Over the years, the Call of Duty franchise has created a name for itself, and it has become a huge deal. Every year a new game in the series comes out, and every year we get to hear about how it sucks compared to some of the older COD titles. One of the biggest reasons why people were starting to get disappointed from the franchise was that it was the same game being released each year, only with a different story and skin. World War II was always a popular theme for the franchise since that is where the first game started from. Later we saw the release of COD: Modern Warfare which was received very positively and it still continues to have a loyal fan base even to this day.

The games released after that kept exploring the idea of futuristic warfare, but that idea could only work for so long. Then the question came up of where to take the franchise next, especially with a lot of the fans getting weary of the same game being released every year. The task to make a new Call of Duty game, but one that was set during World War II was handed over the Sledgehammer games. Call of Duty: WWII had a lot of hype behind it, but as the game was launched, it became obvious that it had failed to achieve anything new. It’s been a few days since the release of the game and we’ve had plenty of time to write down everything that is wrong with it. So, if you’re not one of those people who pre-ordered the game, and are still thinking about whether to get it or not then this list is definitely for you.

20 The Maps In Multiplayer Are Too Small

The multiplayer experience has been at the core of almost every Call Of Duty game to be released. It’s also one of the biggest reasons why some people decide to get the game in the first place. Compared to Battlefield, Call of Duty has always focused on fast-paced multiplayer action, but fans of the franchise are now tired of the same old mechanics and were looking for something new with COD: WWII.

That didn’t happen, however, as nothing has really changed this time around. While the game was in development for around three years, it’s still the same old Call of Duty but with a WWII skin on it. The maps are way too small and all it takes to get from one side of the map to the other is a short sprint. The entire experience gets repetitive quickly, and even the newer game modes don’t seem to be introducing a lot.

19 It Isn’t The Most Visually Stunning Game Around

Gameplay aside, graphics do matter especially with all of the powerful hardware that’s out there, allowing developers to come up with some amazing visuals. However, simply saying that a game looks visually good is not enough anymore since every AAA title is doing that nowadays and this is exactly what COD: WWII is.

The graphics for the game are good but they’re simply not the best around. With games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 that is just around the corner and Assassin’s Creed Origins which has already been released, COD: WWII simply looks quite dull. One of the biggest reasons behind this is that the developers for the series are still using an older graphics engine while other games like Battlefield 1 were created using an entirely new and updated engine.

18 Back To The Basics: Not Really

Since most gamers were getting tired of the futuristic settings of COD games, the developers decided to go back to the basics, and by basics, we mean the mechanics that made the first few Call of Duty games great and were set during the time of World War II. The only problem with this is the fact that World War II has been done too many times now.

When Battlefield decided to go with the WWI theme, they implemented it in such a way that it made us experience multiple storylines during the campaign despite how short it was. The boots on the ground approach of the older games worked since it was an entirely new concept then but the same cannot be applied anymore and this makes COD: WWII a game that lacks anything new and exciting.

17 It Lacks What Made The Original Games Great

One of the reasons why a lot of developers decide to go with the World War II theme is that it was a conflict that was spread across the globe, involving a large number of countries which provides a large number of options for the setting of the game

Still, with the number of WWII games that have been released in the past, most if not all of the major conflicts have been covered in one way or the other. One of the reasons behind the success of the older games was that it had minute details which gave a feel of just how huge this conflict was. Take as an example the NPCs in the first COD, all of which had names but most of them would end up dying right in front of you. While COD: WWII introduced the new squad system, it’s still not as immersive or good as the older game mechanics.

16 It Is Historically Very Inaccurate

This is one thing that a lot of people seemed to have an issue with long before the game was released and a lot of it makes sense. We realize that topics related to the opposing side of WWII are usually quite sensitive, but the fact remains that these were a part of a terrible time in our history and one that cannot be ignored or changed.

The developers of the game decided to remove all of the swastika symbols in the game as to not offend anyone. On the other hand, the game heavily features female characters in the multiplayer, something that is historically very inaccurate. Once again, while the reasons behind most of these decisions have to do with being politically correct, it also doesn’t make sense to change historical facts.

15 Online Play Still Hasn’t Been Fixed Properly

Most people don’t even buy the latest COD game for the campaign, instead, they jump right into the multiplayer. That’s one of the reasons why a lot of gamers usually end up pre-ordering the game so that they can play it as soon as it is available.

