Post by Brian-RN on Jan 13, 2006 0:17:50 GMT -5
Call of Duty 2
World War 2 shooters have really become a joke now days. One can’t walk into a game store without possibly seeing one. So when a World War 2 shooter comes out, it’s generally ignored by many, no matter how good or bad it may be. However, Call of Duty established itself back in 2004 as a great shooter. Many so-so console spin-offs later, Call of Duty 2 arrived in late October 2005 for the PC. With the Xbox 360 launch right around the corner, Call of Duty 2 was also set to be a launch title. Lucky for gamers, Call of Duty 2 didn’t follow the path of many other WWII shooter PC-to-Console transitions and is a very good game.
First thing many notice about Call of Duty is its graphics. The Xbox 360 is the first ‘next-gen’ console available on the market, meaning that its graphics and power have been updated. A great example of this is Call of Duty 2. CoD2 looks amazing on the Xbox 360, and when compared to the PC version, looks just as good, even better in some places. The amount of detail is what really catches the player’s eye. Each character, each building, each everything, has a level of detail to give it a realistic look. The character models each look different, each character having wounds, facial hair, or something to make them stand apart from the other characters.
The levels themselves are huge and very well modeled. Firefights leave bullet holes in the walls, furniture, and anything else that can possibly be shot. The levels are also furnished with tables, chairs, cows, and anything else that could possibly be used for cover. Every one of these is also incredibly detailed, although some of the objects can’t be shot up, like the dead animals and some of the metallic objects. The graphics are all meant to bring realism to the game, like grenades leaving marks on the ground and enemies staying dead. CoD2 sucks the player in for one of the most realistic, adrenaline pumping experiences they’ve experienced yet.
CoD2 really makes the experience feel real. Between the sounds of grenades falling, to bullets flying by, CoD2 is sure to make even the nerdiest of gamers feel ready to join the army. There are situations where players have to really have to use cover and take risks to complete their objective. One mission has players crawling through a pipeline above German troops, surprising them with fire from above. Another mission has players reliving D-Day, in a way they haven’t before. Players must climb a rope to reach the top of a cliff while their comrades are falling down, nearly killing them. CoD2 is full of these moments, as well as many others that will have players adrenaline rushing as they run across fields while a smoke grenade fills the enemies vision.
One of the focuses of CoD2 is cover. Mainly provided by whatever can be found, cover comes into play many times (more so during harder difficulties) and is key to finishing the game. One of the better covers is smoke, which can be provided by parts of buildings, smoke grenades, and even regular grenades if used correctly. Although it seems rather odd that in clouds of smoke, the enemy sometimes has the upper hand. Many times during the course of the game, enemies will come running at players through the middle of the smoke and begin to attack them. This can be rather annoying, many times ruining the whole point of the cover.
Although it’s not just the enemy AI that’s intelligent. The AI in the game is surprisingly smart, finding cover, throwing grenades and calling for cover when needed. This also applies to the enemy AI as well. They’ll get cover, throw smoke grenades and do everything the opposite AI would do. It’s really a “Taste of Ones Medicine” type thing. The AI also uses tactics and provides cover fire. Although there are a few times where the AI slips up. They’ll stand up under machine gun fire, or stand right on top of a grenade. These occurrences, are more often than they should be, as the AI is so smart the rest of the time.
Of course, the AI are all there to contribute to the main gameplay, which revolves around WWII. As in Call of Duty, players play as different factions; Russian, British and American. Playing through each of the ten missions will take players roughly ten hours on the regular difficulty, but to unlock the other achievements, players will find themselves playing less of a game and more of a war. On harder difficulties, the game is much more tactical. A harder difficulty doesn’t really add much, but it gives it a much different feel. Cover takes a whole new feel and the machine gun takes the back seat.
Of course on a regular difficulties, CoD2 is a lot of fun to play. One will find themselves running through an abandoned building, mowing down Nazis. Another one of the downsides of CoD2 is that the enemies generally consist of two skins. Although they’re randomly generated, it tends to get old. While in the real war they all had uniforms, they varied. In CoD2, there are only two or three skins for each campaign.
