Even so, Vanguard’s campaign is over quickly, and its small series of battles are all too rarely memorable high points.Īny story is only as good as its villains, and with these Nazis you really can’t go wrong in that department. Its tale of a small group of expert soldiers on a secret mission to stop the Third Reich may sound familiar to anyone who has seen the 2009 movie, but Vanguard plays it with a much straighter face than Tarantino ever could. No shadow hangs heavier over this latest Call of Duty World War II story, however, than Inglourious Basterds. It’s a cinematic opening to a game that wears its film influences proudly whether that be the tense behind-enemy-lines aspects of D-Day in The Longest Day or the vivid depictions of the Pacific in Terence Malick’s The Thin Red Line.

An explosive train sequence through a burning Hamburg, Germany thrills as you jump between carriages, fending off dozens of angry Nazis on your way to a submarine base. Technically speaking, it's an incremental step forward from last year's gorgeous Modern Warfare reboot.Call of Duty: Vanguard’s campaign starts off on the right track – literally. Environments and faces in particular look excellent. Finally, a word about Black Ops Cold War's graphics: while I wasn't able to get a look at the Xbox Series X or PS5 version in time for this review, it is really impressive on mid/high-end PC. You can beeline through this or really take your time skulking around to explore every option.

Yes, there are plenty of KGB goons to stealthily choke out and hide in lockers, Hitman-style, but more fun is deciding how you want to achieve your objective without firing a shot. If that sounds familiar, it’s because something very much like it was the highlight of Call of Duty: World War II back in 2017. Instead, it’s an undercover romp through an enemy-infested government building.

“Furthermore, while it’s fun to dangle a bad guy over the edge of a rooftop while you interrogate him, like in the opening scene of Tim Burton’s Batman, Black Ops Cold War’s best mission involves almost no guns at all.

Call of duty cold war campaign part 1