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Great interview with the devs at Sledgehammer about COD:WW2 and some interesting details in there not mentioned during the livestream reveal.

Call of Duty: WWII's story is told from the point of view of Ronald ”Red" Daniels, a rookie Private in the United States Army, 1st Infantry Division, also known as the ”Fighting First." Initially, he relies heavily on his superiors Pierson and Turner, who both have different ideas about how to conduct themselves in combat.

”Pierson and Turner have served together for years, so there's a real bond between the two men," says narrative director Scott Whitney. ”At the same time, they each embody a very different worldview, with Turner embracing a man before the mission philosophy, while Pierson is all about the mission before the man. Over the course of our story we see how these two philosophies come into conflict and how Daniels, caught in the middle, learns to navigate a path for himself. ”

Other characters appear including female resistance fighters, a soldier in an African-American unit (the U.S. Army was still segregated in WWII), a British officer and even a child.

Schofield won't talk about the health system yet, but auto-restoration is not happening. Reading between the lines, I gather that med-packs are the likely solution, perhaps even called for from medics, rather than just sitting around.

"You have to worry about every bullet," says Schofield. "You're not the superhero. You can't just stand there taking seven bullets, ducking, shooting again. It's refreshing for us to deal with recruits who aren't tier-one warriors, to show that vulnerability. They're naive. It's been a really cool challenge creating this different kind of gameplay."

They don't elaborate on whether or not health regen has been removed from both SP and MP, or if it's just one or the other. But either way that's a pretty big deal since the series has had health-regen since COD2. Here's another interesting detail about the multiplayer:

In Divisions, the player creates a class and progresses through the ranks. This affords an option to choose the kind of division you want to join, whether that be infantry, airborne or armored. Players are also given a range of options in terms of the part they play, including women resistance fighters, Brits, African-American GIs and others to be announced.

 

[Hux1ey]

Holy shit they actually went back to their roots.

Health packs!

 

[Cartho]

My body is so ready.

 

[Ensirius]

I very much like this

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

Health packs might have just sold me.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

It's the ciiiiiiiiiiiiiiircle of liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife

 

[ornery]

I like this.

I hope there's a HUD-less option for full immersion.

 

[McDougles]

Anything that taps into what made Medal of Honor: Frontline great.

 

[VeryGooster]

but HOW MANY boots will be on the ground??

 

[HiiiLife]

Only a bomba if it's mp as well

 

[Jawmuncher]

I personally don't like health packs (can't recall one time where it's added to the experience for the better). But I'm not against the idea. Interested to see what sledgehammer pulls off.

 

[Foxxsoxx]

Great news but no mention of it being in MP.

I personally don't like health packs (can't recall one time where it's added to the experience for the better). But I'm not against the idea. Interested to see what sledgehammer pulls off.

Ever play Resistance 1 or 3?

They do health really well.

 

[Anung]

Well that's an interesting choice. Colour me intrigued.

 

[Grettir_the_Swole]

Fuck yes. Give me something like this and it's day 1 for me.

for me.

 

[Kill3r7]

Only a bomba if it's mp as well

I assume it will be similar to BF1.

 

[Rebel Leader]

(Been out since mw2)


Edit:would love it to be in mp too

 

[robotrock]

i want to eat a burger to regain health

bring back burger town

 

[Jonesy7707]

Holy shit they actually went back to their roots.

Health packs!

Keep in mind, that seems to be referring to the campaign and not MP.

 

[Archpath1]

Need dat Shoes On The Floor combat

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

If this is in MP it will either be the greatest thing or the worst thing to ever happen to the franchise.

 

[Sorral]

edit: damnit, too slow

 

[frontovik]

The presence of health packs is what makes or breaks the game for you? lol.

 

[WilsonX100]

Anything that taps into what made Medal of Honor: Frontline great.

Allied Assault and then Frontline. Also the original Call of Duty.

 

[HiiiLife]

If this is in MP it will either be the greatest thing or the worst thing to ever happen to the franchise.

Jetpacks happened, so this could be second worst.

 

[Lanrutcon]

Full circle.

Watch people complain.

 

[Hux1ey]

If this is in MP it will either be the greatest thing or the worst thing to ever happen to the franchise.

It worked just fine in CoD1, It helps prevent campers and people hiding behind things in general, brings more skill into the game. How is this a bad thing?

Keep in mind, that seems to be referring to the campaign and not MP.

That would be silly if it was different in MP.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

can't wait for all the fellow kids to consider this GROUNDBREAKING

 

[Sir Doom]

Play as a child = shock moment

 

[Scoops]

Yep, I'm back in.

Holy fuck they finally listened after those garbage future CoDs.

 

[Kinyou]

and even a child.