Although unlike the skins, the gameplay is varied. Many shooters just have players going around shooting the enemies over and over again to a story. CoD2 does that to a degree, but it also throws in tank missions, artillery strikes and 88 guns. Each of these variations is awesome to play and bring even more of a unique. As well as campaigns, the difficulty is somewhat varying. Of course D-Day is going to be harder than the training (which is also a mission), but even the missions themselves have varying difficulty, making some of the segments kind of frustrating, especially on harder difficulties.
Part of what makes the experience is the atmosphere in the game. This is due to the look and feel of the game, as well as the great textures. The game is incredibly chaotic and fast. There are things blowing up everywhere, people are dieing everywhere (sometimes flying, thanks to the rag-doll physics) and yet one still has a mission to complete. One of aspects that needs to be noted is that CoD2 is at the high end of the T-rated spectrum. There’s no gore or decapitation, but there is plenty of blood spilled by both Germans and Allies alike. While the blood doesn’t pool on the ground, shooting an enemy will send blood flying, sometimes for a long period of time depending on the amount of bullets the enemy has taken.
The health system has been reworked this time around, borrowing the shield idea from Halo 2. Players don’t have a shield, but they must go behind cover after taking a few shots. While this feels like cheating death, health would be a huge problem, as damage is being dealt left and right. The health system is much better than finding health packs or using bandages. It makes for an overall less frustrating and adrenaline pumping experience, as players vision will have a red blur around it and their hearts will pump after taking severe damage.
Everything in CoD2 looks amazing. Of course, what’s even more amazing is the sound. Commands are constantly being given, bullets are flying by, grenades are falling, guns are shooting and it’s almost an overload of great effects. The guns especially feel really powerful, making the whole experience that much more realistic. The Allies commands and talking is very crisp and well done, as well as synced very well with characters mouths. Each character has their own personality, which means some have different accents, letting players feel like they’ve got to know their fellow soldiers.
The sound effects are also outstanding. Footsteps let players know enemies are coming, and the sound of clanking grenades on a hardwood floor gives the signal for players to clear the area. There’s no reason at all to use the 360’s built in Mp3 player over the game, because it would take away so much. Every item in the game has their own sounds, even some items like pianos playing notes when ran into or shot at.
A lot of the feeling though is lost over the multiplayer experience. While it’s all still there, the game takes a different feeling, that of a Deathmatch (as it should). CoD2 supports up to four players on one console, eight via Xbox Live and 16 over a system link. Playing on one console can be dull at times, as the levels are so large and expansive that sometimes it takes players a while to find each other, and it becomes more of a hassle when only two or three people are playing. However, over Live or via system link, the game gets a little faster paced and enjoyable. While Live only supports eight, smaller levels can be fun, while larger levels can still be an annoyance.
Because of Xbox Live, CoD2 has a decent value to it. Players will find themselves playing the game months after they first pick it up. There are five modes available through multiplayer; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Retrieval (where one side must capture a flag and the other must defend it) and Headquarters (where teams must make a HQ and the other must try to destroy it). Each of these modes is fun, but as usual, Deathmatch is the most fun out of the bunch. Although, no matter how fast ones internet is, CoD2 lags. Some games its fine, but others the game slows down to a rate where getting kills become harder than it needs to be.
If one plans on buying an Xbox 360 and they’re a fan of First-Person-Shooters, they owe it to themselves to pick of Call of Duty 2. If they own an HDTV, they’re in for a real treat. Even if they don’t Call of Duty 2 is a great game, with fast and frantic gameplay that makes one feel like a part of the war. There are a few moments in this game that will have players talking about them for years, but the multiplayer doesn’t quite make it worth its $60 price tag. If the price tag turns one off, it should still be considered, as it doesn’t slow down in some places and looks as good as it would on a high-end PC. Of all the Xbox 360 launch titles, Call of Duty 2 should be on every gamer’s wish list, as it’s not only a great WWII FPS, but a great game in general.
