Final Fantasy 8 Review

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Love of Gaming blog. Not long after finishing Final Fantasy 7 I dived straight in to Final Fantasy 8, I was eager to create another ABC guide with my eyes next on Final Fantasy 9. 
Final Fantasy 8 was and still is, an incredibly divisive game. There are those that champion it for it's distinctive identity and decided shift from previous games. Then on the other side of the fence, people dislike it for all it's intent and being. It's the proverbial black sheep, if you will. 
Rather than string you along, I will tell you here and now that I straddle between the two lines, there are some impressive and unique elements to Final Fantasy 8, but there is an incredible amount of self indulgence and not entirely thought out designs that mar what could've been a damn near perfect experience. And so, I would like to begin my review with the story, plot and characters. 

STORY

The story is the heart of a JRPG, it's the combustion process inside an engine that moves the piston (the player) downwards, and then with reciprocation we come back for more, over and over, churning onward. Without a good story, a JRPG can be a hollow experience. Playing a game that can average 30+ hours must have a captivating hook to keep you engaged, so the question I ask myself is; does Final Fantasy 8 have a good story? My resounding answer is, yes. It does have a good story, but no matter how great a story may be, much like a joke, it's how you tell it. 
Final Fantasy 8 is ultimately a love story force fed into an interesting, mystical end of world impending plot. The pivotal character is Squall, a Mercenary who is contracted out to a small resistance group led by a young woman called Rinoa. The two instantly clash, Squall is cold, methodical and introspective, opposing Rinoa's warm, spontaneous and social manner. Of course, the tension between them is supposed to be sexually charged, but the dialogue struggles to convey that and they feel more like two people that have zero common ground that all of a sudden, realise they're in love.

Moving the plot along and creating the dramatic set pieces for the cast of Final Fantasy 8 is the Galbadian military and their enigmatic leader Edea, the Sorceress. 
Galbadia is a nearby, aggressive nation that is gradually occupying it's neighboring regions. Ultimately all of their actions are to assist Edea in asserting herself into political power and finding a young woman called Ellone. Edea believes Ellone to have special powers and will go through anyone and anything to find her. 
Edea and furthermore, the lore of the Sorceress is the most interesting subject of Final Fantasy 8. Talking about lore, I like the world building in this game. It's very organic, you don't have to read an annex about terminology and locations, it's not convoluted or incomprehensible like later entries. Things are kept simple, but interesting.

Along with Squall and Rinoa, is Zell, Selphie, Irvine and Quistis. The only other characters to get any real development in the story is Irvine and Selphie, the secondary romance. Only their's is a more charming and natural attraction but sadly gets a minimal amount of exposure in contrast to Squall and Rinoa's. 

As for Zell and Quistis, they're almost forgettable. They seem to be here to round out the playable group. They both play their parts during the first disc, but afterwards they get very little dialogue space and no further character development. Which is a damn shame, Quistis spends most of the first part of the game lusting after Squall, who in return shows little to no affection. Quistis is understandably hurt, there's a lot of interaction between student and instructor in the opening chapters, but as soon as Rinoa comes onto the scene Quistis backs right off and we never hear of her feelings furthermore. It could've been interesting like the Cloud, Tifa and Aeris love triangle, but nothing stands in the way of Squall and Rinoa's burning love.

The secondary cast of Final Fantasy 8 are the most interesting characters, I find the six playable characters very one dimensional and lacking any convincing development. Supporting cast like Seifer are ill treated, considering he is supposed to be Squall's rival and sides with the Sorceress. There isn't enough friction between them. Seifer's motives are subtle and deep, he had such potential for exciting dialogue and interaction but we don't see it. He doesn't even get a half decent part in disc three and is reduced to a plot mechanic, pushing the game into it's final act. He is followed diligently by his comrades Rajin and Fujin, but the game makes no effort to explain or help us understand why this trio are so inextricably linked. They are a trio, just because.

