Yet another ambitious Call of Duty title, where Sledgehammer learns from the miserable fate of Infinite Warfare and so-called brings Call of Duty "back to its roots", returning to the good-old-fashioned World War II with boots-on-the-ground gameplay mechanics.
To be fair, COD: WWII, like last year's Infinite Warfare, is a well-developed piece that addresses a lot of the challenges that a Call of Duty title faces, and brings a lot of fun gameplay experiences to the table. There are, however, still a lot of problems that Sledgehammer has unfortunately and fatefully fallen into.

The traditional campaign returns with a focus on a singular storyline revolving around a unit of U.S. Soldiers. It is definitely worths a playthrough and is emotionally impactful both on the protagonist's personal story and his unit and brothers as a whole. It also features some nail-biting missions with espionage, stealth mechanics that bring people the old "Ghillie Up" vibes. The only thing that I might consider a drawback is that the new supply mechanic where you acquire certain items from teammates, including health packs, feels quite unnatural and may disengage you from the flow of heated battle. I would personally describe it as an unsuccessful attempt to change up the core elements of a Call of Duty Campaign. Other than that, the Campaign mode is very enjoyable to play.

The boots-on-the-ground combat, of course, is a key promotional aspect of the Multiplayer gameplay, something that a Call of Duty title always needs. The WWII MP is a good recovery from the extremely chaotic Infinite Warfare game, where a balance-paced battle returns thanks to the WWII background. Overall the weapon balancing is acceptable and weapon variety has not been hugely affected despite the WWII setting, unlike the latest predecessor Call of Duty: World at War. The competitive flow of the game feels quite natural and not forced by unnecessary elements like specialists, game-changing killstreaks, etc. And the new addition of the War Mode brings a brand new experience of Multiplayer gameplay to the game, with very objective-oriented mechanics implemented. It feels like a fine combination of the Campaign Mode and the Multiplayer Mode and is great fun to play. Overall, I didn't play a lot of Multiplayer in this game, but it feels rewarding and satisfying to grind the game, and is a great way if you would like to kill some time.

Now onto my specialized aspect, as always, the Zombies Mode which is now implemented in all Call of Duty titles developed by the three studios. So it is reasonable to do some comparison. The Nazi Zombies Mode is a fascinating piece. It starts up with a huge emphasis on the horror aspect of a Zombies game, creating an excellent atmosphere of absolute horror and mystery in the first installment The Final Reich. The wave-based gameplay is very naturally implemented with a well-constructed objective flow, giving players the awareness of progress that has not been hugely addressed in Treyarch and Infinity Ward Zombies games, which is very unique and engaging to play with. The Easter Egg or Main Quest is very well-designed to work with the story, despite a few gameplay-wise drawbacks. The progression system that ensures replayability is also a surprise with how well different classes options tend to function and affect the gameplay, that, is also despite a few problems that later is addressed. For hardcore players, the game also provides character-unlocking challenges that, in different degrees, may challenge a few slayers. To conclude, the Nazi Zombies game mode starts up really strong and has many unique features that other developers can definitely take note of and use to refine their respective games.

Overall, the WWII game of 2017 is a good rebounce from the underperformed Infinite Warfare. Seasonal events, community challenges, developer updates keep the yearly circle very well alive and exciting to be part of. Although Sledgehammer as a studio has yet to find its roots as a standalone title developer, WWII is definitely a step in the makings and is a worthy buy if you would have the time to invest, or even just to occasionally try out the spicy Zombies maps.

I would give a rating of 8/10 for this game.

Yet another ambitious Call of Duty title, where Sledgehammer learns from the miserable fate of Infinite Warfare and so-called brings Call of Duty "back to its roots", returning to the good-old-fashioned World War II with boots-on-the-ground gameplay mechanics. To be fair, COD: WWII, like last year's Infinite Warfare, is a well-developed piece that addresses a lot of the challenges that a Call of Duty title faces, and brings a lot of fun gameplay experiences to the table. There are, however, still a lot of problems that Sledgehammer has unfortunately and fatefully fallen into. The traditional campaign returns with a focus on a singular storyline revolving around a unit of U.S. Soldiers. It is definitely worths a playthrough and is emotionally impactful both on the protagonist's personal story and his unit and brothers as a whole. It also features some nail-biting missions with espionage, stealth mechanics that bring people the old "Ghillie Up" vibes. The only thing that I might consider a drawback is that the new supply mechanic where you acquire certain items from teammates, including health packs, feels quite unnatural and may disengage you from the flow of heated battle. I would personally describe it as an unsuccessful attempt to change up the core elements of a Call of Duty Campaign. Other than that, the Campaign mode is very enjoyable to play. The boots-on-the-ground combat, of course, is a key promotional aspect of the Multiplayer gameplay, something that a Call of Duty title always needs. The WWII MP is a good recovery from the extremely chaotic Infinite Warfare game, where a balance-paced battle returns thanks to the WWII background. Overall the weapon balancing is acceptable and weapon variety has not been hugely affected despite the WWII setting, unlike the latest predecessor Call of Duty: World at War. The competitive flow of the game feels quite natural and not forced by unnecessary elements like specialists, game-changing killstreaks, etc. And the new addition of the War Mode brings a brand new experience of Multiplayer gameplay to the game, with very objective-oriented mechanics implemented. It feels like a fine combination of the Campaign Mode and the Multiplayer Mode and is great fun to play. Overall, I didn't play a lot of Multiplayer in this game, but it feels rewarding and satisfying to grind the game, and is a great way if you would like to kill some time. Now onto my specialized aspect, as always, the Zombies Mode which is now implemented in all Call of Duty titles developed by the three studios. So it is reasonable to do some comparison. The Nazi Zombies Mode is a fascinating piece. It starts up with a huge emphasis on the horror aspect of a Zombies game, creating an excellent atmosphere of absolute horror and mystery in the first installment The Final Reich. The wave-based gameplay is very naturally implemented with a well-constructed objective flow, giving players the awareness of progress that has not been hugely addressed in Treyarch and Infinity Ward Zombies games, which is very unique and engaging to play with. The Easter Egg or Main Quest is very well-designed to work with the story, despite a few gameplay-wise drawbacks. The progression system that ensures replayability is also a surprise with how well different classes options tend to function and affect the gameplay, that, is also despite a few problems that later is addressed. For hardcore players, the game also provides character-unlocking challenges that, in different degrees, may challenge a few slayers. To conclude, the Nazi Zombies game mode starts up really strong and has many unique features that other developers can definitely take note of and use to refine their respective games. Overall, the WWII game of 2017 is a good rebounce from the underperformed Infinite Warfare. Seasonal events, community challenges, developer updates keep the yearly circle very well alive and exciting to be part of. Although Sledgehammer as a studio has yet to find its roots as a standalone title developer, WWII is definitely a step in the makings and is a worthy buy if you would have the time to invest, or even just to occasionally try out the spicy Zombies maps. I would give a rating of 8/10 for this game.