Overall: 8.8/10
World War 2 shooters have really become a joke now days. One can’t walk into a game store without possibly seeing one. So when a World War 2 shooter comes out, it’s generally ignored by many, no matter how good or bad it may be. However, Call of Duty established itself back in 2004 as a great shooter. Many so-so console spin-offs later, Call of Duty 2 arrived in late October 2005 for the PC. With the Xbox 360 launch right around the corner, Call of Duty 2 was also set to be a launch title. Lucky for gamers, Call of Duty 2 didn’t follow the path of many other WWII shooter PC-to-Console transitions and is a very good game.
First thing many notice about Call of Duty is its graphics. The Xbox 360 is the first ‘next-gen’ console available on the market, meaning that its graphics and power have been updated. A great example of this is Call of Duty 2. CoD2 looks amazing on the Xbox 360, and when compared to the PC version, looks just as good, even better in some places. The amount of detail is what really catches the player’s eye. Each character, each building, each everything, has a level of detail to give it a realistic look. The character models each look different, each character having wounds, facial hair, or something to make them stand apart from the other characters.
The levels themselves are huge and very well modeled. Firefights leave bullet holes in the walls, furniture, and anything else that can possibly be shot. The levels are also furnished with tables, chairs, cows, and anything else that could possibly be used for cover. Every one of these is also incredibly detailed, although some of the objects can’t be shot up, like the dead animals and some of the metallic objects. The graphics are all meant to bring realism to the game, like grenades leaving marks on the ground and enemies staying dead. CoD2 sucks the player in for one of the most realistic, adrenaline pumping experiences they’ve experienced yet.
CoD2 really makes the experience feel real. Between the sounds of grenades falling, to bullets flying by, CoD2 is sure to make even the nerdiest of gamers feel ready to join the army. There are situations where players have to really have to use cover and take risks to complete their objective. One mission has players crawling through a pipeline above German troops, surprising them with fire from above. Another mission has players reliving D-Day, in a way they haven’t before. Players must climb a rope to reach the top of a cliff while their comrades are falling down, nearly killing them. CoD2 is full of these moments, as well as many others that will have players adrenaline rushing as they run across fields while a smoke grenade fills the enemies vision.
One of the focuses of CoD2 is cover. Mainly provided by whatever can be found, cover comes into play many times (more so during harder difficulties) and is key to finishing the game. One of the better covers is smoke, which can be provided by parts of buildings, smoke grenades, and even regular grenades if used correctly. Although it seems rather odd that in clouds of smoke, the enemy sometimes has the upper hand. Many times during the course of the game, enemies will come running at players through the middle of the smoke and begin to attack them. This can be rather annoying, many times ruining the whole point of the cover.
Although it’s not just the enemy AI that’s intelligent. The AI in the game is surprisingly smart, finding cover, throwing grenades and calling for cover when needed. This also applies to the enemy AI as well. They’ll get cover, throw smoke grenades and do everything the opposite AI would do. It’s really a “Taste of Ones Medicine” type thing. The AI also uses tactics and provides cover fire. Although there are a few times where the AI slips up. They’ll stand up under machine gun fire, or stand right on top of a grenade. These occurrences, are more often than they should be, as the AI is so smart the rest of the time.
Of course, the AI are all there to contribute to the main gameplay, which revolves around WWII. As in Call of Duty, players play as different factions; Russian, British and American. Playing through each of the ten missions will take players roughly ten hours on the regular difficulty, but to unlock the other achievements, players will find themselves playing less of a game and more of a war. On harder difficulties, the game is much more tactical. A harder difficulty doesn’t really add much, but it gives it a much different feel. Cover takes a whole new feel and the machine gun takes the back seat.
Of course on a regular difficulties, CoD2 is a lot of fun to play. One will find themselves running through an abandoned building, mowing down Nazis. Another one of the downsides of CoD2 is that the enemies generally consist of two skins. Although they’re randomly generated, it tends to get old. While in the real war they all had uniforms, they varied. In CoD2, there are only two or three skins for each campaign.