Pacing would have been fine, if it were not for all the self indulgent, self serving dialogue. Squall himself makes up most of the text with his own inner monologues. And it's hammy writing, the sort of thing that occurs when someone in their thirties is trying to emulate the thought process of a emo-like 17 year old. Whiny, self absorbed and self pitying. Some of Squall's thoughts go on for a very long time, and once he realises he is love with Rinoa, the groan inducing dialogue ramps itself up. For a teenager, it must read like poetry. But for a man in his thirties, it's tripe. 
Back to pacing, there are a great deal of set pieces that take you all over the world. The game is more restrictive than say, Final Fantasy 7 that sees you explore every continent in the first disc. I like that Final Fantasy 8 keeps it's cards close to it's chest and gradually introduces to the different parts of the world. In particular, the locales you visit in disc three are exciting, original and organic. I like it when a game keeps it's themes consistent throughout, subverting expectations can be tantalising, but everything must be comprehensible and this game does that well.

Overall, the plot is interesting but the cast is weak. Shallow development and an obsession with teen romance undermines a story about a cataclysmic event, that could see the end of the known world and possible universe. It's not nearly as memorable as Sephiroth's plan for ascension but that's what happens when the focus is off and the characters are forgettable. Final Fantasy 8 struggles to make me care about Squall and co and that ultimately detracts from the whole experience of the game.

 GAMEPLAY

Final Fantasy 8 is the last Final Fantasy for a short while that enforces no class restrictions. More so that it's predecessor, each character is a virtual blank slate. Leveling up plays a smaller role in character prowess, instead your level primarily effects the levels of the enemies you'll fight. In order to improve character statistics and make them stronger you'll have to obtain magic and "junction" that magic to a stat, like strength or magic. In order to junction magic to stats you need to have junctioned a GF, or Guardian Force (previously known as summonings). You also need the GF to have learned the ability that allows you to junction the magic. Sounds complicated? It's not, on the face of it, it may seem so but it actually works very well. 
It's a big improvement into total party customisation, but like it's predecessor, you're not rewarded for assembling three unique fighters. Adaptability and flexibility is king. 

I mentioned previously that you had to junction magic to your stats, in order to obtain magic you have to "draw" it from your enemies. Each spell can be stocked up to 100 times, affording 100 uses. A spell will improve a stat incrementally as you increase your stock of it, up to 100. Also, different spells are better suited to different stats. A simple example is HP; you'll receive a bigger boost to your HP total if you junction Cure to it, than you would if you junction Thunder to it. Conversely, Thunder is better junctioned to your Magic stat than cure. 
Naturally you can expect spells like Haste to give huge boosts to your Speed and Evasion stats. There's very little subtlety in the system, only a few nuances to take into account and that's a matter for the late to end game anyway. Overall it's a very natural and easily understood which spell to use for which stat.

Going back to Guardian Forces, you initially start the game with two, Shiva and Quetzalcoatl. It's not long before you find a third and then several more are obtainable during the events of Disc one. Then several more in Disc 2, with the last GF's obtainable during Disc 3 and even into Disc 4. So they're spread out evenly across the game which is a nice bit of pacing.

Each GF has a list of abilities to learn, the aforementioned junction abilities firstly. But they can also learn abilities such as stat boosts like HP+20%, refine abilities that allow you to obtain magic through item synthesis, unique skills for the party characters to use such as Darkside and Doom. Then lastly there are the GF stat boosts, SumMag+10% and GFHP+10%.
I mentioned the last two stats at the end because I'm about to tell you one of the biggest changes to Final Fantasy 8. No MP. As said, magic is now a per-use item of sorts, so having an MP resource is obsolete. Each GF can be summoned as often as one likes in battle, so to balance out their limitless use, GF's have a HP pool. 

When a player summons a GF in battle, a secondary bar appears over the players original turn bar. When this bar depletes the GF is summoned dealing large damage to the entire enemy group. (or bestowing a buff to the entire party). During this secondary gauge, the GF's HP pool is displayed over the characters. Any damage inflicted against that character drains the GF's HP. When that HP is reduced to zero, the GF is dead and can no longer be summoned until revived, outside of battle I might add.
In practise, GF's are not as useful as you would think. Whilst the damage they inflict in the beginning of the game is impressive, once you are able to junction some decent magic to your Magic or Strength stat, you can easily deal more damage per second, than you could with a GF. Throw in the buff Triple, that allows a character to cast a spell three times and the Guardian Forces are completely outmatched. 
Ultimately, in the end, the GFs are only useful for improving your characters. 

