The much-anticipated release of Call of Duty: World War II (WWII) is right around the corner, November 3rd. The franchise is going back to their roots, where Call of Duty began. The first game was released on October 29, 2003 in North America, revolutionizing the first-person shooter video game genre. It put the player in the trenches of World War II, seeing it all first hand. Since then, there have been 14 installments in the main Call of Duty series, including WWII. The series has gone through changes over the years, including the introduction of the ever-popular multiplayer and zombie modes. Modern Warfare was the first game to popularize a multiplayer ‘team deathmatch’ style of gameplay in 2007, then World At War in 2008 featured a zombies ‘fight to survive’ game mode hidden at the end of the campaign. These became two major pieces to Call of Duty’s success over the years, and are still wildly popular.

The multiplayer game modes have helped build a successful and ever-growing competitive gaming market. Players can compete in smaller challenges or even global tournaments, playing professionally. The rapid growth in eSports has helped shape modern Call of Duty games, how their multiplayer system works. This year, they’re changing it again. The multiplayer and single player is going to be much more focused on working together as a team, to complete objectives. The team deathmatch style gameplay only lets teamwork happen to an extent. So the newest feature in WWII, known as War Mode, is pushing the idea of teamwork even more so than seen in Call of Duty games before. War Mode will focus on mini-objectives to be completed to achieve the win. You must complete one objective before moving onto the next one, destroying enemy defenses and fighting the enemy all at the same time. This is very much going back to the roots of what Call of Duty has been from the start, focusing more on accomplishing goals than just fighting your way through a match.

Another major change coming to the new Call of Duty is the changing of the class system. Typically in multiplayer, you build your own classes by selecting loadouts for your character. In WWII they are revamping this into known as the Division system. Players can select from a number of different soldier divisions, based on real divisions seen in that era. Each division has their own advantages and specialties, and preset weapon loadouts to change how the game is played. It will help to level the playing field for both teams, enforcing the teamwork aspect. There is still much about the new Call of Duty we are waiting to find out, be ready for the release on November 3rd to see the new imagining of the best-selling shooter game.

- Donny

Staff Writer at Checkmate Gaming

Sources: https://www.windowscentral.com/call-of-duty-ww2, http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/15/a-visual-history-of-call-of-duty

Image Source: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/call-of-duty-WWII