Anyone who has been a loyal Call of Duty player over the years will have some complaints about the Multiplayer online experience. One of those major complaints is how from one year to the next, the gameplay doesn't necessarily change that much. While the battlefield may change, the online modes that a majority of the players buy the game for have become stagnant.

Most players flock to the typical game modes, like Team Deathmatch. The scoring for it hasn't really changed at all over the years. The method of progression through the ranks and unlocking weapons has been tweaked here and there, but not enough to really make much of a difference.

What the game was sorely lacking was a new way to divide players up and have them battle it out.

Wait, why am I holding a football?

A funny thing happened when I logged on for the first time with the latest entry to the franchise: "Call of Duty: WW2." I was milling about in the Headquarters section, a nice little meeting ground for other players to purchase add-ons and congregate before loading into a multiplayer match when someone threw a football at me.

I thought it was just a cool little feature of the Headquarters section until I went to select a game mode and found "Gridiron" prominently featured. Assuming it had something to do with football made me intrigued so I entered a lobby and joined the game.

What I found was a way to play the close quartered multiplayer that I hadn't before thought possible.

Scoring a touchdown never felt so good

The game mode is pretty straightforward. Each team has a goal to defend and a ball is placed in the middle of the map. The team can either pick up the ball and run it through the goal for seven points or throw it into the goal for three points.

Other than that, it's the usual kill or be killed out there.

One of the really fun twists is the ability to throw the ball. While players are prevented from using their weapon when holding the ball, aside from wielding said ball, they can throw it to one another. Playing with friends, we have been able to execute long field passes and completions leading to touchdowns that felt better than any TD ever scored playing "Madden."

The strategies used are different than the other traditional game modes.

With only scores made with the ball counting, getting a ton of kills isn't entirely needed to win the game.

What's next?

Hopefully, the early success of Gridiron will spur Sledgehammer to further expand upon new game modes in the coming updates. Introducing a new game mode such as this can be tricky if it is not received well, but the response so far has been promising.

The real telling sign will be when there is another "Double XP" weekend. If there is a heavy push to making players play Gridiron then it may be a signal that overall participation isn't where it should be. If the game mode goes unmentioned, that likely means that it has been well-adopted into the stable or regular games and should be sticking around for a while.
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