Games

Call of Duty: WWII Beta Kicks Ass

Despite being small, the Call of Duty: WW2 Beta explosive and fast-paced.

The Call of Duty: WWII Beta blasted off last weekend on the PlayStation 4, and after dozens of hours of playtime, we can positively say that CoD: WWII is going to kick ass. The beta, though small, introduced players to the gritty and harsh reality of World War II as seen through the eyes of a classic, boots-on-the-ground Call of Duty title.

Mesmerising Audio

The visuals and audio work together to create a realistic World War 2 experience.

One of the first things you will notice about Call of Duty: WWII is the dramatic shift in audio. No longer do guns sound sci-fi and sleek; instead they sound hard, bulky, and extremely impactful. Each shell you fire from a Commonwealth will rattle your teeth, every squeeze of the trigger when firing an STG44 will follow through with a spit-fire of lead. The weapons sound straight out of the time period, and that’s before we even get to the satisfying ping of the M1 Garand.

Then there’s the audio from everything going on around you. The scream of an enemy bomb as it tears through the air is enough to weaken any CoD veteran’s knees as they sprint for any kind of cover. The airships and the mounted machine gun fire tear up the sky and the ground as dirt, mud, water and muck splatter around you. If the feel and visuals don’t make you think you’re right in the middle of trench warfare, the audio will pull you down into the mud and let you know where you are!

When using a headset like the Elite Pro with the Tactical Audio Controller, the subtle sounds are highlighted, allowing you to hear the footsteps of enemies, every reload they make, and every call they give out. It’s enough to give you the edge over your opponents, giving you precious moments to prepare for your next attack.

New Gamemode

The new mode "War" adds objective-based combat to Call of Duty.

Long-time Call of Duty fans will be extremely pleased to hear that Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint return, but more importantly, a new mode enters the fray. Known only as “War”, this new mode pits two teams against one another in a classic, attackers versus defenders scenario.

Attackers must continually assault an objective, whether it’s capturing a house, building a bridge, planting a bomb on an ammunition storage, or supporting a tank through a street, the whole gametype demands teamwork and communication.

Meanwhile, the defenders must do everything they can to prevent the attackers pushing them back. It’s a superb addition to Call of Duty that focuses entirely on objective-based gameplay. This will likely become a classic Call of Duty mode that ships with every game from now on, but what’s most exciting is how this will translate into the eSports arena.

Loadouts and Attachments

Pick your soldier, Division, weapons, attachments, and more in CoD; WW2.

Call of Duty: WWII allows you to create multiple loadouts, this time called “Divisions”. Each Division belongs to a certain branch of the military: Infantry, Airborne, Mountain, Armored and Expeditionary. Each of these Divisions has access to its own specific weapons and attachments.

The Beta granted you the option to create your own or use a pre-made Loadout with weapons that would otherwise be locked until you ranked up. While you can use an Infantry weapon on an Airborne unit, you don’t receive the same rewards and it limits your progression.

Interestingly, some of the attachments you can unlock for your weapons are holographic sights and red dots in all but their name. There are also attachments that you would expect for each weapon, increasing their range, accuracy, rate of fire or some other statistic. Using these attachments, you can really begin to perfect your own playstyle as you level up your weapons and soldier. Moreover, certain weapons have unique attachments – the Airborne SMGs can have a silencer attached, helping keep you hidden.

Scorestreaks

Scorestreaks are back, but with a World War 2 theme!

Scorestreaks make a triumphant return, rewarding those players who are skilled enough to earn kills and complete objectives, all while avoiding death! From Molotov cocktails to recon aircraft, glide bombs and artillery barrage, each Scorestreak reward feels well-balanced and well-earned, if you can get the score to use them.

Though it’s only a small taste of what’s to come, the Call of Duty: WWII Beta gives an appealing insight into what we’ll be experiencing in November. With only a few days until Private Beta Weekend 2, make sure your pre-orders are placed so you can jump in on the action. See you on the field!