solid yet unremarkable entry into the long-running franchise. On a technical level, it's one of the most impressive games out there right now. On a gameplay level, it's nothing you haven't seen before.
COGconnected - Trevor Houston - 84 / 100

Vanguard doesn’t stray too far away from the classic Call of Duty formula we have come to expect from the franchise over the past several years. In many ways, it’s a little more of the same. That said, Call of Duty: Vanguard is an incredibly robust package offering up tons of content for the buck. Zombies mode is far more enjoyable and varied, the single-player campaign is a visual stunner, and 20 MP maps at launch is nothing to sneeze at. If you have passed over Call of Duty over the last several years, it might be time to come back.
Digital Chumps - Ben Sheene - 9.5 / 10

Call of Duty: Vanguard continues the high standard set by 2019's Modern Warfare, providing a grounded, classic Call of Duty campaign, coupled with a deep multiplayer experience rich with progression and an inviting Zombies mode that welcomes all skill levels.
Eurogamer - Wesley Yin-Poole - No Recommendation / Blank

Vanguard won't join the pantheon of Call of Duty games, but it's a decent stop-gap for those waiting for Modern Warfare's return.
Filmweb - Michał Walkiewicz - Polish - 8 / 10 stars

If gaming industry was a family reunion, Rockstar would be unbearable neoliberal patriarch. Hideo Kojima would go as a pretentious cousin with film school diploma and degree in philosophy. „Call of Duty: Vanguard” on the other hand would be a heavy-drinking, wisecracking, jovial uncle who reminisces good ol’ war times, tells dad jokes and eventually makes a flatus ignition show with his zippo. It’s good to talk about virtues of art and have strong pacifistic beliefs. But parties without uncle are just boring.
Game Informer - Daniel Tack - 8 / 10

Vanguard is an overall solid pick with a lackluster campaign, a nascent but incredibly promising zombies experience, and multiplayer with a few critical new aspects.
GameSpot - Phil Hornshaw - 7 / 10

Tweaks in multiplayer and Zombies advance the Call of Duty franchise overall, and an emphasis on distinct characters makes Vanguard's story fun, but it doesn't always mix well with the series' gameplay.
Gameblog - Rami Bououd - French - 7 / 10

Call of Duty Vanguard isn't the part of the revolution, but clearly does the job, offering a title that will hold up for the year ahead.
GamesBeat - Dean Takahashi - Unscored

Call of Duty: Vanguard is a balanced game across the vectors of historical interest, good gameplay, variety, and a strong narrative. It ties everything together in a competent way that makes sense. That doesn’t mean it’s a spectacular game on the order of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which was a breakthrough game for the franchise because of its thoughtfulness and disturbing material. This is a good installment, but the stutter in combat makes me wonder if it’s as polished as it should be.
GamingTrend - David Burdette - 90 / 100

This culmination of all things Call Of Duty has resulted in something the entire series can look to, a blueprint on how to build a meaty and superb first person shooter experience.
Hardcore Gamer - Kevin Dunsmore - 4 / 5

Sledgehammer Games clearly had high ambitions when approaching their third solo Call of Duty project.
Hobby Consolas - David Martinez - Spanish - 87 / 100

Even failing at "showing World Wart Two like never before", Call of Duty Vanguard is a great FPS. Campaign is full of epic (and some dramatic) moments, multiplayer is fun and fast, and includes 16 maps (twice as the previous Call of Duty game) with plenty of modes and progression elements, and the new zombies mode is incredibly fun.
IGN - Simon Cardy - 7 / 10

Call of Duty Vanguard's highly polished campaign provides a healthy amount of fun, even if its brief length and lack of variety lead it to fall short of the classic pieces of war cinema it's trying to emulate.
[OpenCritic note: IGN is separately reviewing the campaign, multiplayer, and zombies modes. Their scores will be combined when finalized.]
PCGamesN - Ian Boudreau - 8 / 10

Opting for pulp fantasy over Spielbergian reverence for the era, Vanguard reinvigorates the World War II setting and charts a new path forward.
TrueGaming - Arabic - 8.5 / 10

Call of Duty: Vanguard offers us a mix of interesting stories, very fun group play phases and much-welcomed zombie innovations, already an experienc
 
Considering the amount of time they had to spend on this game and the whole working from home aspect it's quiet amazing how it all came together. I'm enjoying my time with its extremely fast past and over the top.
 
So playing this would be the married with children equivalent of Steve coming back and rolling around with Marcy

you have done it before but it feels like the same old chicken fillets
married with children ed oneill GIF
 
I'm half way through the campaign. Its okayish. Being temp. immobile due to the back problem, it helps to kill some time just nicely. On PS5. There are some serious frame drops when stuff gets really busy, and sound goes out of sync in the cut scenes. Not ideal but also not a deal breaker. Will try MP and Zombies over the weekend.

