Call of Duty: Vanguard, Forza Horizon 5, Thunderful World | Episode 23
Join Dave and Dylan in Episode 23 of the Offshore Gamescast as they talk about Call of Duty: Vanguard, Forza Horizon 5, and more games!
They also talk about the Thunderful World event, the Steam Deck getting delayed, the Scorn Kickstarter update, and the rest of the breaking news from the week.
Thanks for listening!
Game Log - #111121
Every week Dave and Dylan take some of their thoughts on the games they’ve been playing and write them out in a blog post. If you prefer reading instead of listening then this is perfect for you, enjoy!
Dave
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Is it 2008 or 2021? Either way a new Call of Duty has been released and this time around it’s Sledgehammer’s Call of Duty Vanguard. Most importantly for me it came with a campaign this year!!! Along with it is your traditional multiplayer and a somewhat lukewarm zombies mode. Let’s start with the campaign.
Back again in the WW2 setting with a fictional twist to it. This time they’ve taken liberties with some real world characters to establish their own task force to take out the Nazis who are looking for Hitler’s successor. Firstly and likely from having to work from home and deal with COVID restrictions the campaign is one of the shortest in years, BUT it does have one. Starting off the 4 characters are captured and being interrogated for what they know one at a time. For the next 4 hours you’ll be playing through a greatest hits montage of each character as they tell their story of why and how they are some of the most super elite soldiers out there. Each taking place in a different well known part of the war. Leader Arthur Kingsley sneaking through enemy bases and making sure the mission is complete no matter what. Polina Petrova loosely based off Lyudmila Pavlichenko who was one of the Soviet Union’s best snipers in the war and gave us a really nice Stalingrad mission. Lucas Riggs an infantryman who’s really good at blowing shit up. And Wade Jackson the American pilot that has to get his hands dirty after his plane goes down. All leading to the final battle that leaves a lot to be desired from someone like me. Ever since I played my first COD, World At War, I have waited for the series to deliver an experience that even slightly matched it. Unfortunately it has yet to come to fruition. This campaign uses the characters as it’s driving momentum to tell a story which has tons of highs and lows but falls flat when you end up reliving the memories of these people. The action takes the front seat and creates a very cinematic game but even when the main focus is the characters’ stories it can only mean so much after 4 and a half hours with them. Personally for me I will wait for as long as I have to for a game to emanate the feelings I got originally when I played World At War. The way that game set the tone and the atmosphere from the start to credits will always leave me wanting more. From the music to the voice acting. They did a great job showing the brutality and the helplessness of each soldier that you play through. Some scenes resonate so deep that they transcend nostalgia. I don’t wanna see a copy of the formula so well known from Modern Warfare over and over because we’ve been there and done that. Even Modern Warfare didn’t take that many risks when it came out. I want Dark. I want Brutal. I kinda’ wanna be a little scarred by the end. If not then at least remaster World At War. These are your choices Activision.
There’s not a lot to be said on the multiplayer front since that mode is super subjective. So let’s be subjective. This is the most fun I’ve had in a COD multiplayer since Sledgehammers last at bat, WW2. I’m not a fan of the over tactical gameplay, COD has always been run, shoot, die, repeat to me. Luckily there’s a lot of that, some of the maps don’t really flow too well which can be a challenging task since there’s the new pacing option. Letting you choose between tactical, assault, and blitz adding more people the higher the mode. One of the crazy things is the gunsmith giving each weapon 70 levels for unlocks. I haven’t really delved too far deep into some of the other modes as I’m extremely casual so I stick mainly to TDM, DOM, and FFA. Other than that it’s been a pretty good time with the game so far, definitely a longer shelf life for me than the last few offerings.
Every year we get yet another COD and this year’s plate comes with all of the fixings you need and expect. I’m left decently satisfied with this year’s offering although it’s still not what I’m looking for. I will remain optimistic for the future cause as long as COD makes money we will keep getting COD. As Mufasa says “We are all connected in the great Circle of CALL OF DUTY.”
