Call of Duty: Finest Hour Q&A Feature

Call of Duty: Finest Hour, on console, is the newest installment in the award-winning Call of Duty series. It will place the player in the frontline of combat to experience the cinematic intensity, chaos of battle and epic moments of World War II in new campaigns across the North African, Western and Eastern Fronts.

Totalvideogames.com was given the opportunity by Activision to speak with Scott Langteau, COO at Spark Unlimited, who is also the Producer for Call of Duty: Finest Hour.

TVG: Although the console version of Call of Duty: Finest Hour is a new game, it does offer much from the brand. Can you tell us what, if any, cross over there is pertaining to the PC brand and what marks the â??Call of Dutyâ?? brand?

The only cross-over aspect of Finest Hour comes in the fact that both games have a portion of the story that deals with the defense of Stalingrad (the landing of the boats off the Volga â?“ the scene depicted so vividly in Enemy at the Gates). Our game opens with this incredibly visceral and active scenario and we launch the player right into the heart of chaos and force them to learn the rules of the game and in many ways fend for themselves. Finest Hourâ??s depiction of this battle, however, deals with an altogether different characterâ??s experience in that battle, and the level plays out much differently than last yearâ??s PC title.

As to what specifically marks Call of Duty as a brand, I would have to say it is four key things: 1) No one fights alone! Whether the player is acting as infantry on foot, or operating within a vehicle, allies (both on foot and in vehicles) are around to fight right alongside the player every step of the way. 2) Epic moments from war â?“ and all this implies: intense and spine-rattling action, rousing emotion, and assaulting sound and music. 3) Multiple characters: we have 6 in Finest Hour â?“ youâ??ll experience a variety of contributions (through varying gameplay styles) our characters made by stepping directly into and out of their boots. 4) Multiple campaigns â?“ we take the player through 3 Allied campaigns to the Eastern Front in Russia, the Western Front in Belgium and Germany, and the sweltering Desert of North Africa.

TVG: The game has a very individual character focus. Tell us about some of the characters and offer perhaps a little of the backdrop story and how it works regarding these different characters?

Our characterâ??s storylines often intersect and dovetail into one anotherâ?¦but their experiences (and ultimately those of the player) are independent of each other. Let me give you an example: The game opens with our raw Russian conscript, Aleksandr Sokolav. Through the arc of his story, he comes to meet Tanya Pavelovna who takes him under her wing before the player transitions into her perspective, playing as a Russian sniper, before eventually meeting and becoming a Russian Tanker. So, in some ways we sort of â??pass the batonâ? from one characterâ??s story to the next. In addition, not all of our character arcs close up tight this time aroundâ?¦leaving them open for future development in the future.

Okay, hereâ??s some more info on a couple of the other characters:

ALEKSANDR SOKOLAV is a very young conscript in the Red Army. He had no choice, and like any young human being asked to fight â?“ is frightened, but furious enough at the enemy to not let that stand in his way. His arrival in Stalingrad at the opening of the game is his first time in combat.

NIKOLAI BADANOV despises the Germans and signed up to fight them as soon as they broke the treaty and began attacking his homeland. Having been a mechanic in Leningrad for many years, it was no surprise he was attached to the 24th tank corps and sent to Stalingrad.

EDWARD CARLYLEâ??s experience as a chemistry teacher made him a prime candidate as a member of the PPA (Popskiâ??s Private Army) â?“ an offshoot of the Long Range Desert Group in North Africa. An organization primarily involved with covert, rapid-fire infiltrations to sabotage Rommelâ??s tanks and fuel supplies â?“ his skills with volatile concoctions was certain to come in handy.

TVG: What are some of the actions the player can undertake and will there be a number of variants for each?

Thatâ??s a tough question because the playerâ??s actions change from character to character: Nikolai drives a tank, so many of his actions involve blasting things with his tank turret and coaxial mg, Tanya is a Russian sniper, so her actions have to do with sniping and protecting sappers so they can lay mines under tanks, and Carlyle is a demolitions guy so his actions have to do with placing explosives and slowing down Rommelâ??s tanks. So, yeahâ?¦Iâ??d say there are a good variety of player actions.

TVG: Can you tell us a little about the team creating the game and what you have created before?

Michael Giacchino, referred me to a friend of his named Craig Allen. Craig headed up Henson Interactive. Craig and I met up and before long we got together with our great partner Activision and opened the doors as Spark Unlimited and welcomed in our friends. Together, we set out on the road to making Call of Duty: Finest Hour. The team at Spark includes over 30 of the individuals who previously worked on the Medal of Honor console series on such titles as Frontline.

As to how we specifically came to be making an entirely new game for the consoles... It was a great opportunity for us and our team to create an entirely new epic Call of Duty experience on the consoles. With the tremendous start our friends at Infinity Ward began last year on the PC, we couldnâ??t wait for a chance to create the Finest Hour experience on the consoles.

TVG: Please give us a brief breakdown of the missions objectiveâ??s and perhaps you can expand on one exciting event that conjures up the real spirit if the game?

Iâ??ll go with the latter and give you an example or two of some of the gameâ??s key moments.

Players of Finest Hour will find many new missions and locations where they will continue the struggle against Nazi Germany. We will revisit parts of Stalingrad, though we will do so in a series of new characters and new perspectives. But players will find fresh challenges in all new locations by fighting as a British Commando against Rommelâ??s Afrika Korps in Tunisia, or as an American GI during the final push of the Nazis back to Germany after the Battle of the Bulge. The missions will range from sniping, to Tank driving and combat, to desert demolitions as the player takes on the role of 6 different player characters in a number of locations and scenarios dovetailing into and out of each other. Fear not, thereâ??s plenty of variety and excitement to go around! To begin with, the game opens with a raw Russian Conscriptâ??s incredibly intense Volga crossing and landing into the defense of Stalingrad. Though a similar mission takes place in the PC game, this is an altogether original telling of another characterâ??s experience in that battle. It is so gripping, chaotic, and intense. There are over two hundred Russian allies storming the hillside toward the burning refinery that is between you and retaking the park portion of the city the Naziâ??s have claimed. It is the most intense moment in terms of activity, sound, and outright action Iâ??ve seen on a console. I applaud my entire team for their amazing work on this opening.

