That being said, some of the weapon challenges are… infuriating, to say the least. after spending most of my free time running around the mostly excellent new maps, upgrading my weapons to highly satisfying levels, and – most importantly – shooting other people in the face, I have to say that in spite of its familiarity, Call of Duty: Vanguard's multiplayer is dependably a good time.

I feel compelled to slap it with words like “uninspired” and “unambitious,” and it seems to have carried over a few small technical annoyances from last year. The biggest issue is that it doesn't really do anything new and feels all too familiar – more of a refined riff on what we’ve played in Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare than something with its own distinctive style of gameplay. Mind you, I have fun with this series most years, and I wouldn’t necessarily call Vanguard a high point even among the past few games. I’ve spent the weekend after launch playing Call of Duty: Vanguard multiplayer, and I'm glad to say I'm having a lot of fun. For our thoughts on the other two modes, check out our review of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Single-Player Campaign and our review of Call of Duty: Vanguard’s Zombies mode. Note: This review covers the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty: Vanguard.

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