Going back to the Draw mechanic, it's an evil necessity. Other than through item synthesis, Drawing magic is the only way to obtain a full stock of a spell. How many copies of a spell you can draw at once is determined by your Magic stat, you can even fail to draw a spell if your stat is too low. However, you're capped at drawing only 9 copies of a spell at a time, which is really disappointing. This means to fully stock up on one spell, you have to use the Draw command ten times! Needless to say, it's incredibly time consuming and laborious. Most spells you'll want to fully stock for at least three characters, for no other reason than for junctioning spells to stats. 
Fortunately some spells are incredibly easy to stock up on, given a few instances where the game gives you lots of a item you can refine. For instance, defeating the Diablos GF in disc one affords you his card, which you can synthesis into another item you can synthesis for twenty copies of the Demi spell. You'll obtain a hundred of this item, meaning you need never ever draw Demi to restock. It's also a very potent stat boosting spell.

I've talked in great detail about the key mechanics of the combat and stat boosting system, ultimately Final Fantasy 8 is another ATB game. It does play a lot different to it's predecessor, in some good ways. For instance, status effects are in play far more often and most enemies and bosses have several vulnerabilities. It's great to see them make an effort to change things up, however in practise, it's not a deal breaker in battle. You do find yourself casting Esuna often, especially in the endgame. 
Interestingly, Dispel is also a common use spell on both sides. I only ever used the Debarrier spell in Final Fantasy 7, but in Final Fantasy 8, Dispel is a necessity. Many bosses, especially near the end of the game bestow buffs on themselves frequently, like Triple and Regen. If you failed to debuff them you'd be in for some big trouble. 
  
The limit break system makes an immediate return, however this time there is no gradual charge. Instead, when characters HP falls into critical levels they can begin to spam their Limits for as long as they remain in a critical state. The balance being that a single strike will remove that character. Sadly, it's a design rife to abuse. Later into the game you can obtain a very rare spell called Aura that grants the same buff but irrespective of HP, for a short while. 
Limits are by far the most damaging attacks in the entire game. Oddly though, it's character sensitive. Zell, Squall and Irvine all have combo style Limits. With strong magic junctioned to the Strength stat, each of these characters can do a ridiculous amount of damage to a single adversary. 
For example, Zell's limit requires the player to input button combos. Each entry adds to the combo. A timer appears that lasts from anywhere between four and twelve seconds. The quickest inputs I was able to do was .4 of a second. If Zell is able to land each blow at 1000 HP damage, and you can input each command in .4 seconds of a twelve second timer, that's thirty blows. 30,000 HP damage is massive. Even if you're using Triple and your spells can do 9999 damage each (the cap), you're still just short of the mark. Plus, it's much more difficult to get your spells dealing this sort of damage, it's much easier to increase your Strength and let rip with even stronger blows.

Compared to the aforementioned trio, Selphie, Quistis and Rinoa don't stand a chance in the terms of DPS and since Limits are the only thing that separates the characters mechanically, not having a party of Squall, Zell and Irvine isn't just preference, it's detrimental to your overall DPS. 
There are lots of little forms of abuse in Final Fantasy 8. It's very easy to take advantage of lucrative AP spots to farm very early on and just make yourself ungodly invincible. Granted, it'll be at your own detriment of enjoyment, if you're looking for challenge.
The freedom of the Junction is perhaps it's own downfall, in granting the player such unlimited options has only served to make it more difficult to balance the game. Once you enter a certain part of disc 3, the game almost throws out balancing, digs it's heels into the ground and firmly asserts that if you have failed to properly junction your party you will be defeated over and over. The difficulty curve is lacking for the most part, only right at the end will you find yourself up against any real threat. 

GRAPHICS

The polygon models of Final Fantasy 8 far surpass that of Final Fantasy 7. That is undeniable. There is a lot more detail in the models, they look far less deformed and the animations less stiff. That extra level of detail makes Final Fantasy 8 easy on the eyes and visually enjoyable. The pre-rendered environments lack some of the charisma of the previous entry. Some locations can actually feel a little bland. Detail wise, Final Fantasy 8 has more animated pieces in the environments that add to the visual splendor. 
It carries on the tradition of bizarre enemy designs, some of the creatures are really odd against the robots, soldiers and dragons you'll atypically fight. 
The cast look good, great designs and there is more identity in the NPCs, even between towns. I was especially impressed with this extra level of detail which no doubt increased the work for the design team. 
Final Fantasy 8 looks good still, that's undeniable. Save for some resolution quirks that can stretch the pre-rendered sections, it's still a visual treat. Some of my favourite locations in this game include the city Estha, the Fire Cavern and the final dungeon, which is absolutely stunning. Without spoiling things it really upsets the aesthetics of the game, but in a completely great and amazing way. Subverting your expectations and pulling the rug from right out under your feet.

