"recreating the epic battles of World War 2"
Call of Duty continues the essence and feel of Medal of Honor and steps up the gears a notch in an attempt create the best first person World War 2 game ever created.
Game Play
Set across 24 epic single player missions Call of Duty allows you to take control of three soldiers in three different battles. You begin by playing an American Paratrooper in the D-Day battle continuing through to become British Special Forces soldier and to a Russian Tank commander in the Russian charge at Stalingrad."24 epic single player missions "
As in most first person shooters these days Call of Duty is linear in its level design. A map in the corner points you to your next objective making it easy not to get lost. Most levels seem to be built so that you can concentrate on getting to the objective without the boredom of getting lost in windy corridors. Each area is littered with an array of soliders and officers to shoot. The objectives range from blowing things up, recovering documents, rescuing comrades, but above all shooting everything in sight.
The missions have a huge variety of things to do like blowing up chasing trucks with a panzer and firing flak cannons at oncoming bombers. Although good in practice the game does follow a very arcade like structure. Vehicles and flak cannons for example can only be used at the right moment when that is your current objective. The trouble with arcade like linear game play is that no matter how good the graphics and missions are you only really want to play the game once.
"very arcade like structure"
As a first person shooter weapons are very important. In Call of Duty you carry a limited number of weapons and begin each level with all is need to complete a mission. However weapons can be taken from the enemy as can the ammunition needed to reload them. This means you will never find yourself without enough ammunition and fire power. There are so many weapons available in Call of Duty ranging from machine guns, and rifles to pistols. Each is stunning is its authenticity and accuracy.
"missions are well paced "
The games difficulty settings range from quite easy to begin with to really hard. Even on the easy difficulty settings you can find in later missions loading a saved game is far too frequent and frustrating. The missions are well paced and with 24 to play through it will take a good few days of solid gaming to complete the lot, or for most games a couple of weeks. Once the single player missions are complete there is a series of multiplayer games with the Allies vs Axis. While multiplayer is expected these days in games it is often a half hearted add-on but Call of Duty offers some good online competitive play which should keep the average gamer happy for hours.
Graphics
There are two elements to the graphics in Call of Duty. While the outside scenes are superbly detailed in every way right down to the dirt and grass the inside scenes look very dated, unimaginative and un-detailed. The outside does form the majority of the game and landscapes look fantastically lit. With the added element of bullets rushing by and dirt being thrown in the air it’s easy to say that technically its one of the best looking first person games available. It’s just a shame the developers did not spend the same time and detail on the interior scenes. Levels inside just seem unfinished. Everything looks square and unrealistic."outside scenes are superbly detailed "
Sound
The sound in Call of Duty is very impressive. All the way though the missions you will hear background noises such as artillery shells, bombs, and gun fire. This adds to the atmosphere of the game and to the reality that you are in a real World War 2 battle. Commanding officers in your team shoot orders and instructions. The enemy even shouts and screams when shot."background noises such as
artillery shells, bombs, and gun fire"
artillery shells, bombs, and gun fire"
One of the most important aspects of a game is the sound and can determine how much you immerse yourself in the game. The developers have got it almost spot on for Call of Duty. The only real problem is the background noises can be a little repetitive and scripted. The sound doesn’t have any random element to it so your footsteps for example don’t sound any different from the enemy. This makes it difficult sometimes to determine if the sounds are coming from your team or the enemy.
"one of the best first person shooters around "
Overall
Call of Duty is without doubt one of the best first person shooters around at the moment. It offers superbly detail exterior graphics, detail sound, a variety of campaigns and weapons to keep any gamer happy for hours. The few flaws the game does have don’t detract from the overall atmosphere and enjoyment of the game.