Call Of Duty: WWII

After years of future conflicts, it’s time for a history lesson

- Ben Tyrer

Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before. Soldiers huddle together inside a Higgins boat. They’re part of the Allied invading forces barrelling towards Omaha Beach. An endless wave of bullets attempts to repel them as they try to disembark, with bodies littering the shore. Yeah, it’s an FPS set in WWII, with shades of Saving Private Ryan.

Not that recalling this cinematic imagery is a bad thing. I’m taking in this section of the opening mission at a press reveal event and, even in a room crowded with other people, this version of the battle on D-Day is unsettling. Disorientating explosions and gunfire never let up as lead character Roland ‘Red’ Daniels sprints to a Czech hedgehog for cover. I woozily watch the carnage unfold as a gruff sergeant barks orders. Everything looks appropriately horrifying, although the whiff of recycling past glories of the genre lingers.