I also like the revamped user interface, the menu is clean and neutral with a grey background. The blue, whilst classic, was always a little in your face, and so I really got on with this UI. 
For the battle system they went for a minimalist theme, you literally see current HP and the ATB gauge. The only other element on the screen is the menu bar that appears once an ATB gauge has filled. Some people may not like it and prefer seeing their total HP, but you do get used to it and you get to know your max HP values just by being in the menus, junctioning magic to stats, so having that information on the screen in front of you all the time isn't really that important. It's a shame to lose the barrier bar, now all you get is a pop up at the top of the screen letting you known when your timed buffs have worn off. Does mean you have to really pay attention, not seeing it could wind up costing you a game over if you miss that "shell has faded" warning, only to then be struck with a powerful magic attack that wipes you out.
Overall, a nice clean user interface that personally, I find refreshing.

SOUND

I'm going to have to say, not my favourite complete soundtrack to a Final Fantasy game, some of the tracks are forgettable, like certain towns or atmospheric tracks. The boss music Force Your Way is an absolute classic though, it's heart pumping adrenaline, pulsing in your ears and gets you worked up and focused in the heat of battle. Such a great track and it's timelessness is proven by the plethora of remixes this track has had since the game's release.
Other memorable tracks to note is the theme from the intro, Vivos Luna Sic, I believe it is called but I'm probably wrong. I also really like the Dollet attack theme, Lunatic Pandora, Man with the Machine Gun and lastly, but oh so not least is the track to the final dungeon. It's amazing, as is the final dungeon and is very original to a Final Fantasy game. It's a piece of music, really, rather than a track. It evolves as it plays on, changing itself through the entirety of it's run time, which I think is about eight or nine minutes. Pretty long for a piece of music in a videogame.
The sound quality of Final Fantasy does surpass FF7, the quality of the sound effects is better. The tracks sound less midi-like, not to be disrespectful to the previous title. You can clearly hear the improvements in this game, less synthesised sounds and a greater variety of instruments used in each piece of music is a pleasant upgrade.

OVERALL

Final Fantasy 8 is never going to be my favourite of the series. The story is held back by a teen inspired, melodramatic love story that's yawn inducing, it bogs down gameplay with repetitive mechanics. It's a shame because the visual and audible improvements belong to a far more refined game. 
There were lots of moments in Final Fantasy 8, especially towards the end where I really felt my endurance tested to continue to play. There is far too much dialogue to get through, I reckon there is twice as much text in Final Fantasy 8 than there is seven, or hell, even nine! Nothing pulls me out of an immersive experience like reading a 17 year old's self pitying thoughts, complete with bed withering. 

I like the junction system, it's a shame it's never been used since in any shape or form and I like the method of powering up using the Summonings, it gave them an additional dimension than just power houses. It also gave us the brilliant Double and Triple spells that I feel are a better way to balance "all" magic, giving the player extra tools for DPS is always a great thing. 
It's worth playing it through to the end, if anything just to see and experience that amazing final dungeon that is so different to any Final Fantasy game that has come before. To give you a little clue about it, it's reminiscent of a haunted house that you have to explore. There is back tracking but it's so worth it. Truly an enjoyable location. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this review and hope my opinions haven't upset or offended anyone. I like to think of myself as a generally unbiased person with an objective mentality when it comes to appraising video games, but I could be blinded to my own faults.

If you enjoyed this blog entry, then do please hit the +1 button and as always, have a great week everyone!    

Okami HD video walkthrough!

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well. I'm pretty disappointed with myself that I didn't get around to posting this on Friday, but unfortunately a few unforeseen interruptions meant I didn't finish the video in time.

I really wanted to start video game guides, but I didn't want to upload general playthrough footage. I personally find it quite annoying, you just want to know where to go or how to defeat a boss and you end up wading through hours of someones so-called guide. They're not walkthroughs: they're "Let's Play" videos.

Enter the ABC guides! (as I've so far titled them) Each guide is a heavily edited and narrated video detailing all the main hurdles of the game. Lost? Don't know where to go, it's clear in the video. Not sure how to defeat a boss, look up the video, I'll offer you some tips. Now, before I go blowing my own trumpet, this is still very low key amateur affair. I'm still finding my voice and looking to improve the content of the videos. 

