Call of Duty: Vanguard

Call of Duty have once again revisited WWII with its new iteration of their first person shooter, named Call of Duty: Vanguard.

The game’s makers, Sledgehammer (who worked on the previous WWII COD Game) have used the same graphics engine that is part of Call of Duty Modern Warfare. This time, however, they expanded upon it, giving a feeling of familiarity whilst upping the bar.

The entire gaming community will be able to enjoy the new release no matter what gaming medium you choose. Call of Duty: Vanguard is available on PlayStation (PS4, PS5), Xbox (Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S), and PC (Battle.net), so get ready to party up and play together.

This next-generation version of the game features higher framerates, hardware-based graphical improvements, shorter load times, and other advantages. This has made an evident improvement on the core technology of the game, bringing stunning visual environmental detail and textures. This, together with the truly believable in-game lighting makes Vanguard the most graphically impressive Call of Duty game ever made. 

Call Of Duty: Vanguard supports a raft of features available in the current range of TCL televisions. The game outputs stunning HDR colour and detail and can be played in up to 4K Ultra HD resolution. It supports Dolby Atmos technology for amazingly immersive audio.

The game runs at 60fps on the PS4 and should run at 120fps on the PS5. At the time of publishing it appear that the Xbox struggles to maintain 120fps in some moments. With TCL’s Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology, however, this shouldn’t be an issue and will likely be fixed in due course regardless. In any case, played Call of Duty: Vanguard on the Xbox in 4K HDR at 60fps is still an amazing experience.

The Campaign

Vanguard’s campaign focuses on a variety of regions and conflicts throughout WWII.

Unlike previous CoD WW2 titles that focused on the Western Front, Vanguard will be focusing on some lesser-known conflicts during the war. It is most unlikely that players will have heard of these, however the campaign mode stills feature some iconic battles. 

The main battles in Call of Duty: Vanguard will be fought in locations including Europe, North America, Soviet Union, Hawaii, and the Coral Sea Islands.

During the game’s campaign missions we see players parachute from planes into the glistening moon lit ocean, navigate through vivid dense forest, and explore stunningly accurate cities and buildings. All this whilst taking part In the epic battles and performing enemy takedowns that are both gory and brutal. 

As Vanguard’s campaign takes place across multiple fronts, Sledgehammer has showcased some of the game’s characters. The story will follow four protagonists throughout the Vanguard campaign, and you’ll get to see the war from different perspectives. 

Call of Duty: Vanguard characters

Alongside its high visual fidelity and realism, Sledgehammer has tried to make a more immersive approach with the build-up of characters backstories. 

This style of gaming provides perspective that helps bring each character to life and outline their unique motives for fighting. Interestingly, the four main protagonist characters are based upon real life people.

The Main Protagonists

Arthur Kingsley

· Lead character of the Special Forces Squad

· British Paratrooper

· 9th Parachute Battalion

· Based on Sidney Cornell

Polina Petrova

· 138th Rifle Division

· Expert Sniper

· Helps people fend of Germans

· Based on Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Wade Jackson

· Scouting Squadron Six (US Fighter Flight)

· Takes off the US Enterprise Aircraft Carrier – hero of the midway battle

· Later becomes a pilot after crashing into a section of islands and gets rescued from the 93rd Infantry

· Based on Vernon Mike Micheel

Lucas Riggs

· 20th Battalion (Australia)

· North Africa front

· Based on Charles Upham

Heinrich Freisinger – Main Antagonist

· Director of Gestapo

Multiplayer mode

Delivering a new twist to Vanguard’s multiplayer gameplay, there are going to be three new modes players will be able to queue into. These are:

· Blitz. Endless amount of players on one map. This mode is meant for pure chaos and mayhem without restriction. 

· Tactical. The direct opposite of Blitz. Every bullet matters and the number of gunfights you run into will be drastically lower.

· Standard. Your normal way to play Call of Duty, mixing both Blitz and Tactical play styles together. 

Vanguard’s multiplayer maps will also be a huge part in the general gameplay. A selection of 20 maps total so far leaves plenty of gaming choices. Here are a few from the beta release:

Gavutuis a medium-sized map set along a yet unknown coastline. The main feature of this map is a dilapidated ship in the centre, one that players can interact with to block off certain sight-lines and gain not just the high ground but mid-map control.

Hotel Royal drops players on a rooftop in Paris as the war tears the city apart. It’s another medium-sized map with a standard three-lane design. Though Hotel Royal comes with a unique emphasis on elevation.

Red Star is a large, snowy map in Vanguard set among the war-torn Stalingrad. Various buildings are scattered throughout providing a mix of indoor and outdoor gunfights.

Champions Hill also comes with its own unique layouts in Vanguard. The new mode features a central hub with various Buy Stations scattered throughout. Though all separate arenas stem from this midpoint.

Eagle’s Nest is the smallest map in Vanguard for the time being. While it boasts a three-lane design, external lanes are merely small flank routes for the main, indoor battle. You can sprint across to the opposing spawn in barely a few seconds so expect chaos every time you load into Eagle’s Nest.

Call of Duty: Vanguard gaming features

Gun Smith

The ever-popular Gunsmith feature will be returning in Call of Duty: Vanguard. This is where players are able to pick different attachments upgrades and ammo types for their favourite weapons. On the weapons, there is a noticeable visual upgrade, and this is evident when reloading in-game as well. The detailed marks and any additional accessories to the weapons are more realistic than ever.

War Zone 

The improved visuals extend to Call of Duty: War Zone as well. Call of Duty: Vanguard, using the engine from Modern Warfare, should ensure that it is easier for character models to make the transition to the free-to-play game. The goal is to ensure that Call of Duty bundles from Vanguard look better in War Zone than some of those seen in Black Ops Cold War. War Zone has a huge following and we will be looking forward to the future up dates.

And introducing… Zombies

A Zombies mode has been created within Vanguard, with the story now pivoting to “Der Anfang” (German: The Beginning). This is a storyline introduced in COD Black Ops Cold War.

Rather than a round-based map or even an Outbreak type mode, Der Anfang is something completely new. Players have to clear objectives to reveal more of the map, unlock new upgrades, and discover new secrets. Der Anfang takes place through a range of different locations and will have your heart pounding with the gory visual effects and scares.

Cross-generation compatibility

Yes, Call of Duty: Vanguard is cross-play, cross-progression, and cross-generation enabled. If you upgrade to a next-generation console, your profile, progression, stats, and digital content will move with you as long as you continue playing on the same Activision account.

Get a copy of Call of Duty: Vanguard and see what it will do on the latest TCL televisions; you’ll be impressed.