Call of Duty Vanguard's multiplayer reveal took place last night, showcasing its online mode for nearly half an hour. I had been fairly indifferent about the latest installment in the long-running shooter franchise, but I have become positively excited to get my hands on Call of Duty Vanguard.

The live-streamed event began with Greg Reisdorf, Sledgehammer Games' multiplayer creative director, explaining that Vanguard "takes historic liberties and risks to deliver something fun." It began. This is quite different from Sledgehammer's last work in this series, "Call of Duty: WWII," which was a fairly traditional video game depiction of a global conflict.

This brief introduction was followed by the first high-octane public trailer featuring actual gameplay. This was followed by 20 minutes of rather dry developer interviews. These interview segments were interspersed primarily with footage from the trailer we had already seen.

Nevertheless, the multiplayer reveal trailer dramatically changed my initial assessment of the game, focusing on Vanguard's "non-traditional, gritty, anti-hero from all fronts of war," and in the tone presented in the trailer, almost playable looks like a Quentin Tarantino movie-even the baseball bat-wielding operative.

In the ongoing "Battlefield 2042" versus "Call of Duty: Vanguard" war, the former had my support very much, but now leans toward neutral territory. While "Battlefield 2042" definitely looks like a next-gen game at this stage, it may lose out to "Vanguard" in terms of the amount of content available at launch.

Following the announcement event, the PlayStation Blog posted details about Call of Duty Vanguard's multiplayer. The article confirmed that 20 maps will be offered at launch. 16 in the traditional multiplayer mode and 4 in the new Champion Hill mode. This means that there will be a very large number of maps available from day one, especially when compared to its biggest competitors.

Also detailed was the new "combat pacing" feature in the "Call of Duty" series. This feature will give players more control over how they fight each match by choosing one of three pacing categories: tactical, assault, or blitz. Choosing Tactical provides a classic Call of Duty experience, while choosing Assault and Blitz allows for a faster, more frenetic experience with more players.

This feature could be game-changing, allowing players to find the best settings for their playstyle; the Call of Duty community often debates whether the game plays too fast or too slow when a new game is released. However, combat pacing should satisfy all players.

Call of Duty Vanguard also has all the elements one would expect from a CoD online suite. From extended gunsmithing for weapon customization to a diverse group of playable operators, they all have unique abilities and attributes, as well as extended backgrounds told through unique dialogue. All the features long-time players have come to expect seem to be in place at launch.

Perhaps Vanguard is not reinventing the wheel, but it appears to be a very polished version of the Call of Duty multiplayer experience that has dominated the game for over a decade. Thankfully, the PlayStation's Early Access Beta launches this Friday.

Call of Duty: Vanguard is currently scheduled to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, and last-gen consoles on November 5. As well as a wide range of online modes, the game will include a full single-player campaign, a cooperative zombie mode, and deep integration with the free-to-play hit "Call of Duty: Warzone."