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Call of Duty: Vanguard is the newest addition to the first-person shooter legacy franchise. Players step into the combat boots of the first SOF team, consisting of individuals from various backgrounds.
The campaign takes place during World War 2 and features four distinct theaters of war — the North African Campaign, Eastern and Western Fronts, and the Asia Pacific War.
Call of Duty: Vanguard — The Fourth Reich
Developed by Sledgehammer Games, Vanguard is based on the tried and tested narrative-driven FPS formula. Much like its predecessor, Call of Duty: WW2, the game focuses on individuals who impacted historical events.
Gamers take control of four distinct personnel during the war to undercover Nazi secrets. Many of the heroes are based on real-life inspirations and their heroic deeds.
The Call of Duty: Vanguard campaign has nine action-packed missions and is spread across different theaters of war. One by one, users will get to relive the daring heroics of each member of the first SOF team in their respective region.
Even though justice is done to the characters, their backstories come and go in a flash. The timeline is somewhat of a blur, with players jumping back and forth to relive history.
Nevertheless, the "Vanguard" is a bunch of happy-go-lucky Nazi killing machines. Their sole purpose in life is to stop operation "Phoenix" and destroy the Fourth Reich before it gets the chance to even begin.
An Englishman, Australian, American, and Russian walk into Nazi Germany
There are a total of six protagonists, out of which five are playable, with one having a rather shortlived cameo. Nevertheless, they all stand out in their own rights and add flavor to the game.
1) Arthur Kingsley - "You'll speak with me"
Arthur Kingsley is not the everyday average British soldier. Aside from being multilingual, he's also a person of color. While this may not seem like much at first, it plays a vital role in the story's narrative.
As the leader of the SOF team, he likes to run a tight shift and will get the job done no matter the cost, even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice for the team. A true hero in every sense.
2) Polina Petrova - "You do not scare me, little mouse"
Polina Petrova is inspired by the real-life Russian sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, aka "Lady Death". After losing her father at the hands of the Germans, she trades in her medic armband for his sniper rifle. Her goal in life is simple, "kill Nazis".
3) Wade Jackson - "That's why we brought the guns, to shoot them"
Egotistic, over-enthusiastic, and always looking for a fight with anyone, Wade Jackson is more daredevil than an American ace pilot. Based on real-life inspiration Vernon Larsen Micheel, this hero will do whatever it takes to see the mission through.
4) Lucas Riggs - "Folks like me are expendable"
Lucas Riggs is part of the Australian-led Allied Garrion, nicknamed the Rats of Tobruk. He prefers actions over words and rushes headfirst to deal with the situation. Even though strategy may not be his strong point, he manages to come out on top of things.
5) Richard Webb - "Just waiting on you boss"
Richard Webb is the right-hand man and friend of Arthur. After forming an unlikely friendship during Operation Tonga, the duo became inseparable. However, unlike Kingsley, Webb is more calculative and cautious in his approach. He sees no glory in self-sacrifice and is more practical.
The failed Fuhrer and his henchman
There are two main antagonists in Call of Duty: Vanguard. One is a ruthless, cold-hearted leader, while the other enjoys psychological mind games with his prey. Both stand out in their own right in-game.
1) Hermann Freisinger - "Does the Negro give orders in English too?"
Hermann Freisinger is a typical high-ranking SS officer with a superiority complex. In addition to being a racist and wanting to start the Fourth Reich, he also enjoys listening to Beethoven in his free time.
Although he is the main antagonist in Call of Duty: Vanguard, he fails to play a direct role. Apart from the beginning and end, there are no other interactions with him.
2) Jannick Richter - "I have never come across such an unusual unit"
Jannick Richter is perhaps the better antagonist in-game. After being commanded by Freisinger to uncover the SOF team's secret, he wastes no time getting to work. From casual torture to shooting a teammate dead, nothing will stop him from getting the information he needs.
Joyride into Nazi Germany and history
Call of Duty: Vanguard's mission, "Phoenix", starts off on a strong note. The protagonists are on a train into one of the last Nazi strongholds to gather intelligence.
Following a fast and furious style train shootout, they reach their destination — a heavily defended submarine base.
After a brisk fight, they manage to enter the facility and secure the documents they were after. However, as luck and the plot would have it, they are captured by Hermann Freisinger.
One member is beaten to a pulp via a chair, with the rest escorted to a secure facility for interrogation. Enter Jannick Richter — a torturer, interrogator, and "little mouse".
He attempts to break the allies to extract information from them. This soon turns into a psychological mind game between captor and captees. Throughout the integration, players get to step into the shoes of the four protagonists and relive their backstories.
Between these flashbacks, the team schemes ways to escape the prison and continue the mission. Finally, they seize the moment, escape, and hunt down Freisinger before he can start the Fourth Reich.
What do Jesse Owens, the 93rd Infantry Division, and the Senegalese Tirailleurs have in common with Call of Duty: Vanguard?
Call of Duty: Vanguard sheds some much-needed light on the "colored" troops who fought bravely in the Great War and World War 2. Although the mentions are subtle, they go a long way in representation in-game and pay homage to unsung heroes in history.
It starts with references to the Senegalese Tirailleurs, part of the colonial infantry in the French Army. These troops were initially recruited from different parts of Africa and played a vital role in the occupation of Rhineland.
During the exchange between Arthur Kingsley and Hermann Freisinger, when the latter asks if the team takes orders from a "N**ro", Arthur replies by saying:
"Your Rhineland accent. You must be from Neustadt. During the occupation, you saw French soldiers who looked like me carrying guns in your streets. Marry your women. That's what I hear when you speak German."
Another meaningful tribute was the appearance of the 93rd Infantry Division. It was a "colored" segregated unit of the United States Army, which served in both World Wars.
During a mission on Bougainville Island, troops must cross under sniper fire. To do so, a volunteer is called upon to draw fire. Before the plan can be executed, "Booker" Washington, the commanding officer, says:
"When I give the word, I want to see your best Jesse Owens."
While this may not seem like much, Jesse Owens created history at the 1936 Berlin Olympics after winning four gold medals. Being a person of color, he made a mockery of Adolf Hitler's claim that the German Aryan people were the dominant race.
Performance and graphics
Call of Duty: Vanguard was played on Battle.net and had the following system specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
- Hard Drive Space: 2 TB
The game looks brilliant in every way. Each theater of war was showcased with a lot of attention to detail. There was no noticeable stuttering or lagging during the entire campaign.
Even in dark areas, the lighting felt just right and seamlessly blended into the scene. Although the game will run smoothly on mid-tier PCs, higher-end gaming rigs will be able to take advantage of the hardware and deliver a visual treat.
Verdict
Call of Duty: Vanguard takes players back to the roots of the legacy FPS franchise. The game offers veterans a chance to relive the bloody battles of World War 2 while introducing the period to newcomers.
Weapons feel and sound good, the voice acting is brilliant, and the era is well-represented in all its chaotic beauty. Nevertheless, the title does come with setbacks and fails to deliver in a few areas.
Despite the individual protagonists being memorable, their campaign missions are rather short-lived. Suffice to say, not enough time is spent in each theater of war during their respective timelines.
Additionally, controlling an aircraft is near impossible, vehicle combat is all but non-existent, and the storyline falls short towards the end.
By all accounts, Call of Duty: Vanguard is a good game. It stands out from its predecessors and delivers what was promised. However, with a little more "spit-shine", it could have been one for the history books.
CALL OF DUTY: VANGUARD
Reviewed on: PC (Review code provided by Activision)
Platform: PC (Battle.net), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 5, 2021