Another intense moment is our mission in Aachen, later in the war. Aachen was the first major city in the German heartland that the Americans attacked. The Germans had retreated to the oldest part of the town. Many of the buildings were very old and were so heavily constructed that the allied forces had to bring in a M12 155mm howitzer to blast their way in. The player takes part in what was one of the first truly coordinated tank/infantry assaults in an urban setting. The infantry were vulnerable in the streets to the endless machine guns firing from the buildings, and the tanks were vulnerable to ambush from the Germans who could rush out of their hiding places in the buildings to attack their blind spots. The player must work closely with the tanks to get the M12 through the city and drive out the Germans.

Hereâ??s hoping our experience captures that intensity!

TVG: Please expand on the weapons available and is there a vast amount of difference, a discernable one, pertaining to the different factions â?“ German, US, Russian, British?

The player will get to use over 30 weapons in the game, however only two at a time plus the use of grenades. This keeps us within the realm of believability with what an actual soldier may be able to cart around at any time. However, the player is free to pick up and drop weapons at any time off fallen allies or enemies, which constantly keeps the variety moving.

Of course, the variety of weapons changes as you go from campaign to campaign. Specifically, Russian weapons range from the semi-automatic PPSH (or the â??Burp Gunâ? as it was known based on the sound it made), Mosin Nagant (Sniper Rifle) and the DP (Degtyarev - light MG).

As for British weapons, they range from British sticky grenades in North Africa, Silenced Sten, and the Bren (lgt.MG).

We won't forget our trusty American G. I. weapons either. Many of your favorites are there plus some fresh surprises: standard issue M1 Garand, as well as the player popular Thompson SMG, B.A.R. (Browning Automatic Rifle), Springfield Sniper Rifle, 1919A6 (30 cal heavy MG), the M9 Bazooka and M3A1 Greasegun.

On the German side of the weapons, you get to commandeer and use, they range from anti-tank Panzershreks, Gewer 43, Steilhandgrenate (German Grenades), Karbiner (rifle) and MP-40s.

TVG: Could you tell us one innovation â?“ feature - that makes this game unique or special?

Tanks, baby. Tanks! While they were amazingly difficult to make a part of the game, I think they pay off in a big way to having a greater depth to Finest Hour. They required special physics, special AI, special targeting â?“ you name it; they were needy and affected many other things taking place and existing on-screen in the same place. They were worth it, however! The Sherman and T-34 tank missions are really fun to play (theyâ??re definitely among my favorites in the game.) TVG: How much research have you done yourself into the setting and weaponry used and what is the hardest aspect in getting it right?

We do a tremendous amount of research (mostly during pre-production, but some during actual production where needed as the game evolves and finds its way â?“ also known as â??feature creepâ?!) and it begins with the design team scouring as many books on the subject as possible.

In addition, weâ??ve gone to battle re-enactments, toured battle locations in Russia, Germany, and Belgium for architectural and texture reference, worked alongside and spoken with veterans of these scenarios, consulted with military advisors to depict the actions of soldiers as authentically as possible, weâ??ve gone to armories to handle the weapons and photograph the weapons for both animation and modeling research, weâ??ve gone out into the desert to fire the weapons for both audio recording and additional animation research and more.

The hardest aspect of getting it right is remaining true to the research, while being held to the limitations of the technology. A weapon can only have so many polysâ?¦what area doesnâ??t get as much attention, an animation can only have so many frames, or so many coordinated parts so how do we convey a coordinated room entry bearing in mind whatâ??s key about what we learned from an advisor, but still create something manageable within the game? We canâ??t build an actual replica of the town (there just isnâ??t enough time, or enough artists), so what are the main set pieces needed, and how can we arrange the town to be authentic and do justice to the location without attempting to â??rebuildâ? it in its entirety. These are the hard questions we wrestle with everyday when using our research.

TVG: What is your favourite setting (how many are there) for the game and why?

Thatâ??s a very tough question. Thatâ??s like making a parent choose a favorite child, it just isnâ??t done (I mean, you know they have one, but they never let you pin them down on it!)

Anyway, there are 19 levels in the game â?“ and I have a few favorites for a few very good reasons: I love the opening of Finest Hour because it is so incredibly epic â?“ Iâ??m just so proud of what weâ??ve been able to pull off in that opening level (and Finest Hour doesnâ??t let up after that either). It remains a great, challenging game constantly propelling the player forward after that.

I also love our levels in Tatsinskaya (particularly part 2) which deals with a Russian assault on a German-held airfield being used to resupply the Axis in the Stalingrad pocket in December of 1942 wherein tons of Russian tanks destroy an entire airfield of Axis planes and tanks (another example of a massive amount of content getting pushed around on-screen and my designer, John Castroâ??s pyrotechnic special fx usage is sweet (it is his forte!)

Then thereâ??s Aachen, in the American campaign that is just good, old-fashioned urban combat with vehicles thrown in for an extra challenge. Really fun, really active, and really in your face. Good stuff!

TVG: Sum up the game in a sentence!

Finest Hour is an all-out, WWII, sound, music, and action assault on your senses that doesnâ??t let up from your landing in Stalingrad to your breaking down through Germanyâ??s back door.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour is scheduled for release on November 26th; we'll have more on this title soon.