Call of Duty fans were caught off guard with the sudden announcement in mid-August about the fall release of the 18th installment of the franchise. 

“Call of Duty: Vanguard” is set to be released tomorrow Nov. 5 and is rated M for mature. The game will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and PC. The game was developed by Sledgehammer Games and released by Activision, which has released several other Call of Duty’s such as “Modern Warfare” and “Cold War.”

“Vanguard” takes place during the end of World War II, with allied special forces taking control of what little land Germany has left. You play as five well-known war veterans: Arthur Kingsley, Polina Petrova, Lucas Riggs, Wade Jackson and Richard Webb. 

“Vanguard” contains the classic game modes such as multiplayer and campaign. However, it will also include zombies as a continuation from “Call of Duty: Cold War.” Zombies will contain a new game mode called “Der Anfang” or “the beginning,” which forces players to complete objectives before advancing further through the map. It will also include dark-weather entities that can be found in artifacts around the map.

Multiplayer will include new features such as a game mode called “Patrol” and gameplay mechanics such as blind firing, destructible environments and tweaks to weapon mounting.

When compared to past Call of Duty’s, “Vanguard” has received a lot of criticism on both its map design and weapon balance. However, one thing that has remained consistent throughout this entire Activision franchise is that the games remain fun.