Medal of Honor: Eat Your Heart Out
GAMEPLAY:
The gameplay in CoD blew me away. Everything feels intuitive, and all of the FPS staples are present. Aiming took a whole new direction in CoD, I believe this game was the first to use the "iron sights" of the gun. This makes it much easier to pull off that headshot, and very realistic as well. The missions, though a little unrealistic because of the overwhelming amounts of action, all come from historical sources. The 101st Airborne lands in Normandy on D-Day-1 to set up beacons, the British defend the legendary Pegasus Bridge, and the Russians struggle up the banks of Stalingrad in the most impressive scripted battle I've seen in any other game except CoD2. The weapons perform like their real life counterparts, and for the most part look like the real thing as well. Overall, the only weakness I found in gameplay was the lack of a sprint button, which Grey Matter fixed when they released UO.
MULTIPLAYER:
The multiplayer in CoD destroys all competition except for the expansion and the sequel. Massive online fights with up to 64 players can be found online (even though the game technically only supports 16), and even today developers are still making custom maps. Game modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy (counterstrike), Behind Enemy Lines, Headquarters, and Capture the Flag (mod). Behind Enemy Lines plays very uniquely. A small squad of Allied soldiers fight a huge number of Germans, and when one Ally dies he becomes German, while the German that killed him respawns as Allied. I find that the most interesting game, though it rarely has any players. Team Deathmatch shines, especially if you have Teamspeak, and mods to the game keep it fresh even all these years later. Here, I'll have to say I liked CoD even better than CoD2, the multiplayer is more polished and innovative.
GRAPHICS:
I'm going to be honest here. Call of Duty's graphics do lack compared to most of today's games, but it was made in 2003. I gave the graphics an 8 because they look amazing for when the game was made and they get the job done. Particle effects are great, and the water looks pretty good as well. Detailed environments still look pretty nice and the characters look good as well. The physics engine is a modified Quake III engine, so there's a little bit to be found there, but nothing like the UT2004 engine. The graphics for this game work well, especially since you won't really notice them while you're crawling under German MG42 fire to lob a grenade into his position so you can blow his flak cannon and move on to the next objective.
SOUND:
I don't know how to explain CoD's sound. Amazing doesn't quite cut it. The sound immerses you in the games environment, the voice acting and weapon sounds are superb. My favorite aspect about the sound is the ambient sound. You never feel isolated, you always feel like your allies are right on the other block, continuing their mission as planned. The exception, of course, is Pegasus Bridge, where you feel isolated and alone with your small squad fighting off the German advance.
VALUE:
The campaign is a little short, but intense. The multiplayer is amazing. I give value a 10.0 as well, simply because I've had this game since it came out and I just played through the campaign for it and the expansion again a few days ago. I've played through the campaign countless times, and haven't grown tired of it. This game amazed me, I believe it is the masterpiece of WWII shooters, and it is only surpassed by its expansion and sequel.