Although unlike the skins, the gameplay is varied. Many shooters just have players going around shooting the enemies over and over again to a story. CoD2 does that to a degree, but it also throws in tank missions, artillery strikes and 88 guns. Each of these variations is awesome to play and bring even more of a unique. As well as campaigns, the difficulty is somewhat varying. Of course D-Day is going to be harder than the training (which is also a mission), but even the missions themselves have varying difficulty, making some of the segments kind of frustrating, especially on harder difficulties.
Part of what makes the experience is the atmosphere in the game. This is due to the look and feel of the game, as well as the great textures. The game is incredibly chaotic and fast. There are things blowing up everywhere, people are dieing everywhere (sometimes flying, thanks to the rag-doll physics) and yet one still has a mission to complete. One of aspects that needs to be noted is that CoD2 is at the high end of the T-rated spectrum. There’s no gore or decapitation, but there is plenty of blood spilled by both Germans and Allies alike. While the blood doesn’t pool on the ground, shooting an enemy will send blood flying, sometimes for a long period of time depending on the amount of bullets the enemy has taken.
The health system has been reworked this time around, borrowing the shield idea from Halo 2. Players don’t have a shield, but they must go behind cover after taking a few shots. While this feels like cheating death, health would be a huge problem, as damage is being dealt left and right. The health system is much better than finding health packs or using bandages. It makes for an overall less frustrating and adrenaline pumping experience, as players vision will have a red blur around it and their hearts will pump after taking severe damage.
Everything in CoD2 looks amazing. Of course, what’s even more amazing is the sound. Commands are constantly being given, bullets are flying by, grenades are falling, guns are shooting and it’s almost an overload of great effects. The guns especially feel really powerful, making the whole experience that much more realistic. The Allies commands and talking is very crisp and well done, as well as synced very well with characters mouths. Each character has their own personality, which means some have different accents, letting players feel like they’ve got to know their fellow soldiers.
The sound effects are also outstanding. Footsteps let players know enemies are coming, and the sound of clanking grenades on a hardwood floor gives the signal for players to clear the area. There’s no reason at all to use the 360’s built in Mp3 player over the game, because it would take away so much. Every item in the game has their own sounds, even some items like pianos playing notes when ran into or shot at.
A lot of the feeling though is lost over the multiplayer experience. While it’s all still there, the game takes a different feeling, that of a Deathmatch (as it should). CoD2 supports up to four players on one console, eight via Xbox Live and 16 over a system link. Playing on one console can be dull at times, as the levels are so large and expansive that sometimes it takes players a while to find each other, and it becomes more of a hassle when only two or three people are playing. However, over Live or via system link, the game gets a little faster paced and enjoyable. While Live only supports eight, smaller levels can be fun, while larger levels can still be an annoyance.
Because of Xbox Live, CoD2 has a decent value to it. Players will find themselves playing the game months after they first pick it up. There are five modes available through multiplayer; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Retrieval (where one side must capture a flag and the other must defend it) and Headquarters (where teams must make a HQ and the other must try to destroy it). Each of these modes is fun, but as usual, Deathmatch is the most fun out of the bunch. Although, no matter how fast ones internet is, CoD2 lags. Some games its fine, but others the game slows down to a rate where getting kills become harder than it needs to be.
If one plans on buying an Xbox 360 and they’re a fan of First-Person-Shooters, they owe it to themselves to pick of Call of Duty 2. If they own an HDTV, they’re in for a real treat. Even if they don’t Call of Duty 2 is a great game, with fast and frantic gameplay that makes one feel like a part of the war. There are a few moments in this game that will have players talking about them for years, but the multiplayer doesn’t quite make it worth its $60 price tag. If the price tag turns one off, it should still be considered, as it doesn’t slow down in some places and looks as good as it would on a high-end PC. Of all the Xbox 360 launch titles, Call of Duty 2 should be on every gamer’s wish list, as it’s not only a great WWII FPS, but a great game in general.
Overall: 8.8/10