Finally some representation for the kids that scream in your ears during mp matches

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Players are also given a range of options in terms of the part they play, including women resistance fighters, Brits, African-American GIs and others to be announced.

DICE has no excuse when next year's Battlefield ends up being Battlefield 1944.

 

[SlimySnake]

holy shit. this means they might actually have to design enemy encounters this time around. this is huge because that means the gameplay will be a huge departure from previous cod games.

 

[gamechanger87]

To be honest, their version of operations should rely on the healthpack and medic structure. You are fighting over land and pushing back and forth. It's why BF1's version fails is because everyone just hides to get health back and pops right back up. Makes it too chaotic. Healthpacks and medics for the large battlefield will slow it down enough to make it feel more like a battlefield and less like a large TDM. Makes the medics useful too.

The TDM should retain regen.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

Wow - health packs.

MP looks like a CLASS specific type of game? 48 players? hmmm

 

[Brandon F]

Ok, now tell us what you are planning about these...

 

[Tagyhag]

I personally don't like health packs (can't recall one time where it's added to the experience for the better). But I'm not against the idea. Interested to see what sledgehammer pulls off.

It always depends on how well the game is designed around health packs.

Because it can be one of the most frustrating or exhilarating aspects.

I still remember being scared shirtless in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault during the covert submarine mission because there was a good 5-10 minute stretch where I was 1 shot away from being killed. But because I took my time and slowly crept my way up to a health pack I survived and was able to start run and gunning again.

That's not an experience that I would have remembered if I had regenerative health.

 

[Hux1ey]

holy shit. this means they might actually have to design enemy encounters this time around. this is huge because that means the gameplay will be a huge departure from previous cod games.

I think it will be very similar to the first one actually.

It always depends on how well the game is designed around health packs.

Because it can be one of the most frustrating or exhilarating aspects.

I still remember being scared shirtless in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault during the covert submarine mission because there was a good 5-10 minute stretch where I was 1 shot away from being killed. But because I took my time and slowly crept my way up to a health pack I survived and was able to start run and gunning again.

That's not an experience that I would have remembered if I had regenerative health.

That mission was so damn good.

 

[lovelyperson]

The presence of health packs is what makes or breaks the game for you? lol.

The presence of health packs without regen vs no health packs with regen. actually changes the game significantly, gameplay-wise.

I'm actually more excited for the campaign if it really has no regen.

 

[Bronx-Man]

Holy shit, we really have gone full circle. It's like poetry.

Also, I'm in for the immense butthurt if health doesn't regen in MP.

 

[ivan.k]

Fuck health packs. Industry rejected them in favor of regen for a reason

 

[Tankard]

Nice to hear, now just make the multiplayer also go back to its roots and i'm day 1 on this one after a looong time.

 

[Hux1ey]

Allied Assault and then Frontline. Also the original Call of Duty.

Every CoD before CoD2 had health packs.

 

[Plumpbiscuit]

For the female soldier it would make more sense if it was a British spy, kinda like Velvet Assassin.

As for the child, maybe a flashback sequence during the story?

 

[Rebel Leader]

Fuck health packs. Industry rejected them in favor of regen for a reason

Well.. It's time to go back to the past. Like samurai jack!

 

[kadotsu]

This is such a small change with the frequent checkpointing in modern CoDs.

 

[AfterTheFall]

Intriguing. Seems they really want to change things after the reception of Infinite Warfare.

 

[farisr]

I don't play COD campaigns for a military sim/realism and I've never liked a health pack only approach in games (Halo CE system is the only one I've legitimately tolerated due to it being a combination of regen + health packs). It feels antiquated to me. So a campaign that's trying to "highlight the vulnerability of its heroes via health packs is a no go. I had already decided to skip out on the MP for this game due to the setting as I never enjoyed MP in the more grounded CODs before. The SP was basically the only factor. This pretty much ensures regardless of how well the SP is received I'll either be borrowing the game from a friend to play the SP or waiting till it's less than $20.

Good news for the folks that wanted it though. Curious to see how this goes over with the general public. If it's a campaign only thing, probably little to no reaction. If it shows up in MP, there's gonna be a lot of outcry.

I wouldn't be against an approach where Sledgehammer basically tackles the past and does more grounded things with each of their CODs, Treyarch does the modern/future settings with those kinds of movement systems, and Infinity Ward keeps on trying different things.

 

[Randdalf]

Fuck health packs. Industry rejected them in favor of regen for a reason

They rejected them to appeal to a more casual audience, with great success.

 

[Humidex]

Nice

 

[Hux1ey]

Fuck health packs. Industry rejected them in favor of regen for a reason

Easymode to bring in the kiddies.