Call of Duty 3 definitely exceeded my expectations in the fun factor, regardless of the lack of visual prowess.
Gameplay:
I knew the Wii was going to be perfect for FPS shooters, but Call of Duty truly exceeded my expectations. I initally thought the game would be a buggy port of some Red Steel gameplay. But it wasnt. It was so much more. It had very deep gameplay from start to finish. The controls were great and I was easily able to get a hold of the game's movement. Though, one reason might be because of me getting used to Red Steel. But nonetheless, it played better than Red Steel. With a smaller bounding box, you got a truer, more acceptable FPS gameplay. You even had the option for a fixed reticule like every other PC fps... though, it worked better with the free roaming cross hair. The movement is sort of slow even when you're standing up, which is a downer, and the tanks controls haven't been as fleshed out as on-foot gameplay. I was just so surprised how well this game played and how much fun I had out of it. This is Activision's sign of commitment to gameplay rather than eye candy.
Graphics:
As we segway into graphics, let me just say that Gameplay beats this game's graphics by a mile and a half. The textures are atrocious on the environments and it's truly pitiful to see Activision taking PS3 FMV sequences and compressing it onto a Wii game. It's sort of that accidental backslap to the face. However, I must say though... the amount of action and the level of activity going on is just so crazy. Once you first play the game, you're just trying to find a place to hide from gunfire. The game is definitely gameplay oriented because the graphics just plain suck. the only upper is the fact that there is just so much going on.
Sound:
I think this is the best part of the game. Really. You don't get any better in music than in Call of Duty. The music is a great addition to it and you can tell what style Activision was going for when the game was being developed. Rather than your typical Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers type music, you get that nostalgic feeling from back in the 40s and 50s and 60s type music. And the voice acting, while a bit weird sounding, is played well. With bullets flying by... through the walls... or your chest, you hear every bit of detail going on. You hear based on distance and direction and that's a major upper. It adds more to the realism, regardless of its lack of realistic visuals. Sound on Call of Duty 3 is the most riveting of all Wii games so far.
Value: I rented this game, thinking it was going to be somehwat mediocre because of the lacking visuals. But man, I will never again judge a book by its cover in terms with the Wii. It never ceases to surprise me! I suggest those who like WW2 games should definitely buy this. You cannot miss such a great and deep game. Those who are just into FPS shooters, still buy this. It reinvents how we play Call of Duty forever. And for those who are not into FPS games, but want to have fun, please rent this. This is a fun game, but it definitely will leave you with a bittertaste if you don't appreciate the Call of Duty series.
Overall:
Call of Duty 3 is not without it's flaws. It has some major problems with the graphical aspect of the game. And it's not without its glitches such as unresponsive melee and graphical glitches such as floating guns and characters and some nasty framerate drawback with the amount of particles and such.... Regardless of these problems, Call of Duty 3 definitely exceeded my expectations in the fun factor, regardless of the lack of visual prowess. I also want to give some final feedback on the visuals. The game really doesn't look BAD BAD. It only looks bad when you pay way too much attention to what the game looks like. The fact is, is that there are nice parts and there are bad parts. But the game definitely proves that gameplay succeeds over it's graphical downfall.