Call of Duty 3 delivers a great gameplay experience and is worth checking out this early in the PS3's career.
Gameplay: 9
You start the game with a simple to follow tutorial. You begin by shooting helmets off of poles and then move on to learning how to use grenades by blowing up a barn. This game has a very short learning curve, and soon you'll be killing Krauts like a trained American soldier. The controls are very simple, R1 to fire your weapon, L1 to aim, R2 and L2 to throw grenades, etc. You can use this awkward jerking move with the SIXAXIS to do a melee attack... or you can just click R3, which is not revealed to the player at any time and is a bit of self discovery. An enjoyable experience is driving a vehicle. You can always just use the analog sticks to steer your jeep or cycle, but you can also use the SIXAXIS controller to steer, which, after you figure it out, is a pretty enjoyable experience and works well. Some other innovations using the SIXAXIS controller include arming bombs, rowing a boat, and fighting set up hand-to-hand encounters with German soldiers. The hand-to-hand fights with individual soldiers have been deemed as pointless and unentertaining, but I disagree. It gets your moving and keeps you awake. Multiplayer is also a very enjoyable experience, offering many different game modes, including, but not limited to Battle, Team Battle, and War (which involves invading and conquering enemy territory using an area capture system in the form of a falling and rising flag). There is only lag when you get closer to the 24-player max, but there is no headset support, which makes working with your allies difficult. All in all, Call of Duty 3 offers a great gameplay experience.
Graphics: 8
Starting off, I thought the game looked fantastic. Then I got Resistance and this game started looking kind of ugly. However, the faces in this game are very detailed and are some of the best I've ever seen in a video game. Also, the clothing looks very realistic with the way it folds and moves. Finally, the tanks are very attractive. At one point in the first mission, you have to climb onto the back of a tank and spot out soldier on machine guns for the tank to attack. Once you get that close to the tank... WOW. You can see each individual bump on the tank. It's not just some flat texture; the tank is actually sculpted with these bumps in it. However, the environments aren't nearly as attractive as in Resistance: Fall of Man, and since I have to base my rating on the best I've seen, I can not justifiably give this game a ten.
NOTE: I am rating the graphics using an HDTV, and visuals on SDTV may not be as great, so I can't speak on that front.
Sound: 10
The sound in this game definitely gets a ten. There are all sorts of background noise, so you're not only hearing the sound of soldiers that you can see or hear the sound of your own gun. You can hear gun shots off in the distance, the sound of planes flying past, and tanks rolling over the countryside. Also, the sheer quality of the sound is amazing, especially in surround sound. The music score is also amazing. Whether it's '40's pop music playing over a radio during a cutscene or the inspirational music played as you're about to lose a multiplayer war, the music is great everywhere. There's one part in the campaign where you and the other soldiers are at the top of a hill trying to hold it from being taken by German soldiers and you hear this hopeless sounding music, but then... the Canadians to the rescue and the music changes. At this point, you can't help but feel happy. The music isn't all set to play at specific set up points, though. In a multiplayer war, that same hopeless music starts playing as your enemies are about to defeat you. It just inspires you to get over to that flag pole and convert it to your side. Whoever composed this music deserves an award.
Value: 8
This game is worth $60. You get a great storyline, a superb gameplay experience, both single player and multiplayer, and a perfect musical score. If you have a PS3, get this game.
Reviewer's Tilt: 9
I enjoyed this game a great deal. I can't stay away from the multiplayer. Actually, I enjoy it more than Resistance's. The only problem with the multiplayer is that there is no online ranking system, which means no matter how many of your friend's you blow up, you don't have anything to show for it. This also inspires people to blow up their teammates because they don't get punished for it beyond being eventually booted from the game. I also enjoyed how it put you into the shoes of small characters in a big war during the campaign. This is definitely a game to pick up. Check this one out.