I'm the worst person for saying "um" and "ah" in general conversation or going off on a tangent. So, I had to try and train myself to not do those things. Unfortunately, a few "ums" got in there, and when I watched the finished video I cringed every time I repeated a word so soon after I already said it, or I said the word "actually". I'm sure once I settle in to this new activity my narration will become more relaxed and natural, but that's for another video.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy the video and if you're currently playing Okami, I hope you find it useful if you so choose to view it.
I really enjoyed the experience of doing this guide and I'm already on my next one (Final Fantasy 7 New Threat guide!) I'll still be uploading to the blog because I love to write as well. The game guides will definitely remain a side project for now. 

Hope you all have a great week and as usual, if you liked the video or this blog hit the "+" button and follow the blog. 

Thanks for reading!

Call Of Duty WW2 Review: Old feels new!

Hello everyone! Well Call of Duty WW2 has been out for a little while and I've already dedicated most of my evenings to it! Poor old Infinite Warfare received huge unwarranted backlash when it was announced, but little did the wider world realise that Activision had already commissioned a return to COD's roots and stopped Sledgehammer creating a sequel to Advance Warfare. Instead putting them in charge of the first COD game to go back to the world war since World At War in 2008! 

"Let's not beat about the bush and get straight in to talking about the multiplayer: it's not fantastic."
  Let's not beat about the bush and get straight in to talking about the multiplayer: it's not fantastic. Not to write the whole affair off, but there a two components that WW2 critically hasn't done well. The first problem is the maps: I don't know what happened in the meeting when they were talking about map design but they were very much mistaken. WW2 continues the trend of three lane maps of small to medium size, but where it goes wrong is pathways. 

Let's remember Black Ops 3, (the best multiplayer since MW2 in my opinion). Three lane, mid-sized maps. Localised spawn locations at either end with some cover, two flanking routes and the larger middle route. Normally the flank routes had one interconnecting pathway into the middle route, otherwise they connect back up near the spawn hubs. 
This meant that the designers had great control of player movement around the map, which means it's easier to place  strategic cover, reduce camping spots, improve spawn logic and give the players a better understanding of the map. 

WW2 however, chooses to have lots of interconnected pathways from the flanks to the central map area. Which in turns makes it much more difficult to predict player movement for the designers and the players. For a designer it means a bit of head scratching where to appropriately put strategic cover and for the player it means a headache when deciding how best to flank the enemy team and where to expect another player may approach from. 

The issue is further compounded by the fact that aesthetics have taken some precedent in the maps this time, so yes they look more prettier but it's just stuff that gets in the way of sight lines and movement. There are pointless bits of cover littering some of the maps and makes them feel a bit maze like. 
I'm not sure at all why they decided to do things this way, I don't remember anyone complaining of not having enough pathways? Sure, not everyone likes mid-sized three lane maps but WW2's maps are just a headache.

When I played BO3's multiplayer, I was able to predict enemy movements around the maps without using the minimap. The maps were that well designed you could get into a flow, but I can't in WW2. There are two many pathways to look down if you're rushing and it feels like you're flipping a coin as to which route an enemy player may come down. Unless you've got a recon plane or something going on, it's very difficult to predict player movements.

 "yes, quick scoping is still here."

The next critical flaw is weapon balancing, it's pretty bad here. LMGs are a waste of your time for instance. The movement penalty, general low magazine count, recoil and long reload times makes them pale in comparison to anything else. Rifles have a far better damage profile, quicker fire rate and quicker reload times. Their clip sizes are also pretty modest. Apart from some specific occasions there's just no reason to choose an LMG over an assault rifle.

Sniping is pretty beastly this time around and yes, quick scoping is still here. Anyone using the Mountain division (more on them later) gets aim assist when aiming down sights, and the assist is pretty strong. Far more than any COD I've played since MW2. The result of this is most lobbies have multiple snipers using the one shot kill Enfield, either amazingly or pathetically. Obviously one of the issues with having sniper rifles so effective is that in the right hands it's a laser beam of death at all ranges. Some snipers can outgun shotgun users, as the sniper rounds have no damage drop off range where the shotguns can have pretty strict ranges.