This, unfortunately, wasn’t the case with COD: WWII since the game had a ton of issues with online play. This obviously pissed off a lot of gamers since most of them had been waiting for quite some time now for the game to come out. While the game has been out for a few days now, players still continue to face issue related to multiplayer, and these still haven’t been fixed.

14 Multiplayer Maps Only Allow 12 Players

Getting to play online with a large number of people is what makes the multiplayer modes a lot of fun, especially when the conflict is set up during World War II. Once again, Battlefield 1 already does an amazing job at this and while Call Of Duty has always had a bit of a different approach, it doesn’t really go well with the WWII theme.

When the developers announced that the game had been in development for almost three years, fans had a lot of expectations, and the end result wasn’t even close. The multiplayer only has 12 player maps. Yes, you read that correctly. For a game that has been set during WWII, a 12 player map simply doesn’t make any sense.

13 All Weapons Feel Pretty Much The Same

There were a lot of issues with the game back when the beta for COD: WWII was announced, and we were hoping that Sledgehammer games would use this feedback to fix these. One of these was about how the weapons in the game feel.

Most of them behave and work pretty much in the same way which makes the entire concept of choosing classes and specializing in a weapon pointless. There are no unique weapon mechanics here and some weapons are unnecessarily overpowered. The issues with weapons in the game don’t end here, however, as most of these are also inconsistent when used in multiplayer. These are supposed to be different from all of the futuristic weapons that have existed in the Call of Duty games to come out in recent years but once again, they end up being the same.

12 Online Maps Are Littered With Choke Points

This, once again, is an issue with how the multiplayer maps are being handled in the game. Most of these are small which doesn’t lead to a very exciting experience and then on top that, the maps are littered with chokepoints.

The problem isn’t really limited to Call Of Duty, however, as maps on games like Star Wars: Battlefront 2 also suffering from the same problem and it gets annoying really fast. The maps are already small which means that you’re gunned down literally seconds after you spawn where someone either ends up drop shotting you or kills you by firing from the hip around a choke point. The only way to fix this would be if a DLC with bigger and better maps is announced in the future, something that seems highly unlikely.

11 Team Balancing Is Simply The Worst

Team-based multiplayer modes are there for a reason and while Call of Duty has never really been about teamwork, at least the previous releases of the game ensured that the teams were as balanced as possible. No one really wants to spend the entire session on the losing side and this becomes even more important with some of the newer online modes that COD: WWII has introduced

Unfortunately, that is exactly what is happening to a lot of people who are trying to play online. Teams are unbalanced which means that the stronger team gets to capture all of the objectives while the weaker team struggles to get past the first objective. This can get frustrating and doesn’t lead to a very pleasant experience in game.

10 It Had The Worst Launch In COD History

There have been a few messed up launches throughout the history of COD, but none was perhaps as bad as the launch of Call Of Duty: WWII. If you think that the launch of COD: Black Ops 2 was bad, wait till you hear about this one.

As soon as the game was launched, people started having issues connecting to multiplayer, and these weren’t resolved for almost 6 hours which obviously pissed off a lot of gamers, especially those who had pre-ordered the game and were hoping to play it on launch. The new headquarters mode also doesn’t seem to help with the loading times, and there is no option to opt out of it.

9 Hackers Still Plague Multiplayer On PC

Hackers inside the PC version of Call Of Duty is not new news at all. However, one would think that the guys over at Activision would’ve figured a way out by now to keep these people out.

Look, we understand that it’s an extremely difficult thing to do especially with hackers figuring out new ways to hack a game every other day but at the same time, this is unfair to all those who have paid for the game and are expecting to have some genuine fun. This alone makes getting COD: WWII or any other COD game for that matter on the PC pretty pointless. Unfortunately, this will continue to affect future game releases as well until someone figures out the perfect way to keep out the hackers.

8 PS4 Owners Get Early Access To DLCs

All consoles are created equal: A phrase that you’ve probably never heard before and won’t ever hear because if that were true, we wouldn’t really have the console wars or the entire console vs PC debate.

Hardware specs aside, one of the biggest deciding factors when choosing a gaming platform is the number of games and exclusives available for it. This isn’t the only thing, however, as most games have started to favor certain platform more than others. In the case of COD: WWII, the first DLC for the game called The Resistance is going to be released first on the PlayStation 4 and a few weeks later on other platforms. Regardless of the reasons behind this decision, it is still unfair to those who have bought the game on PC or on the Xbox One.

