A true sequel?
Story
Being someone who studied history in college I was very anxious to see where the developers took us in this game. Thankfully there is a great representation of the battlegrounds during WWII. You experience conflict in the African desert, the shores of Normandy, the streets of the former Soviet Union, and the European countryside. In each of these missions you assume the role of the average grunt fighting the Germans. You aren’t controlling a squad, or telling anyone else what to do. You get your orders, check your ammo and you are off to the races. Personally I would have liked to have seen maybe a couple mission sets in the Pacific or Italy, but maybe the next time around we will get that. There is not a central storyline to this game at all. It is just going from battleground to battleground following orders and killing your enemy. But it is the beauty of the battlegrounds that make this game so amazing. More on that later though. The only thematic element that prevails is fight Germans, kill Germans, and win the battle.
Gameplay
I thought the gameplay in this was great. It was very easy to pickup and learn the controls, and then get down to business. You go from being on foot, to using stationary weapons, to driving a tank and it is all pretty seamless. The one weird part of it though was this. You spend a majority of the British desert campaign driving a tank and chasing the Germans across Libya. When you get out of the tank it feels weird controlling your character. Almost as if suddenly you have forgotten how to play the game. It really took me a while to get used to being back on foot. I found this to be very weird.
The realism of the game is what is so compelling. The weapons that you use are a very accurate representation of what the Allies and Axis had during this time. It was a fun change for me to play this game. Most of the shooters I play are either real world or other worldly games, so this older type of weapon set really forces you to be more skillful during play. No night vision, thermal vision, or 10x scopes on all your weapons. From time to time you will find a scoped weapon and my advice is to hold onto that thing no matter what. If I had to pick I would have to say the best weapons to play with would be the German MP44, the American Springfield scoped rifle, and the BAR. For those uninitiated in the world of firearms, the BAR is the Browning Assault Rifle. John Browning was one of the founders of the American firearms industry that helped keep our servicemen alive during this period. The BAR was considered the “support gun” for a platoon. Heavy and with some lethal knockdown power, this is a good option to keep on you during gameplay. My grandfather was in France and Germany with Patton’s 3rd army 65th division, and he used to tell me about when he had to carry the BAR for his platoon. He always wondered whom it did more damage too, the guy firing it or the person being fired at.
OK enough nostalgia. The gameplay is not without issue though, specifically the AI of your squad mates. Could the developers not have given them a modicum of common sense? I can’t tell you how many times I had to restart a mission because some squad member walked right in my line of fire. Friendly fire is not tolerated in this game, so be very careful about this. It is very frustrating. As the game progresses it gets better, but the opening levels are chock full of this. Also at times the game is very bad about helping you find your next objective. While fighting street to street in France, you sometimes will get to a checkpoint and your squad just stares at you as you try to find the path to your next objective. You see it marked on your map, but cannot find the way to get there. This drove me insane on a few occasions. So pay attention during gameplay. My other gripe with this is the game is really short. I felt like I really just blew through this game, and was left wanting a lot more at the end. The online component makes up for that some, but I will talk about that later.
Graphics
Visually this game is amazing. I got to play it both in HD and non-HD formats and both were just outstanding. Towards the end during the American campaign, you are on top of Hill 400, and the Germans call in an artillery strike. If you run into the doorway of the bunker, keep looking out into the open. The artillery strikes, smoke and particle effects are insane. Dirt is flying everywhere from the shell hits, and if a platoon member is caught in the open, well then your get a very visceral showing of why “War is Hell”. As you race across the desert sands you are treated to a stunning sight. What it must have been like for the members of the Armored divisions to be chasing Rommel’s Panzer’s in this location I can only imagine. I found myself stopping and just looking around at the rock formations in the distance, how the light played off the sands and the clouds in the skies. I also got my self wrecked a few times because of that. But isn’t that part of the fun of having this job? I would have to say yes.
Audio
One time, during a history lecture on WWI I heard something I will never forget. A professor was discussing the tactics of trench warfare, and what our fighting men had to endure. He talked about the standard issue M1 rifle and how when the clip was finished it flew out of the rifle with this “ping” noise. This noise let the Germans know when Americans were reloading and when to rush the trench. For some reason this factoid has stayed with me over the years, and when I was playing this game it came rushing back. During some missions you do start with the M1, and the first time I heard that “ping” I got scared. That is just a small example of the audio realism in this game. The whistle and while of mortars being launched and coming down on you. The grumble of a half-track rolling into your perimeter, or the sound of an 88 Flak gun firing do an amazing job to instill that cramped fear that I would say can only occur during the heat of battle. One of the coolest parts of the audio is the playing of music stored on your MP3 player or 360 hard drive during the game. During the desert tank run, I popped in that classic British metal group Iron Maiden and chased the Germans while “Run to the Hills” was blaring. The ability to play custom music in every game is so cool.
Depth and Fun Factor
For a history buff like myself this game is loads of fun. Picking up various weapons to see which side had the firepower advantage was great. I am going to keep that judgment to myself, but I encourage you to try and find out. The crazy AI and lack of direction at times did not take too much away from the game, because you are stuck with your platoon. I found myself going lone wolf a lot and flanking the Germans to finish the section objectives. If you are going to play like that, just stock up on ammo before you go. As for depth, well as I said the game was really short. I was really let down when I realized the game was over. It was as if I was just getting into it, and getting really good, and then they take it away from me. But what makes up for this is the online component. If you played this on PC you know Call of Duty has a HUGE online community. The 360 version always had servers packed with people wanting to play and I never had trouble finding a match. The one thing I didn’t like was that you couldn’t set up a private server on your machine and just invite your friends. All matches are public, but hey I guess it is good to play together and make new friends.
Overall Comment
Call of Duty 2 was my first 360 game and it is always going to have a special place in my heart. You can tell a lot of quality went into making this game and that the developers set the bar very high. Bad AI and shortness of the single-player does take away from the title, but overall it is a solid outing. WWII buffs will enjoy the realism, and the younger generation will get a great appreciation for what our grandfathers went through during this time of history. Call of Duty 2 from Activison and Infinity Ward is available now for Xbox 360, so what are you waiting for?