I was excited to play the Battle of Midway mission but it's a letdown. That's about as sophisticated as stealth gets in Vanguard. This super power lets him see enemies through the Bougainville jungle, making for easier silent takedowns. Each character has a unique ability, but they're medicore. There are stealth sections that offer a change of pace, but these are rudimentary. Another tasks you with using explosives to blow stuff up. One set piece involves a frustrating sniper battle that descends into a pantomime boss fight. Occasionally - and it's only occasionally - you can task your squadmates with directing their fire at a particular target. There is little to think about beyond pointing and shooting.

But the gameplay is too by-the-numbers for it to make an impression. Vanguard's campaign levels look the part.Įach campaign mission is gorgeous, with incredibly detailed environments, impressive visual effects and the roar of a World War bursting through the speakers. We also get to visit the Numa Numa Trail, Tobruk and even the Battle of El Alamein. The flashback mission for American ace Wade Jackson is the Battle of Midway.

Polina Petrova, the Russian sniper inspired by real-life Soviet sniper Lyudmila 'Lady Death' Pavlichenko, has a flashback to the Battle of Stalingrad. Kingsley's is Operation Tonga, which saw paratroopers land in France ahead of the D-Day invasion. These flashbacks are missions set during prior World War 2 conflicts, and act as origin stories. The meat of the campaign is told through flashbacks - each character in this special unit gets their turn. He's on a 'crusade', another character says. The leader of the unit is a British war hero called Sergeant Arthur Kingsley. The characters here - all inspired by real-life World War 2 heroes - are supported by decent dialogue and vociferous voice acting - but there's no subtlety or deftness to proceedings. There is a secret plot to see the Third Reich live on, and Task Force One is sent in to infiltrate Germany on the quiet in order to put a stop to it. The campaign begins near the end of World War 2, with the Nazis defeated and in disarray.

The story, this time around, revolves around a handful of World War 2 heroes plucked from various allied nations that combine to form Task Force One - a fledgling spec ops team that acts as a precursor of the special forces we know today.

Map of the long dark