Call of Duty

Rating:
Summary: an excellent game by any standards
Review: This is the most engrossing game I have played since the first Halflife game came out over five years ago. Enemy AI is very good and makes for interesting replays after dying.

Other than the GTAIII & Vice City games I have not bought many games in the last few years since my old pc would not do them any justice. After finishing building my new pc- I decided I needed a current game to see what my new system could do. I could not have picked a better title to christen my new pc.

I have not found anything negative to say about this game and I am very picky about game quality. Until Halflife2 is released I am sure I will be devoting all gaming time to Call of Duty.

The standout parts of the game are the Russian levels, especially the tank levels.

I hope there is a sequel already in the works, or at the very least an expansion pack.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Medal of Honor!!
Review: I originally heard about this game before it even came out in a review for Medal of Honor. They recommended that the readers check out Call of Duty's official website (www.callofduty.com). I did, and I was blown away by the screen shots and videos.

A couple months later, the game came out and I was probably one of the first to receive it from Amazon.com (preordered mine). Upon playing the first couple missions, I was astounded by the realistic, gritty detail. It amazed me how immersive the game-play was. It has same cinematic qualities of Medal of Honor, and then some.

Call of Duty not only allows you to fight with the US Army, but allows you to fight as British and Russians, as well, all of which feature realistic weapons pertaining to the era and nationality. This adds up to 3 separate campaigns, all including about 5 missions.

One little thing it includes that goes a long way, that MOH forgot, was to allow you to look down the sights of your weapon. I love it! All you FPS players know what I'm talking about. Call of Duty also lets you switch your weapons for those found on dead enemies, not something you were able to do with Medal of Honor. This provides for open, realistic, open-ended playing. If you don't like the weapon given to you at the beginning of a mission, no problem... Just throw it for your enemy's.

Not surprisingly, multiplayer is stellar, as well. It has every mode imaginable. It offers smooth performance, even for those who are a little lacking in the bandwidth department, though, I wouldn't recommend depending on it.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing WWII first-person shooter game
Review: Summary: If you liked Medal of Honor, you'll love this. This is my favorite game of 2003.

Call of Duty is comprised of two modes: single-player and multi-player. In single-player, you'll have a great time playing difficult missions first as an American GI, then a Brit, and finally as a Russian. Most players can finish the game in a day or two. The graphics are intense (for a game using the Quake 3 engine), the sound simply amazing; you'll think you're on a virtual battlefield.

The AI is quite good, which makes for better variety than most first-person shooter games. Also, the ability to be part of a squad adds depth to the game, as you're no longer killing 200 soldiers by yourself. I recommend playing on the most difficult setting, as that is a definite challenge and will enhance your enjoyment of the single-player missions (and teach you the virtues of patience).

In multi-player mode is where Call of Duty really shines. You can compete against a host of players in a deathmatch or on a team (such as Germans vs. British). I have been playing multi-player for a few weeks now... it still gets my heart pounding when an unseen sniper is trying to take you down, or when you meet an opponent face-to-face.

My kudos to the designers, this game is certainly a piece of art.

Pro:
-amazing fast-paced action
-realistic sounds
-good AI
-great multi-player mode
-detailed maps

Cons:
-lack of a map editor
-single-player mode could use more missions

Rating:
Summary: Single player rules, but ONLINE IT ROCKS!!!!!!!!!
Review: The game is amazing. You start off being a soldier for Britain then you begin to move through the levels. The levels are amazingly huge, but some are small. Online the game is totally different. You have so many chances to get into a game with others since there is at least 500 players at a time.

Rating:
Summary: Best shooter since half life
Review: OMG i just finished the game and u know waht i did? i clicked new game and swore an oth to myself never to tounc the quick save button. U may be thinking what i wrote as the title is a bit hard "how can it be the best shooter sonce half life?" quite simpley u have to play it for yourself. the scripted scens are amazing and i found sometimes u just had to sit back from your computer and admire it. Oh and thing play as the russkis it rocks! See u on the battlefield. Scarecrow out

Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly, a 5 Star action title, PURE FUN.
Review: When I heard the advance press that this game was getting, I audibly groaned, "oh no, not ANOTHER World War II shooter, how boring." I am as jaded an FPS player as they come. After playing 'Call of Duty' I am happy to report that I have never been more wrong about a game in my entire life.

First of all, the pacing of the in-game action is fantastic and well thought out, easily rivaling Half-Life and Halo. You almost never get bored or frustrated. You move from one mission objective to the next, at an exhilirating pace, without getting overwhelmed.

Secondly (and most importantly), the game play mechanics walk the fine line between realisim and fun perfectly. Yeah, if you walk in front of an MG-42 for a split second, you're gonna get hosed (as you should), but it's not the frequntly frustrating ultra-realism of Ghost Recon. Just enough to suspend your disbelief and have fun at the same time. It's understandable why many game designers can't get this combo right, it's what seperates the classsics from the also-rans.

