Ive played for about an hour in regular multiplayer and am a level 11 or something. But here are my initial impressions
1) Not being able to strafe is a huge gamechanger. It lessens the skill gap in head to head gunfights and makes it more difficult to pull off multikills unless you use a stun grenade or start by shooting someone in the back. Apparently only certain weapons have a stock attachment and allow you to strafe
2) Specialist abilities are basically the same as the Requisitions perk everyone hated in WW2. It’s a powerful perk/killstreak that you earn no matter how bad you are at the game and allows you to get cheap kills. And its baked into the core of this game so theres no avoiding it. Youre at a distinct disadvantage if you don’t use it.
3) SMGs are garbage. They take way too long to kill and I don’t think there is a grip attachment at all this year. You are better off using an AR in 80% of situations
4) Silencers are amazing. There is a very small range penalty for using them compared to previous years…Use a silencer on every gun you can
5) The maps are sooooooo much better than last years. Theres probably 5 maps that are better than damn near every map from WW2. The map design allows for more creativity instead of 3 generic lanes where people can headglitch all day
6) Its tough to play solo. Every year they make it harder for solo players. I suspect this is so you can harass your friends to buy the game and earn the studio more money. So far this hasn’t bothered me, but I find it hard to carry my team to victory in objective games.
7) The menu system is better and more organized than last year. Also no stupid ass supply drops so far.
8) Time to kill is long as hell. Again, makes multikills more difficult. Although I like the enemy health bars. For people with shaky connections, it helps eliminate deaths where you thought you were hitting the person but the shots didnt count
Overall its early, but I think the game has potential. Its very different and Ive skipped the last couple black ops games, so it’s a pretty different experience for me.