Conlin Wing

I haven't enjoyed a Call of Duty game in a while, and while I didn't expect anything different from Call of Duty: Vanguard, I also was hoping that, like some games that came out in 2021, the developers of this franchise would flip their hips and create a game that resolved a lot of the critiques from the community. I think it's safe to say that this is not the case. I originally downloaded Call of Duty: Vanguard a couple of weeks after it had released. My original thoughts go a little something like this: Pros: The quality and the graphics even on the PS4 were exceptional. I really liked the way it looked and I also really liked the way it played especially compared to the two previous installments of the franchise. Cons: The whole concept of the game (menus, battle pass, characters, etc.) was a copy and paste from Black Ops: Cold War. The replayability of the game is atrocious, and although the movement and gameplay feels better than Black Ops: Cold War's, it still feels like a reskinned version of it. Not only is the replayability a huge knock, but the grind to do something as simple as level up a weapon to unlock attachments feels more like a chore than an experience (seriously, who's idea was it to create 70 levels for 70 different attachments). The layout of certain maps make the game harder to learn and play for someone who is used to traditional three-lane map layouts of previous Call of Duty's resulting in a whole change of pace and speed that I never ended up getting used to. I actually ended up refunding the game after about a week of playing it. However, a couple months later, the people I play these games with decided they wanted to buy it and play it together. I decided to give it another chance because games are always more fun when you play with your friends. Safe to say, unfortunately, that it was about just as fun as it was the first time. (PS: I haven't even thought about touching the Campaign or Zombies modes. From what I hear, you're better off not even trying Zombies, but the Campaign is solid)