Finally, the designers of this game deserve an award for squeezing amazing performance and visuals out of the aging Quake III engine. I was frequently blown away by their attention to detail, the burned out European citscapes are at once nightmarish and breathtaking. It runs great on my mid range system, another amazing bonus. Grand Theft Auto III is the only other game in recent memory that has made me forget I was sitting in front of my computer as much as this one.

If you have any interest in first person shooters or World War II at all, put it in the shopping cart immediatley.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Ok, first off, I would just like to say that this is probably the best and most realistic World War 2 game on the market today. Activision has had some hits and misses in the industry, but they have come through with flying colors on this one with the help of Infinity Ward. The single player game play is phenomenal; it's the best that I have ever played.

You start off with the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. You drop in ahead of the main D-Day parachuting force to lay out a drop zone. The sight of the entire 101st Division dropping from above right next to you is absolutely exhilarating. You fight through many buildings until you come to the village of St. Mere Eglise. You and your squad must capture this village. For anyone who has ever seen Band of Brothers Part 2, you will love the Brecourt level. It is almost identical to the one in BoB and it looks incredibly awesome. After a few more missions, the United States part of the game is over.

The next campaign you are on involves the British 6th Airborne Division. The highlight of this stage is the defense of Pegasus Bridge. You and a handful of other British Special Forces must protect Pegasus Bridge at all costs. You encounter many enemy troops and about a half dozen Panzer tanks. Other noteworthy missions are the Eder Dam level and the sabotaging of the battleship Tirpitz, in which you and one other man have to take down many men in order to disable anti-radar mechanisms and doom it for allied destruction.

The last campaign for the game is one where you are a Russian conscript who is drafted for the battle of Stalingrad. That battle is truly amazing. You work your way up in the ranks by surviving missions and soon you are commander of a tank. The tank level gives you a Battlefield 1942 style tank war in which you fight off, with the help of very few other tanks, at least 20 other Nazi Panzer tanks. That mission was extremely exciting.

After you have completed the Russian campaign, you have 1 more mini-campaign to complete. Through this, you are given one more mission with each of the Allied countries. In the final mission of the game, you take the final Russian assault on Berlin and help carry a Russian flag up to the top of the capital building, which is a truly amazing experience.

This leaves us at the end of the single player game. I would just like to say that this game is just awesome; it makes you feel as though you are actually fighting the war alongside your comrades.

There are also intense multiplayer battles with up to 32 players and many hours of extended fun. The Dawnville map is so realistic and fun to play. This is now the only game I play, and with every word I write in this review makes me want to go play it.

Bottom line: This is, in my opinion, the best and most realistic WWII game out there, definitely not a waste of your money.

Rating:
Summary: Simple formula
Review: The formula is simple: You have a gun, you have to kill Germans. There are squadmates to help you on your goals. Sure, the goals may be redundant (lots of blowing up Flak Guns, etc.). But, I think what sets this game apart is that it really makes you feel like you're part of the war. The historical references (seize on Berlin, defense of Stalingrad aka Enemy at the Gate, Pathfinders before D-Day) are very realistic. The background is superbly done- lots of rubble and torn walls from destroyed cities.

Gameplay: like I said, it's simple. There aren't commands for your squadmates. You just basically follow a linear path to your goal. Using the zoom feature helps a lot when sniping. Other than that, typical headshots will suffice. Oh yeah, despite being part of a squad, you're still incredibly outnumbered.

Sound: Like my roommate said, "it sounds like you're watching some movie." By far the best part of the game- guns sound like guns. MG24s have a steady sound. Tanks and arty rounds are really accurate. Plus, my favorite part: the Dizzy affect from being in close proximity to an explosion. It's similar to Saving Private Ryan- everything gets blurry, the world slows down, there's a ringing in your ears. I've never experienced one of those in real life (thank god), but I can tell that this concussion effect was well done.

Con: Short levels. The game wasn't that long, really. The simplified way of running and gunning (it's no Deus Ex!) is ok. Storyline is engaging to a degree (the character switches do not help you identify with a single soldier). But, it's all based on historical fact- and I think that's pretty neat.

Rating:
Summary: Uniformly fun... strange
Review: I am not sure if you can ever get enough of good games, but the first person shooter market seems to be perilously close to becoming oversaturated. With so many excellent titles in so short a time, it could be easy to become desensitized to a certain genre of game. Fortunately, Call of Duty (hereafter COD) is a superb World War II shooter which falls short of being a classic only because of its extreme brevity. When most of the team that created the original Medal of Honor bolted 2015 to form Infinity Studios, most gamers could be sure of two things: the Medal of Honor series would suffer, and Infinity Ward would probably be creating a first person shooter very soon. In many ways, COD bears a striking resemblance to Medal of Honor but manages to improve on an already wildly successful formula in almost every way.

