It seems that for a good portion of the Call of Duty community, the current game is always the most unpopular, with the fan base regularly shifting opinions on titles as they grow older. Call of Duty: Vanguard and the original Call of Duty: Warzone are the latest examples of this trend, with many praising these games as they share their disappointment with Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2. While this is just the continuation of a long-existing pattern, the look at Vanguard through a positive lens could allow fans to finally appreciate some of the risks Sledgehammer has taken.
Obviously, not all of these risks have paid off, with many hating the highlight intros from Call of Duty: Vanguard and begging for their removal, and the negativity around Call of Duty: WW2’s Divisions leading to an entire rework of the system. However, the fact that Sledgehammer is regularly attempting to innovate deserves some praise, and it has had a few big wins over the years thanks to its attempts to shake things up. While Infinity Ward and Treyarch may offer more consistently strong Call of Duty games, some of Sledgehammer’s features should be incorporated series-wide.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Upgradeable Killstreaks and Customization
Though fans remain split on whether the advanced movement era ushered in by Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare was a direction worth going in, Sledgehammer’s first foray into the series had a few upsides. For starters, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s character customization was the best in the series, as players could change the look of individual pieces of gear instead of swapping between full skins. With dozens of shirts, helmets, and other gear pieces to mix and match, players had more control over how their character looked than they did in any other entry.
Another neat feature Advanced Warfare had that other games have lacked is killstreak customization. Players could upgrade their streaks with special abilities, which would make them cost more but also make them more powerful. For instance, UAVs could be upgraded so that they would become orbital and could not be shot down, while Care Packages could be boosted to have better odds of giving players stronger streaks. Of all Sledgehammer’s innovations, this one is arguably the most deserving of a comeback.
Call of Duty: WW2’s Headquarters Social Hub
Likely a direct response to the popularity of Destiny’s Tower hub area, Call of Duty: WW2 introduced an explorable Headquarters that players visited between matches. In the social place, gamers could battle in a 1v1 arena while others watched, compete in a shooting range, and find new friends to team up with. A few small Easter eggs were included and players could pick up challenges at certain vendors, with the concept being very interesting. Unfortunately, it was ahead of its time. Major bugs saw the Headquarters being empty more than it was full, with crashes also present in the first few months. It also slowed down the usual speed of hopping quickly into the next Call of Duty match, making it divisive. Still, it was a very ambitious concept.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Operator Levels and Combat Pacing
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Operators were undoubtedly the best in the series, as players were able to access a dedicated leveling system for them - a feature that does not exist in any of the other modern CoD games. Players could unlock special skins and voice lines for ranking up their Operators, and each Operator had a favorite weapon that would allow players to rank them up quicker. These features gave each Operator more of a personality while also giving players more rewards to grind for, something that is very important to keeping hardcore fans hooked.
Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Combat Pacing was another strength, as it made camo grinding and regular gameplay more enjoyable by letting players get into calmer or more hectic matches. It also made overly large maps feel better, filling them with more players whenever it was necessary. Ultimately, having a developer like Sledgehammer Games working on Call of Duty is healthy for the series, as it is able to approach the property from angles that Treyarch and Infinity Ward may not think of.