Player 1 Start

Review: Call of Duty: WWII [PlayStation 4]

Developer: Sledgehammer Games
Publisher: Activision
Released: November 3, 2017
Completed: March 19, 2023
Rated: M for Mature

I don't play a lot of Call of Duty, and especially not the toxic multiplayer.  I have no interest in being called names by a 14-year-old who has nothing better to do than play online all day, or some dudebro whose entire identity revolves around his COD rank.  That said, I do appreciate a good single player campaign, and I definitely enjoy shooting nazis in their stupid fucking faces.  Call of Duty: WWII scratches both of those itches pretty well, even if it stars Josh Duhamel.

The tech behind Sledgehammer's entry is impressive, for sure.  At times I couldn't tell whether I was still watching an in-engine cinematic, or if the game had started.  At times, even the character models are photorealistic.  It would almost be disconcerting if not for the video gamey tropes that break the immersion.  The audio/visual presentation is without fault.  The story, on the other hand...

After the last several COD games had single-player campaigns as more of an afterthought, Sledgehammer decided to make a lengthier, story-driven campaign that centers around a southern soldier in the 1st Infantry named "Red" Daniels.  Red's your typical southern gentleman with a girl back home and a somewhat traumatic event involving his totally-not-dead brother that haunts him.  He and his division, which include his friend Private First Class Zussman and the cliche angry Sergeant Pierson (Duhamel), are thrust into many of World War II's biggest moments, opening with the invasion of Normandy, Operation Cobra, Hurtgen Forest/Hill 493, and the Battle of the Bulge. 

I appreciate the focus on making a compelling single player campaign, and the battles are often thrilling and devastating.  It gives you an even deeper appreciation for those who risked, and in many cases sacrificed, their lives and were witness to things so horrific it's hard to even imagine them.  There's even a brief tour through a captured labor camp at the end of the campaign, and even in video game form it's bone-chilling what those dirty bastards put other human beings through.  

The issue I have with the story is that it's a little clumsy.  I already mentioned Red's definitely alive and well brother, and the angry superior officer who constantly gives him and Zussman hell but also harbors guilt over a past event, which of course changes their entire dynamic when he's confronted about it.  The worst part, though, is that literally every single one of the game's missions features a moment where Red gets knocked unconscious or, at the very least, senseless for a moment.  Something explodes and your ears ring for a bit, or you wake up later and keep fighting.  It became so overused, I started laughing when it inevitably happened in each subsequent mission.

The gameplay is fairly standard COD fare, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  At this point, the formula is obviously a winning one.  Guns all feel pretty unique with different levels of recoil that make some harder to use than others.  You'll inevitably have your own favorites that you're always on the lookout for.  As usual, you can carry only two at a time, but you can swap them out for anything you find lying around.  You're also equipped with both fragmentation and smoke grenades, both of which are absolutely necessary if you want to survive.  Few games make better use of grenades than COD, honestly.  In a lot of shooters, you can just ignore them, but in COD they are lifesavers.  

One change is that, for the first time in a long time, the regenerating health has been replaced by finding and using med packs in the field.  You can store up to four at a time and use at your discretion.  It takes a moment and you're vulnerable while using them, but it's a better system than just cowering behind rubble for 10 seconds and suddenly feeling healthy again.  It was always tense, trying to get to cover just to use a health kit before that last bullet sends you to a game over screen.  You're also now able to dive into cover while running, which is a nice little touch.

Your squadmates also have special abilities that unlock as you build rapport with them.  You can request health packs, ammo, targeting smoke for allied mortars, and the Sarge can point out enemy positions, making it easier to spot them in the crowded battlefields.  

I have to say the variety of missions is also welcome.  While it's still a first-person shooter, there are brief moments where you'll pilot a P47, a Sherman tank, or a participate in a high speed chase while driving a Jeep.  There are a handful of stealth segments, including one longer mission where you switch protagonists, that are surprisingly fun.  It's not the longest campaign, but it's well rounded with different gameplay types that keep it from becoming repetitive.  There are also some collectibles scattered throughout the levels, as well as heroic actions you can complete such as dragging wounded soldiers to cover before they die.  

For those who are into multiplayer, the game comes with the expected online competitive modes, as well as the much loved Nazi Zombies mode.  I can't really comment on them, since again, I despise online multiplayer. 

From a single player perspective, WWII is a fun campaign, even if the story is really predictable.  The action is fast, looks and sounds incredible, and the battles themselves are memorable.  Given the extremely cheap prices on the secondhand market, it's well worth your time, even if you have no interest in the multiplayer.

Call of Duty: WWII was completed on a PlayStation 5 with no cheats.