7 Cut Scenes Deliver The Best Campaign Moments

Cutscenes can be a great way of delivering the story. However, they don’t quite work when some of the most exciting moments of the game are represented using these. The campaign in Call of Duty: WWII relies a bit too much on these which means that there isn’t a lot left for the player to do.

Most of the pre-rendered cut scenes cause the player to lose all the immersions since the color balance shifts in most of these simply don’t match up with what we see in game and a heavy film grain effect has also been added to these for that extra dramatic and historic feel. While it’s true that cutscenes do work better for some games than others, it still would’ve been nice if Sledgehammer had gone for something a bit different here.

6 Vehicle Based Chapters Are Just Awful

While vehicles have always been more of a Battlefield thing, many gamers were still hype about the prospect of getting to interact with a few vehicles during the campaign at least. Now a lot of people would say that expecting COD to behave like Battlefield is wrong and we completely agree with that, however, the problem here is that the vehicles chapters that do exist in the game are simply awful.

Take for example the chapter during the game where the player is in charge of a tank and the objective is to provide some support to a friendly platoon while simultaneously navigating the streets. Movement of the tank’s main gun is inverted here and this setting cannot be changed so good luck trying to aim properly. The tank also ends up turning as a whole upon moving the mouse which got us to quit the chapter more than a few times simply because it got too frustrating.

5 Supply Drops Are Still Important

If you think you can get away from those supply drops, then you’re simply mistaken. For those unaware of what these are, supply drops are basically the Call of Duty version of loot crates. These can unlock a number of things for the player, none of which are actually useful, and the entire experience of unlocking a supply drop has been focused on greatly.

This is pretty obvious from the fact that Sledgehammer decided to create an entirely new mode called the online HQ where players can hang out in third person mode and unlock stuff from their supply drops in front of all the other players. They can then stand there and watch you unlock more stuff, or you can walk around and do the same, both of which do not sound very exciting at all.

4 Online Gameplay Doesn’t Bring Anything New

This isn’t the first time that developers are integrating a multiplayer mode in a COD game, in fact, it has been fine-tuned over the years now, and yet it still remains the same. The core mechanics are the exact same as they were in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a game that was released 10 years ago.

While new modes have been introduced into the game, one of them being the War mode which basically brings objective based gameplay, it still faces the same issues of small maps and limited gameplay. Combine that with terrible matchmaking, and unbalanced teams and you’ll get a multiplayer experience which will leave a sour taste after only a couple of hours.

3 Campaign Is The Same Old Boring Story

World War II has inspired more games than perhaps any other conflict in the history of the world. A really big reason for this is the fact that WWII spanned across a number of different locations across the world and so developers can make full use of that.

Despite all of this, however, the campaign of COD: WWII is the same old stereotypical WWII story that we’ve come to see in both video games and movies. A young soldier with a sweetheart back home and a squad of friends, some of which may or may not make it till the end. Once you dive into the campaign, it becomes predictable quite fast, and any hopes that you have of a unique experience wash away quickly.

2 Grinding For Unlocks Is Pointless

As we mentioned earlier, supply drops are a huge deal in COD: WWII and there are a few ways of earning them in game, all of which involve a lot of grinding. Some of the rare supply drops can be earned after completing challenges called Contracts which can be bought using some Armory Credits. If all of this sounds confusing then you’re probably not alone.

The part that really sucks, however, is that despite all the grinding, the supply drops don’t contain any items that offer any sort of gameplay advantage. Most of the items are XP boosts, cosmetic unlocks for weapons and emotes. Once again, these supply drops can be opened in front of other players in the Online HQ if that’s the sort of thing that you’re really interested in.

1 It Still Costs A Whopping $60

It’s pretty obvious at this point that the prime years of COD are now done and over. Some of the best games in the series were released between 2007 and 2010 with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare being one of the most standout titles.

Since then, Activision has pretty much used the Call of Duty name to sell the same game but with a different skin each year and while COD: WWII was supposed to be a new era for the franchise, it has failed to deliver on most of its promises and despite all of this, players still have to pay the price of a full game to experience something that is no different than many of its previous iterations.