Strangely, only the SMG's get silencers this time, but playing covertly isn't as big a deal this time around partly due to the map design as I said before predicting player movements is a lot trickier now. Their damage profiles are also pretty strict and there doesn't seem to be a big movement bonus over the rifles and so for a better damage profile most people go with a rifle. 

Lastly shotguns get beefed up like they did in BO3, and so in the right hands they can be pretty devastating. But the rate of fire for them is pretty poor, so if you fail to nail that one shot kill you're just sitting duck even in close range. 

"the pick 10 system is gone!"

I mentioned the Mountain division earlier, that's because the pick 10 system is gone! Instead you choose between five divisions that are designed around each of the weapon categories. You can level the divisions for additional perks, so for instance in the expeditionary division, if you equip a shotgun as your main weapon you can load incendiary shells into it. But only if you run shotgun as your main weapon, you don't get this ability if you main any other category of gun.

The perks you obtain as you level a division are the main rewards and do apply to any other weapon you equip as a main. For instance in the expeditionary division, as you rank up you can equip a tactical and lethal grenade at once, next rank you throw further and while sprinting and finally at the last rank you can resupply grenades off dead bodies. So the divisions are quite potent and choosing the right one for your playstyle is important. It is wise you evenly rank them up as depending on the game mode a division can help you succeed. It's also clever to mix a division with a different weapon category. Mountaineer division get stealth perks which are perfect for a rush class rather than a sniper.

Maxing out a division nets you a new weapon in it's respective weapon category and then prestiging a division rewards you with a basic training skill which are basically a perk. 
There are lots of basic training skills, over twenty. They're a mixed bag of useless, half useful and useful perks. I think they really could've chopped these down or allowed us to pick at least two at once, but only choosing one out of twenty just means only the crutch trainings get chosen. There's not a whole lot to sing about the basic training perks as most of them are perks from previous games.

I like the divisions, they're a good idea. Not wholly implemented well though as some of the skills are pointless. Like a bipod for an LMG. Reduced recoil and faster reload rate, what's so bad about that? Well you cannot move, they keep the damage profile and every map already has minigun emplacements which have a better damage profile, faster fire rate and also infinite ammo! 
I could go on nit picking all the strange design decisions in the multiplayer but then this article will go one for ages!

"War's maps are amazing!"

Now I want to be positive, and to be honest this is a big positive, so big I wish this mode had more maps and was the main part of the multiplayer experience and I'm talking about the War mode.

Those maps that I mentioned aren't good? Well War's maps are amazing! The maps are designed around attack and defend and the attackers are always positioned at a disadvantage, but it works!
So, to give you an idea of how the War mode works and how the maps flow let me tell you about Operation Neptune, a Omaha beach themed level. 

Allies start on the beaches and have to charge up to Axis lines and plant charges to get access to the cliffside. 
The Axis get to stay in the bunkers atop of the cliffs and using minigun emplacements they get to tear up the beach. 
To help the Allies there are NPC soldiers running around keeping Axis players preoccupied. 
Once the Allies breach the shoreline they can build ladders to scale the cliff and/or breach the lower bunker and gain access to a trench that leads up into the bunkers for additional flank routes. All the while the Axis players will be rebuilding any defenses and patrolling the trenches around the bunkers. 
All the allies have to do now is sit in the bunkers to capture them like a domination flag. If the allies accomplish this then the Axis are forced to retreat to bunkers further up the hill. 
In this stage of the battle the Axis have to defend radio equipment in a large bunker, and the allies have to breach the bunker and destroy the equipment. Sound simple but this bunker is easily defensible. However if the Allies destroy the radio equipment then the final phase of the mission is initiated.
Again the Axis have to retreat before the timer counts down and mortar fire commences. This last stand is at two flak cannons that the allied players must destroy by planting three bombs on each cannon and the Axis naturally have to prevent them. This last push is the hardest section of the map, once one cannon is destroyed a tank arrives to help the Axis troops and it becomes much more frantic.


The Axis players can win by halting the allies within the time limit and naturally the attacking side has the greater obstacles to overcome, but the imbalance in the maps is what makes this mode so interesting and makes the maps so playable. No more spider web pathways! These maps have such focus that they're design is just sublime and they're a real joy to play. There are only three maps currently, but I really do hope they put out more than one war map per map pack, because War is the saving grace of WW2's multiplayer. 
I wish more shooter games included modes like this, it sort of takes me back to playing counter-strike, having the attack and defend dynamic.
The worst thing to say about War mode is it's very frustrating when your team don't use tactical grenades like the smokes when it comes to completing objectives and grenade spam is very present and it takes a long time to rank up the Armoured division for it's flak jacket buff.

