REVIEW – The time has come to talk about Call of Duty WW2 again, with the arrival of its 2nd downloadable content, entitled The War Machine. It is a pack of maps in the purest style seen in The Resistance, but with a distinctly different theme and own maps (this time there is no adaptation of the previous Call of Duty scenarios ).

We will see if these changes impact the Call-of-Duty WW2 meta-game on a large scale, although we must make it clear that these changes are not part of the content we are going to analyze, as they are available to all players of the Activision title. That is, we will not restrict to the three multiplayer maps, the new Operation and the new chapter of zombie mode that The War Machine includes.

Dunkirk: not quite the Nolan movie…

Players compete on the sand as well as along the seaside promenade of the famous French city of Dunkirk. This map presents a wide open and particularly dangerous beach, flanked by narrow interiors through the various buildings that border the seafront. The snipers will feel very comfortable, but run and strafe at all It can also pay off, so stay alert and watch your angles and environment if you want to survive the tide.

Dunkirk may seem like the most iconic map of the pack. However, it is the one that we liked the least of the three new possibilities for the multiplayer of Call of Duty: WW2. It is a peculiar map since one side of the map is semi-ruined houses, and the other half the mythical beach of Dunkirk, full of destroyed vehicles. The first side has seemed too oriented to those who pull shotgun, while the other gives too much advantage to snipers, also being too long to be balanced. To this, we must add that in the visual aspect the beach is characteristic, but not so much the other side, that of the houses, which is much more generic. For games by objectives, it seemed unbalanced, but it is not that it is a map suitable for all divisions, which limits the experience of the game somewhat.

Egypt: a bit of history

For the first time in Call of Duty: WWII, we embark the players on the battlefields of North Africa, at the foot of the Egyptian pyramids. Players have to compete in the heart of the ancient ruins of Giza, in the middle of ancient and historical monuments. The map shows the interior of a temple at its center, where the action will reach peaks during intense Domination matches, with more open lanes on either side. Whatever their style of play, all players will find their account.

Egypt may seem at first a map too flat and classic. However, as we play more and more games in this visually distinctive location, we will discover a large number of ways to get from one point to another, with multiple nooks and crannies that we should memorize. We really liked this map that, despite not leaving the usual canons of three lanes, works like a charm in game modes by objectives or in more direct games. The shootings in the central area are usually epic, and there are enough entrances and exits to almost any part of the map that it will not be easy to camp. The headliner of this downloadable content.

V2: missile factory, which Kim Jong-un would dig

Welcome to V2 – a missile development and test site located in rural Germany. V2 is a very narrow map with a particularly fast pace where no respite will be granted. The launch tower is in the center of the map, providing a focal point and the opportunity to capture a high line of sight on unsuspecting opponents. Short and medium-range engagements predominate here, promoting fast, furious gameplay throughout the game – do not blink!

V2 has the particularity that this zone can ignite, flooding the lower part of this section of the map. It can be somewhat overwhelming, because it is very easy to get from one side of the stage to another, which can result in overwhelming champions to our base if we are in game modes by objectives. It will not be like that most of the time, staying in an interesting, but too crazy, small-sized map, to which you still have to polish the reappearance points a bit.

Operation Husky: welcome to Sicily!

Operation Husky, whose name refers to the Allied invasion of Sicily, focuses on an Allied mission to collect key intelligence on German positions in the ports of Naples and Palermo. In this new War Mode operation, players will gather information, transmit it to HQ, and then clear the airfield of enemy fighter planes to prepare for the Allied bombers attack.

Operation Husky is the most spectacular operation we have seen in the War of Call of Duty mode: WW2. Its first two sections are somewhat standard, with a take and a recovery of objects in which we can plant traps or collect Molotov cocktails, depending on which we defend or attack, respectively. However, after these two phases, whenever the attacking team manages to get there, we will jump into the air, to air combat the purest style of the latest film by Christopher Nolan, with two teams of 6 pilots sailing the skies with their planes, in a battle to exhaust the rival aircraft. A welcome change, although the aerial gameplay is not exactly varied. This is what we requested from these operations, which would be separated from what has already been seen in the series and innovate. We can not fault it, therefore, since they are also intense matches and very different from the usual tone of the Sledgehammer Games game.

The Shadowed Throne: zombies… zombies everywhere…

The Shadowed Throne brings our heroes to the heart of Nazi Germany to face a cornered regime ready for any sacrifice. Berlin is in flames, and the monstrous army of Doktor Straub is striving to purge the city of Allied invaders. Join Marie, Drostan, Olivia and Jefferson on their descent into madness, in the heart of a city distorted by terror, blood and war, while an army of Nazi Zombies emerges from the shadows of history.

The Shadowed Throne continues the story seen in previous zombie maps of Call of Duty WW2. We will start in the sewers and climb to the street level, exploring a burning neighborhood and half-destroyed by the war. There are no lacking touches, although in general this zombie map can not be said to be scary. Yes, a couple of new mechanics are introduced, like tuning a radio or opening a safe, but otherwise, there are not too many changes compared to the original formula of zombies, and also this time the enemy traps are reduced to the minimum expression. The new setting we liked and the scenarios are as intricate as usual in the series. That is a compliant map, but not groundbreaking for the Call of Duty cooperative: WW2.

Almost by way of conclusion, it seems that Raven Games and Sledgehammer Games have wanted to separate a bit from the usual in certain parts of downloadable content The War Machine. We say it for the map V2, because they are three completely original maps, and for the inclusion of the aircraft combats in the operation of the War mode. They have lacked the icing to get it nailed, since the map of Dunkirk does not just click, and the scenario of zombie mode is interesting but lowers somewhat the bar regarding the one we received with the previous DLC. In short, if you are still hooked to Call of Duty: WW2, it is worth getting this DLC, which offers a good amount of possibilities for the price it costs.

A bit too conform

A daring DLC regarding new things offered in certain maps, but at the same time conformist in the rest of the content. In general, this is a good job of expanding Call of Duty WW2, which continues to grow and improve as the months have passed since its original launch … Moreover, now we have air combats!

-BadSector-

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Sledgehammer Games, Raven Software

Genre: FPS, DLC

Release date: April 10, 2018