COD features three campaigns: one American, one British, and one Russian. Most missions consist of two or three smaller levels, none of which take more than about a half hour to play through. The American campaign begins with Pathfinder units of the 101st Airborne parachuting behind enemy lines to place beacons for the massive airborne landing of June 3, 1942, and ends with a frantic battle through the snow draped vista of the Ardennes. The British campaign starts with a daring raid on a prisoner of war complex and works its way through the capture and defense of Pegasus Bridge. The Russian campaign begins with the Siege of Stalingrad and ends with the Siege of Berlin. COD does an excellent job of providing new locations and different, interesting missions to play through, but unfortunately the campaigns are not really linked together in any discernable way. Finish with the US campaign and you will be abruptly thrust into the British campaign. While the overall story is fairly self explanatory considering the subject matter, the mission briefings are sparse and uninteresting, and fail to give the player the feeling that he is truly an important piece, no matter how small, in a far grander plan.

Most levels in COD are fairly standard for war-based shooters. You will attack enemy outposts and buildings, defend positions, rescue and escort prisoners, destroy tanks and artillery, defend locations with fixed weapons, and even go through the obligatory vehicular chase mission. The levels are almost all fun and well designed, but they are extremely limited in scope. Most of the levels are fairly small, and there is really only one way to make your way through the level. The fact that there is a compass in the upper left hand side of the screen that gives the direction of your next objective makes the game feel even more restricted, and even when the level design feels inspired, COD feels like it plays on rails. Still, many of the levels are so well constructed that you will ignore the fact that you are being funneled through them while you admire your surroundings. Small towns in France ravaged by bombs and constant combat look like surreal ghost towns. Fires rage through bombed-out buildings, airplanes roar by overhead as artillery thumps through the sky, and the drab grays and browns of the town form a stark contrast with the rolling hills and grass, windmills and dead cows that surround the village.

In other levels you will trudge through the strangely silent snow-covered forest of the Ardennes, where Germans in winter camouflage will suddenly emerge to shatter the illusion of peace that the snow seems to create. You will run through enemy prisoner of war camps and even the devastated city of Stalingrad, a brilliantly recreated set of levels that is so hopeless, desolate, and damaged that you wonder just how the Russians made it though the war, much less managed to rebuild.

Gameplay itself is mostly fast, visceral, and violent. One of the most hyped features of COD is that you will fight with a squad for almost the entire game. The squad based gameplay is a good addition and the logical extension of the one-man-wins-the-war ideal of the Medal of Honor series. Unfortunately, unlike Hidden and Dangerous 2, another WWII shooter that got squad based combat just about right, COD fails to make your squad feel like an important part of the game. Members of your unit will die; in fact they will die at a fairly high rate. In the Russian campaign you should not expect to have many comrades that survive with you for more than a few minutes, and in the early missions of the American campaign assaulting Normandy your unit will suffer enormous attrition. While this stays true to the historical reality, it doesn't make for the most engaging gameplay. Almost none of your squadmates have any personality at all (with one notable exception in each of the campaigns), and they have no background and personal information that might make the player relate or grow attached to them. You also have no real control of your squad, an unfortunate omission that effectively prevents the player from using the squad based gameplay to actually affect your mission plan or tactics.

Thankfully the squad AI is uniformly good. I was rarely blocked or shot by my men, who followed me blindly even into the most harrowing of situations. My men managed to fire their guns, and every once in a while actually managed to hit something. While there is an enormous amount of room for improvement available in the inevitable sequel, having squadmates does make the game feel more real and creates a different atmosphere. When your men are dropping all around you as German MG42's, grenades, and small arms fire blanket the small field you are trying to make your way across, you begin to feel like you are apart of the most violent and bloody war mankind has ever waged.

The missions are also uniformly fun. There is a tremendous feeling of danger when you are assaulting fixed gun positions, capturing a village building by building-and then defending every square yard of that ground you just paid so dearly for. The levels are so well-crafted that despite their linearity you will feel more like you are playing through an interactive war movie than any shooter yet released. One of the most amazing features of COD is the effect when a grenade or artillery round explodes near you. The sound immediately changes to a high-pitched whine, the screen grows blurry, and your player stumbles forward as he recovers. After several seconds of this effect you suddenly return to reality with a loud whoosh, the muffled sounds of the battlefield immediately becoming frighteningly loud and your vision returning to normal. It is one of the single most atmospheric effects I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing in a game.

Rating:
Summary: BEST WAR GAME
Review: This is the best war game. It is much better than Medal of Honor.
Buy it today don't wait till price goes down it is worth the price. So out and buy now.