Now I do understand the hardship in designing maps that must be suitable for team deathmatch, domination, hardpoint, search and destroy and capture the flag is pretty immense and it's no wonder that they get it wrong from time to time. Ultimately, something has to give so that all those game types can function in that map space. Because the War maps only have to accommodate one game mode they get to be refined and well balanced, WW2 really shows the weakness of having multipurpose maps.

"I found the Final Reich mission was really newbie friendly"


Nazi zombies returns again, (I guess this is now the official co-op COD mode) and I was pretty surprised by it to be honest. Infinite Warfare's spin on the mode was enjoyable and was easier to get in to for newcomers (traditionally this mode is tough as nails) and WW2 follows suit. You can play a little prologue that explains the basics as each iteration has some tweaks to the formula but I found the Final Reich mission was really newbie friendly and unlike previous games where each "easter egg" was so vague and long winded to activate, you can actually do a fair few of the objectives in the Final Reich without reading an FAQ.

One thing that does really help is you get a lot more points from zombies this time around and the cost of weapons and stat bonuses isn't extortionate. You can also choose a class which affords some passive bonuses and an ability that you can charge up before activating which add to your arsenal and are a welcome addition.
If you like COD zombies you'll be happy here as there is plenty to get your teeth into and it never gets old watching your character remove a zombies head with a shovel.

"I don't get how people can say COD games don't look good!"

Finally the campaign, I was unsure what to expect going in. The European theatre has been done to death in games and movies so was unsure how engaging WW2's campaign would be but I've got to say I was really impressed. 
It looks gorgeous, that's the first thing that hit me. The character models, the environments and set pieces it's all wow, wow. I don't get how people can say COD games don't look good! They must have vaseline on their glasses or something, I mean it isn't going to have the fidelity of Battlefield but then COD runs at 60 FPS instead of 30.
And the sounds, the guns have a real grunt to them. They sound powerful, the noises really pop in your ears and the sounds of explosions all around is an audio treat. WW2 grabs your senses and throttles them, never letting go. 

It plays as good as it looks and sounds, too. The Nazi AI on the normal difficulty is engaging, the level design is very good and you never spend too long doing the same thing. There's some great pacing here and I like that you don't always shoot your way out of a situation. Nazi's can be forced to flee or even surrender! It just keeps things fresh and interesting and adds humility to the game. 
The campaign also sports a very interesting level called Liberation where the player infilitrates a Nazi garrison in Paris and you have to find your Nazi contact whose helping you bring down the garrison and liberate Paris. It's a really clever level and I won't go into too many details and spoil it for you. It's not quite as perfect as All Ghillied Up but it's certainly pushed the bar when it comes to interesting COD levels.


The story is nothing to write home about, you do get involved in some historical battles including The Battle of the Bulge which was a highlight for me. The characters are one dimensional and the dialogue is cheesy, it's like a 90's movie full of macho bravado. The story tries to go somewhere dark but ultimately COD knows it's not the platform for such things and nips things up very quickly. 

WW2 changes the health system that's been in use for so long now and brings back a health bar and health packs. Your life does not recharge at all! You do have a teammate that will give you a free health pack after you kill enough Nazis but I never found myself too often bereft of health packs. (You can hold up to four). But I have to admit I prefer the old recharging life bar, in a COD campaign it's an interactive movie and it seems odd to have to concern yourself with this one bit of resource management.
All your allies actually have abilities that charge as you fight, one can highlight enemies for a while, another will resupply your grenades. But I was generally only fussed with the health packs as ammo is plentiful regardless.

Expect the campaign to last around six to seven hours, add a few more if playing Veteran and you could easily hit around twenty hours if you're a trophy hunter or completionist as there's quite a few hidden collectibles. So hidden I maybe found two of a possible thirty three!


Overall, WW2 is a good package but your mileage will definetly vary depending on how well you get on with the multiplayer maps and if you like the War mode.
I personally will be bingeing on War mode, well at least until I start playing Battlefront 2 but don't let my Star Wars bias dissuade you. There is fun to be had here but those maps are definitely going to be crux of whether you'll keep this game or move on. Stick to War mode, you won't regret it.

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