Help defeat the German modding machine!
The game plays out just like Call of Duty: you fight on several war fronts, as several different characters. At the beginning, you play as a recently enlisted Russian, fighting the Germans in Stalingrad.
After six or so missions, you switch to the British, playing as a sergeant fighting throughout the North African countries. You also switch to a British tank commander, but that seems thrown in, because you soon change right back to the sergeant.
Towards the end, you will take the helm of an American soldier, storming the beaches on D-Day, but not at Omaha. Instead, you must scale the cliffs of Point du Hoc, take out the German artillery, and establish an offensive.
All in all, the game can be completed in a short four or five hours on the easy difficulty. The standard difficulty is only slightly harder; maybe an extra hour. Hardened gets a bit tough, but the real, uh, highlight is the Veteran difficulty. You can blow through the first three levels, but then you lose momentum like a drag racer hitting a big rig. The levels become insanely difficult. Some levels last as long as the entire game on the easy difficulty. It may seem that you have faced the hardest by the time you reach the British campaign, only to find a whole new set of problems. On Veteran difficulty, two MG40 bullets will kill you. The Germans ignore your allies and focus almost solely on you.
Other than the AI problems on the Veteran difficulty (it is supposed to be hard), the game is solid and good in the single-player aspect. Xbox Live multiplayer has some of the worst lag I have ever experienced (e.g. going backwards while moving forwards).
So, Call of Duty 2 is a solid FPS that an Xbox 360 owner should have. It provides a lot of good, cinematic WWII moments, and is plenty of fun in some places. The sound is fantastic; the graphics are acceptable; the gameplay is good everywhere except on the Veteran difficulty; the value is basic for any FPS.