When a game has over 90 user reviews and only 3 of them are below 7.0, you know that the game is something special. This is the case with Call of Duty, which is so breathtaking that it feels like a crime that it's so short. There have been at least a dozen FPS's based on World War II, but even though Call of Duty is released after most of them, it still ends up on top. It combines great graphics, intensity unrivaled in any other game to date, fluid controls, brilliant AI, cinematic levels, and great multiplayer to form one of the best first-person shooters ever. However, its single-player-- certainly the selling point of the game, though the multiplayer isn't bad-- is so short that you can breeze through it your first time through in under ten hours. The game is so amazing, so breathtaking, so intense... for the eight hours it lasts. The multiplayer, as I said above, is great, but it is definitely not the selling point of the game. The multiplayer feels like a clone of every other FPS's multiplayer, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The gameplay is the main selling point of Call of Duty. It's so intense, so realistic, so immersive that calling anything other than one of the best single-player campaigns in any game ever is a complete lie. Every second of the game is filled with explosions, bullets, and incredibly realistic AI, making you feel like you're really a soldier fighting in WWII. You grow so attached to your squad that you will honestly risk your life to run back and save them from the enemy troops that swarm you. Some of the best parts of the game are the "rail rides", where you control the gun (until the tank mission, where you eventually control the guns and the wheels) of the car while someone else drives it through a pre-set path. Two examples of this are the levels where, in order, you mow down enemies while a buddy drives the jeep you're in, and the level where you blow up enemy tanks in Russia. But the rest of the game is just a tiny bit less breathtaking, with levels where you destroy a dam, infiltrate a ship, hold a bridge, and take back Stalingrad. Every level of the game is intense, action-packed, and cinematic, and it all makes you want to play the next level. That's actually the best part of Call of Duty- it makes you want to go on just to see what amazing level is next, not to know that you're closer to beating the game. The graphics are great all around, with explosions, bullets flying around, appropriate environments, and the like. My only gripe is that some textures look atrocious, but that hardly takes away from the amazingly lifelike graphics the game possesses. The sound is even better. The voice acting from your squad, the sound effects, the brilliant music... it's all incredible, memorable, and immersive. I unfortunately don't have a surround sound speaker system, but if you do, I can guarantee you that it'll make the sound that much more enjoyable. The value, as I've said, is where the game falls short. The single-player will take you eight to ten hours your first time through, which is incredibly disappointing, but there's a big chance you'll want to play through the game again and again to experience the memorable, cinematic re-enactment of WWII over and over. The multiplayer is decent, but is definitely not worth playing if you have any other FPS with decent multiplayer. Overall, Call of Duty is a memorable, intense, breathtaking, cinematic game that every gamer has to experience. Its value is very lacking, but that's only because the game is so great that you'll want more. One thing is certain: despite the small amount of value you'll get, Call of Duty is a game that will always be remembered as a classic game with one of the best single-player campaigns ever. With more value, it could easily have THE best single-player campaign ever. But hey, the new expansion, United Offensive, is out, so if you pick that up, you'll have 20 hours of non-stop intense gaming. And because of Call of Duty's gameplay quality, that's something you definitely want.
Capitalising on popular genres is gaining in popularity - and WWII-themed first-person shooters are red hot at the moment. With their current and future popularity, Call of Duty has to be pretty special to garner interes... Read Full Review
I have just completed my fourth or fifth play through of the original Call of Duty (COD) as part of the COD Warchest. It, and the other games in the COD Warchest compilation, COD United Offensive and COD2, remain among ... Read Full Review