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
I’m glad to say that this game has taken me a bit by surprise. From the initial look into the game and the marketing surrounding it to the full release was a rollercoaster of opinions. Happy to say that the full release is a much more striking product than I was anticipating. This is an original story for the guardians set in their own universe separate from Marvel’s Spiderman and Marvel’s Avengers. There are many things that stick out to me that this game does but some matter more than others. The choice to make Star-Lord the only playable character was one of the most questionable decisions made but at least gameplay wise hasn’t worn me out yet. You see, this game does a really smart thing. While the combat can be repetitive, having Star-Lord be the main controlling character and using quick skills tethered to the other characters to use them when needed are not what I would have liked as a gameplay choice; the atmosphere and world building they’ve done in place makes up for it ten fold. The smart thing that they did was put a massive amount of effort into making these characters feel real. The writing takes center stage here as a majority of the game is world building and small conversations between you and the rest of the team. Going as far as having certain dialogue from the rest of the team when you go exploring away from the main objective. Everywhere you go and no matter what you do there is someone saying something. Walking around the Milano which is like a smaller version of the Normandy from Mass Effect is full of life as you go to your room and in the next room over Rocket and Groot are having an argument. Or in the rec area while having a talk with Drax, Gamora will interrupt and yell from the bridge to throw her two cents in. This was something that they really glossed over in the gameplay videos that were released and I assume for good reason. While it might have soured my opinion of the game before release, those feelings were cancelled out when I saw for myself how well rounded the team is behind the scenes and out of combat. In turn adding to the stress and importance of the choices you have to make. Some choices don’t have any real significance and only change the current mood of your team member while others are more game changing and pertain to the story itself. That stuff is easily my favorite part of the game so far.
The game doesn’t seem to be too long, finishing at 16 chapters. Me being right at the mouth of chapter 11 right now. It has been quite the journey so far, throwing in bits of gameplay that nicely break up long sections and overall has a really nice flow to it. One other thing I really want to bring up is that there are some characters in the game that at times look absolutely incredible. The facial animations and the detail to emotions are fantastic. I’ve come across some of the characters numerous times and am still blown away by how they look. I will say though I have a huge pet peeve about everyone’s eyelashes. They stick out too much and I have trouble looking at anything else but them. I am happy to say that the game has passed my expectations so far and I’m very excited for the finishing chapters cause no matter what happens I know that I’ve got my team.
Dylan
There’s now no more new games coming in 2021 that I feel the need to play for Game of the Year with the releases of Forza Horizon 5 and Call of Duty: Vanguard. We’re less than a month away and that now makes ten games I want to have wrapped up before we do our season finale episode and I’m really starting to doubt that I’ll get them done. Nothing to do but continue the crunch from here on out.
Forza Horizon 5
This is the first Forza Horizon game I’ve played. A lot of the stuff that I’m enjoying about it is not necessarily new to the series but it’s all new to me and so far I’m very impressed. Instead of spending the time catching up on other games like I should have done, I spent my day off playing Forza Horizon 5 for hours and reluctantly putting it down when it was time to stop.
The main missions are where you’re going to see the coolest set pieces and the intro is no exception. You start off straight from a Fast & Furious movie as you’re jumping out of a plane with your car, attached to a parachute, and getting a glimpse of the different types of terrains you’ll be driving through in Mexico. A couple of missions later you’re exploring an ancient temple and taking pictures of rare statues before doing a big jump over the whole thing. It’s good old mindless entertainment. The open world map is filled with all sorts of activities from races, jumps, speed challenges, houses to buy, boards to break, and multiplayer activities and I’m enjoying all of them as I work my way around the map, checking off every new activity as it pops up.
I know it’s the cliché of racing games but Forza Horizon 5 is visually gorgeous and feels great to play. All of the different set pieces around Mexico offer something unique whether it’s the beach, the forest, a swampy area, or an airstrip. I’m especially impressed with the rumble in the controller and how much it’s adding to the experience. The bumpiness of the dirt road while you’re off-roading is portrayed in a weirdly accurate way in the controller with the way it vibrates and the resistance in the trigger. What makes it even more immersive is how smooth it finally feels to get back onto a paved road and all of the rumbling stops. I know not a lot of this is new to the series as a whole but seeing as it’s my first experience with a Forza game, I’m really impressed and can’t wait to hop back in.