McCreary's music focuses on small notes, befitting the individual characters, rising in grandeur and strength to reflect their role in a greater story as a whole. They're not refined or used to working as Spec Ops, but are instead referred to as a "hammer instead of a scalpel," according to Bridge.Ī grand conflict requires a grand score, which is why Sledgehammer solicited the help of Bear McCreary, well-known for his work on God of War. The campaign examines the birth of special forces, as the Allies put together a team of extroardinary fighters from across the various theaters of the conflict. Historically fictitious birth of special forcesĮven with the historic setting, Sledgehammer is telling a decidedly fictitious story. It's not clear how much of the game will have this, but it's nice to see. Every reload feels tense, and the clever use of shooting through floors and doors is necessary to survive. After a frantic opening, the tone is slower, with a focus on how the player has limited ammo and is evading German forces at night. The press was shown a portion of one campaign level, which had paratroopers landing in France the day before D-Day. By recruiting a more diverse, global workforce, the team feels better equipped to tell a story regarding a war that affected the entire world. It's no longer just the base team at Foster City there's a new team in Australia of over 150 people, while a third team has been opened in Toronto and is already in the "double-digits," says Wilson. Sledgehammer Games has also greatly expanded. World War II is admittedly "well-trodden" territory. Part of what makes that possible comes down to the sheer workforce being thrown at it, with every single studio at Activision now working on the Call of Duty brand. Even with the ongoing pandemic and the rise of the juggernaut that is Warzone, Call of Duty isn't deviating from its yearly release schedule. To that end, the campaign and multiplayer takes players across every theater of combat: the Eastern Front, Western Front, Pacific, and even North Africa.Īs part of making it a global game, Sledgehammer Games has become a global studio.
Bridge explains that unlike past titles that focused on select portions of the global war, Vanguard is meant to truly encompass a world at war, with multiple points of view. World War II is admittedly "well-trodden" territory, per Game Director Josh Bridge, which is why the team is trying something unique.