Call of Duty: WW2 Multiplayer Beta Gives That Old Familiar Feeling

How much you enjoy this period-piece throwback may depend on what kind of CoD fan you are.

By Ryan McCaffrey

How do you react to the following statement:

Playing Call of Duty: World War II’s multiplayer beta feels like a modernized version of Call of Duty 2.

As someone who’s played every entry in the series since its PC debut, I mean it as a very strong compliment. But I also recognize that fans of the more recent, ultra-sci-fi Call of Duty games where jetpacking, wallrunning, and high-speed motion define the combat might be turned off by the deliberate downshift in gears that Call of Duty’s return to World War II represents.

Being back in the 1940’s European Theater of WWII means your boots, as Activision and Sledgehammer have repeatedly reminded everyone, will stay planted firmly on the ground. No player-drivable vehicles are in sight, but the familiar “PWING!” of an M1 Garand rifle firing and the staccato bullet-spray of a Grease Gun took me back to the Call of Duty 2 days in the very best of ways.

But CoD: WW2 is no mere multiplayer remaster of CoD 2. Plenty about it feels welcomingly 2017, such as the career progression that lets you specialize in classes, culminating in a special weapon unlock. It’s a natural RPG-style mechanic that should help keep the playing field between new players and seasoned pros a bit more level for a longer amount of time.

This meaty beta offers three maps and several game modes, the latter including Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Hardpoint – the latter of which is a King of the Hill-style exercise similar to the fantastic Headquarters mode of Call of Duty games gone by. (Somewhat confusingly, Headquarters now references the game’s playable social lobby, where you can wander around, look at leaderboards, practice your shot on the firing range, and challenge other players in a 1v1 pit, among other things.

By far my favorite part of the beta – and, I suspect, of the entire multiplayer suite – is War mode (see video below). It’s a 12-on-12, objective-based bloodbath in which the Axis and Allies wrestle with an objective. On the Operation Breakout map here, the attackers must escort a tank across a bridge while the defenders try to stop them. Each time the attackers succeed in their local objective, the defenders must fall back and set up shop in an entirely new area. The resulting chaos focuses the action to a single point while keeping tension high for both sides, as well as offers players various play styles and ways to succeed within each match. This mode appears to be a winner.

Map design, mode variety, and character progression are all looking good in Call of Duty: WW2, if the beta is any indication. Going back to the past may prove to be Call of Duty’s best way to move forward.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

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