Fighting fascists

Call of Duty: Vanguard jumps back into its comfort zone with World War II. Can it keep fans engaged?

Call of Duty: Vanguard
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PC, XBO, XBS, PS4, PS5
Price: Rs 4,999

The campaign for Vanguard throws you into the thick of a combat scenario on a moving train complete with Nazis, precariously close military trucks and lots of explosions. Your team is an elite group of soldiers from all over the world. The first hour-and-a-half of the game is an adrenalin rush, as you discover a secret Nazi war project. It got me excited for the game, however, soon after that, your team is captured and you are left for dead. The story then goes into the war experience of each soldier on the team giving you their perspective of the war. While the story is loosely tethered to history, there was a lot that they could have done to make this more enjoyable. Even the finale, to what started as an exciting story, in the end, was completely lacklustre.

There isn’t much innovation either. The gameplay seems pretty similar to most of the other Call of Duty titles and even adding a weapon crafting/enhancing module to the game did little. I think they would have benefited to go all Indiana Jones on the game using history as a reference rather than sticking to most aspects of it. It would have kept the pace of the initial section of the game. That’s also where the Zombie mode comes in. I quite enjoyed the zombie mode because they had a lot of fun with it. Even the flimsy story attached was good enough. Playing along with other players in the various game options in zombie mode was a lot of fun.

Most of the innovation in the game is to be found in multiplayer, where Vanguard truly shines. Small things like objects in the map getting more destroyed as the game goes on improve the overall satisfaction of the match. Champion Hill was my favourite mode out of the multiplayer lot. It’s a team death match that has you going against eight other teams, till there is one last team standing. In Champion Hill, everyone starts with the same loadout (weapons and gear) and as you win matches you can buy and scavenge for weapons and gear. So, the game progressively changes and no two combat scenarios are the same.

Graphically, the game looks amazing, especially on the current generation of consoles. The player’s weapons and the cut scenes are beautifully crafted. You can’t fault the game where this is concerned. I also didn’t face any issues during the play through, no skipped frames, nothing out of place which was refreshing.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is a fun game with a solid multiplayer component and a fun zombie mode. However, the campaign mode is a bit of a letdown and there isn’t much innovation where the actual gameplay is concerned. These issues prevent the game from reaching its full potential. Would a fan of Call of Duty enjoy this game? I am sure they would. However, for someone new to the franchise and uninterested in WWII history, the game offers very little draw apart from the zombie mode. If you are looking for a nice fast-paced FPS, I would say look elsewhere especially at this price point.

Warnings Reduce Hate Speech on Twitter

Warning Twitter users about potential consequences of their use of hate speech can decrease their posting of hateful language for a week, finds a new study by New York University’s Centre for Social Media and Politics. “The research nonetheless provides a potential path forward for platforms seeking to reduce the use of hateful language by users,” explains Mustafa Mikdat Yildirim, the lead author of the paper.

Mass effect may become a TV series

Amazon is working on a deal with Electronic Arts to turn Mass Effect into a TV Series. This comes 11 years after the announcement of a Mass Effect movie that never really happened. Mass Effect was always known for its stellar writing. So, it would be interesting to see what becomes of Commander Shepard as he goes on his adventures around the galaxy. So far, there is no word on anything substantial, which means we don’t know who the writers are or who will be part of the cast for the series.

Apple sues makers of Pegasus spyware

Apple has filed a lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company to hold it accountable for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users. They join Whatsapp and Meta (formally known as Facebook) who also sued the NSO group last month. The complaint provides new information on how the company infected victims’ devices with its Pegasus spyware. To prevent further abuse and harm to its users, Apple is also seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using any Apple software, services, or devices. The exploit was originally identified by the Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!