Review: Dead Space [PlayStation 5]

Developer: Motive
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Released: January 27, 2023
Completed: February 5, 2023
Rated: M for Mature

The original Dead Space was a nice surprise, but after two sequels, a couple of spinoffs, and even an animated movie, Electronic Arts - ever the villains of the industry - seemed to mothball the franchise.  Despite critical acclaim, apparently the sales just weren't there.  As the series went on, it leaned more into action and less on survival horror, culminating in Dead Space 3.  While DS3 isn't, in itself, a bad game, it felt more like a generic third person shooter wearing a Dead Space skin suit (or like a necromorph that had reanimated the corpse of the superior predecessors).  It seemed Dead Space was, well, dead.

Then, for whatever reason, EA decided it was time for a remake and I am here for it.  

While I am not among those who consider the original game a masterpiece, it was nevertheless a solid survival horror game.  I didn't find it particularly frightening because it became obvious after the first two encounters that the game had a predictable formula.  You complete objectives, then all the monster closets open up and the beasties come for you.  What made it interesting and kept it from feeling repetitive were the fun weapons you had at your disposal, and the core mechanic that required you to cut off enemy limbs rather than go for headshots.  I enjoyed the original Dead Space quite a bit (and my original review is still published on this very blog), but it was outclassed by its immediate sequel in every way.

The remake is, by and large, incredibly faithful to the original.  That means it has all the strengths such as the incredible atmosphere, outstanding sound design, stunning graphics, and fun combat, but also the weakness of predictability.  There are a few minor changes made to the mechanics, particularly a few of the weapons that were all but useless in the original game have been overhauled to make them viable, and there are occasionally branching paths, but this is essentially the same Dead Space - just a whole hell of a lot prettier.

Like most modern games, Dead Space allows you to select a performance mode, which runs at 60 frames per second at the expense of some of the graphical bells and whistles, or the 30 FPS quality mode.  While I'm not one of those people who thinks 30 FPS is "literally unplayable" (because I understand the definition of the word "literally"), the difference between the two modes is so negligible you might as well just go for performance mode.  No matter which you choose, this is a damn fine looking game.  Everything is so detailed you can even read the tiny serial number on the back of Isaac's helmet.  

A lot of the changes are focused on the presentation.  Protagonist Isaac Clarke has been given a new face, though this is one area where I prefer the look of the original game, and is now fully voiced by the same actor from the original trilogy.  This helps the narrative, which has also been adjusted somewhat to make things a bit more clear, but also provides more backstory for Isaac that I loved.  It also seems like they may have recorded dialogue more than once, depending on Isaac's current health status.  As before, your health is displayed ingeniously on the back of your space suit (instead of an intrusive HUD overlay), but several times during my playthrough I noticed Isaac audibly grimacing in pain while at low health and speaking to his radio buddy.

The other major presentation change is the addition of visible damage to your enemies.  While the necromorph creatures have essentially the same designs, with their bony limbs protruding and flailing, shooting them will now tear off pieces of flesh.  It's a terrific effect, especially when using the newly revamped force gun, that not only looks cool, but conveys important information to the player. 

Speaking of weapons, Isaac's arsenal is mostly the same, but this time around I found every single weapon useful.  Even in the sequels, I never touched weapons like the flamethrower, but I found it extremely helpful when battling the little skittering enemies or launching the alt-fire napalm bomb at enemies on the walls.  The pulse rifle also dishes out way more damage now, and the force gun went from being utterly useless to one of my favorite weapons for clearing large groups of enemies.  With the help of nodes hidden around the world (or purchasable from the shops), you can still upgrade each weapon's damage output, ammo capacity, reload time, and unlock some special bonuses.

Being so faithful to the original game does mean that some of the original wow factor may be diluted for returning players.  There are a lot of setpieces in the game that, while still fun, were more like nostalgic memories than "holy shit" moments for me.  One thing the original game did very well, however, was change up the gameplay just enough from minute to minute to keep it from feeling like a stale bunch of similar looking corridors.  There are zero-g moments, including boss battles, moments where you're racing against a dwindling oxygen supply, and moments where you're grabbed by a giant tentacle and need to extricate yourself lest you be torn apart.  Even with the predictability of necromorphs crashing through the vents in bigger rooms, the combat is still fun, challenging, and even somewhat strategic.  I remember feeling like I was always on the cusp of running out of ammo, which forced me to change weapons and tactics often.

If you loved the original Dead Space, the remake is a fantastic way to experience the game again.  For newcomers, there's an incredibly enjoyable, tense game and I kind of envy you for being able to experience it for the first time.  The gameplay enhancements are smart and welcome, while the graphics and sound are simply stunning.  I would love nothing more than for Motive to tackle the even-better Dead Space 2, and maybe even give us a complete do-over of 3 more in line with the first two.  Hopefully this time, the sales justify the sequels.

Dead Space was completed on PlayStation 5 with no cheats.