Is the WW2 FPS Ready to Return?

Over the past couple of months, my friend and I have been helplessly addicted to a brilliant WW2 themed boardgame titled Memoir ‘44. The game replicates real-life Second World War scenarios onto a hexagonal map, making battles surprisingly akin to their real world counterparts. Playing, and thoroughly enjoying, these recreated battles triggered a thought, which would later become a desire, in my mind. Could now, over five years on from Call of Duty: World at War, be the time for the big names in FPS to make a return to the largest war in the history of mankind? Is the WW2 setting brimming to be explored once again? Or has every possible angle already been covered?

Gamers are growing tired of the once exciting modern setting, that much is undeniable. While games like Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 do continue to sell in droves, their popularity seems to be declining. COD in particular is notably suffering from a lack of reinvention and has become reliant on the formula that made it famous back in 2007. The simple fact is that the modern setting has been done to death. Ironically, a similar situation with the WW2 setting is what drove Infinity Ward towards the contemporary theme. Where once a military FPS stood for Thompsons, Nazis and Colditz-esque castles, when one thinks of Call of Duty now they think AC130s, killstreaks and abusive children. It seems we’ve lost what made the original military shooters feel alive.

There were some truly terrific WW2 shooters back in the day (I’d hoped never to use that phrase, but alas). The early Medal of Honor games, especially both Allied Assault and Frontline, were truly groundbreaking in terms of both cinematic gameplay and incredible recreation of real warfare. The beach landing level of these games, ripped straight from Saving Private Ryan, has still got to be one of my personal favourite moments in gaming history. Playing as a soldier in the OSS (the American WW2 intelligence agency) meant the player could experience various elements of the war all from the view of one man. Incredible battles like Market Garden and Overlord expertly contrasted smaller, more intimate levels such as the infamous German U-boat mission or the absurd jet fighter theft finale.

Medal of Honor would spawn a new wave of First Person Shooter games that began to dominate in the early/mid 2000s. An interesting new game titled Call of Duty sprung up in 2003 with a fantastic sense of realism and an inspired move away from the ‘lone-wolf’ style of MOH. The original WW2 COD games are still some of my favourites of all time, even the underrated Call of Duty 3. The game also opened up the Second World War and dared to show players the war from the view of both British and Soviet soldiers, the latter in particular gave the series an intriguing sense of questionable morality. Other successful series included Brothers in Arms, which introduced squad command gameplay, or the early Battlefield 1942 titles which focused on the ever growing world of online multiplayer.

It’s a rich history filled with unforgettable moments. WW2 shooters will always hold a place in my heart as they triggered a strong interest in military history. If there’s one key thing I don’t like about the modern FPS setting, it’s the fictional conflicts. I enjoy playing a game in which I feel like I’m part of history, of something that was a genuinely momentous occasion. Of course, the issue with history is that there’s only so much of it you can draw from. While the WW2 setting has, in my opinion, the most intriguing, unbelievably brutal and exciting battles of any point in history (in-game, that is to say), there’s definitely an argument that it’s been ‘done’. From the beaches of Normandy to the desolation of Stalingrad, the jungles of the Pacific theatre to the Deserts of North Africa, WW2 games have covered just about every aspect of the conflict. So where else is there to go? What else could we possibly see?

Firstly, there is a lot more historical content to explore; only it could prove very similar to previous explorations. A new WW2 FPS game, though, could easily rely on campaigns that have previously featured in other games. It’s been a long time since battles like El Alamein, Kursk, Market Garden and the Italian Campaign have been explored in video game form. With the eighth generation of console now in full swing, I’d love to see these events recreated in beautiful 1080p HD. But improved graphics have never sold anything without innovative gameplay. Regardless of what the trolls say, FPS games have advanced significantly since the days of Medal of Honor: Frontline. Cinematic storytelling has moved on hugely; only now can we really get The Thin Red Line levels of dramatic emotion out of a video game.

Improved storytelling ability would be a welcome addition to the WW2 FPS. While games like Brothers in Arms attempted to get a little emotion out of their patriotic Nazi-slayers, the somewhat shady morality of the war in general provided some problems story-wise. Personally, I’d love to see a game properly explore the role of a German soldier during the war. The story could focus not only on the German side of the individuals conflicts (imagine playing as a German in the bunkers of the Omaha beach landings!) but could also delve into the issues many German soldiers had with the actions of their superiors, and the role of the extreme Nazi ideology.

This is probably a good time to point out that there are games out there at the moment that provide this kind of experience. Red Orchestra 2 (and it’s brilliant expansion Rising Storm) is easily the biggest and most recent example; a game that also allows you to play a somewhat limited German campaign. There are other small projects available, not to mention the fairly decent Sniper Elite V2. It’s a sign that there’s still an audience out there for WW2 shooters, I fear that the only thing stopping the big names returning to the rich setting is the threat of scorn. Plus, the modern setting is still selling plenty of games, so there’s an undeniable question over whether it would actually be financially viable to go back to the Second World War. I know I’d buy a new WW2 Medal of Honor game, I’m just not sure if everyone else would.

Still, one can dare to dream. If I could just get an HD version of the Omaha beach landing, I’d be happy. So is it time for the FPS to return to WW2? Unfortunately the answer lies in the hands of the developers and the publishers of the video game industry. The chances of COD or Battlefield taking the leap are pretty slim, I dare say. A new IP from an established developer would be an ideal situation. Perhaps even Treyarch could finally detach themselves from the burden of formulaic Call of Duty games and try their hand at something new. Of course, big changes in this industry are often brought about by a select few, so perhaps an indie developer could be the ones to make WW2 big once again. Whoever, whatever or however; I just want a shiny new World War 2 FPS. There’s a lot of potential, and I never even grew tired of it in the first place.