Edit: a couple of additional observations. (Campaign)
- sound in the game is really good. gunfire sound changes depending on the environment where its fired.
- lightning seems really good.
- enemy AI is pretty dumb on regular diff level.
- dual sense implementation seems nice. gives a nice sense of weight to weapons.
-
I’m sure they’ll patch out those performance issues, but man I miss the days when games didnt ship like this.
 

thatJohann

Member
Can’t wait for the DF video. Particularly for the FidelityFX CAS comparison on XSX and PS5. I got it on XSX and FidelityFX CAS does nothing. People saying it’s night and day on PS5. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

Reizo Ryuu

Member
Tweaks in multiplayer and Zombies advance the Call of Duty franchise overall
...yeah I'm gonna go ahead and not trust any if these reviews that praise zombies, it's a barebones pile of shit compared to CW zombies.
I don't think I've heard anyone, who actually plays zombies, call it an "advancement".
 
I'd still be playing CoD MPs without Skill based matchmaking. But never again until it's removed or at least significantly toned down.
 

Andodalf

Banned
...yeah I'm gonna go ahead and not trust any if these reviews that praise zombies, it's a barebones pile of shit compared to CW zombies.
I don't think I've heard anyone, who actually plays zombies, call it an "advancement".
Ever single Zombies influencer who played it early preempt much said it’s the worst zombies ever. Worse mechanically than last year, and with 0 round based maps. Last year the gameplay was liked but there was a lack of content. Now they’ve done worse in both ways. Oof.
 

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Ever single Zombies influencer who played it early preempt much said it’s the worst zombies ever. Worse mechanically than last year, and with 0 round based maps. Last year the gameplay was liked but there was a lack of content. Now they’ve done worse in both ways. Oof.

Zombies was thin at the start, but evolved by leaps and bounds over the year becoming one of the most fun ever.

This one is even thinner, and especially when compared to how CW Zombies is now... it simply isn't worth bothering with yet.
 

splattered

Member
I'm considering asking for a refund but also sorta wanna wait to see if it gets improved within the next few months. Last time I regretted a preorder like this was Anthem :(
 

thatJohann

Member
Does anyone see a difference in these two captures - one with FidelityFX CAS OFF and then ON using Xbox Series X

OFF:
459-D0-C26-EBB4-4-C59-A7-E2-DE9-B49243-DAA.png

ON:
32-C2174-C-7786-48-B4-94-FE-985051055-AC6.png
 

thatJohann

Member
Ooh I do see a difference now looking at my previous shots on Xbox Series X. Here's a zoomed in close up. look at the ground sharpness where the white crossing lines are. Somehow the fidelityFX CAS adds some kind of contrast to it that makes the highlights turn white instead of the regular red. See below:

FidelityFX CAS OFF (zoomed):
Fidelity-FX-CAS-OFF.png


FidelityFX CAS ON (zoomed):
Fidelity-FX-CAS-ON.png
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
Ooh I do see a difference now looking at my previous shots on Xbox Series X. Here's a zoomed in close up. look at the ground sharpness where the white crossing lines are. Somehow the fidelityFX CAS adds some kind of contrast to it that makes the highlights turn white instead of the regular red. See below:

FidelityFX CAS OFF (zoomed):
Fidelity-FX-CAS-OFF.png


FidelityFX CAS ON (zoomed):
Fidelity-FX-CAS-ON.png
You can see it on the light sources as well. Granted, could be the fog changing the image.
 

thatJohann

Member
Here's some more comparisons of FidelityFX CAS ON (.80) vs OFF on Xbox Series X.

FidelityFX CAS Off:
F6-C8366-B-5-BB5-4-BD1-A7-FA-649-AE9-C42-A25.png

FidelityFX CAS ON (.80)
2-D38-CE9-A-BFD4-4-EDD-8309-E5-F5677-B3-FA4.png

---
FidelityFX CAS Off:
349-B1951-7-C54-4786-B1-B8-B34177966-B94.png

FidelityFX CAS ON (.80):
554991-B2-90-BB-4516-AFAD-D241-D370-EED7.png

Also, side note the game is gorgeous and really enjoying the campaign and the WWII setting.
 

Stuart360

Member
I’m really, really not one of those types that constantly moans about ‘woke’ nonsense, but it’s beyond cringey in this.

The multiplayer lobby appears to default to black female soldiers ‘looking tough’. It’s embarrassing. To say nothing of the excruciating ‘play of the game’ where the same ladies do their Marvel ‘badass’ turn.

It’s just so lame.
Nothing will ever beat the black female Nazis in COD: WWII
 
Here's some more comparisons of FidelityFX CAS ON (.80) vs OFF on Xbox Series X.

FidelityFX CAS Off:
F6-C8366-B-5-BB5-4-BD1-A7-FA-649-AE9-C42-A25.png

FidelityFX CAS ON (.80)
2-D38-CE9-A-BFD4-4-EDD-8309-E5-F5677-B3-FA4.png

---
FidelityFX CAS Off:
349-B1951-7-C54-4786-B1-B8-B34177966-B94.png

FidelityFX CAS ON (.80):
554991-B2-90-BB-4516-AFAD-D241-D370-EED7.png

Also, side note the game is gorgeous and really enjoying the campaign and the WWII setting.

Would you put the avg play time above or below 10 hours ?
 
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