The Call of Duty franchise is to video games what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to film, a fertile source of sequels that make big bucks irrespective of quality. In 2016, the series hit $15 billion in sales, and that was before the eagerly anticipated latest installment, Call of Duty: WWII.
Released last week, the game, a first-person shooter set in Europe’s killing fields, goes to great lengths to give players the feeling that they’re experiencing a slightly quicker-paced interactive version of a Ken Burns documentary. From D-Day to the Battle of the Bulge, a small band of brothers, American soldiers all, bond as they shoot Nazis by the dozens, making for a game that prides itself as much on its character development and attention to detail as it does its smooth mechanics and great graphics.