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Call of Duty 2 Review
Chris Leyton
28/10/2005
Infinity Ward returns with a stunning blend of cinematic scripted events, explosive gameplay and stylish direction...
Having established themselves with the last memorable title in the Medal of Honor series, the founders of Infinity Ward truly made their mark on the videogame map with the 2003 release of Call of Duty. Making heavy use of scripted events, intense action and stunning presentation the game set a new benchmark in the crowded WWII genre; since then a number have tried to beat it, but few have managed to emulate the overall experience, so the team are back with a sequel to the 2003 Game of the Year.
Call of Duty 2 follows a similar line to its predecessor but makes many improvements, not only visual but also breaking open the boundaries and creating a much more open experience then before. Having won accolade from painting WWII from the perspectives of the Russians, Americans and British, Call of Duty 2 follows a similar line to that of its predecessor.
Beginning with the Russian campaign taking in objectives such as defending Stalingrad from a Panzer onslaught, a sniping mission through a city warzone and raising a German headquarters to the ground, thereās a great sense of comradely in this campaign as the soldiers fight to the bitter end for everything they hold dear. Play then moves onto the British campaign in North Africa and follows the Desert Rats conflict against Rommelās Afrika Korps; the intensity picks up during this campaign as players advance to gain control of El Alamein. Finally the American campaign kicks off with the customary D-Day landing although youāve probably never seen such an intense reproduction. The tempo continues to build as a game of cat-and-mouse leads to the winner gaining control of Bergstein, before a truly epic assault on Hill 400 and finally defending it against the Naziās retaliation before the airborne cavalry arrives.
Based upon feedback from the original, the structure of the campaigns has changed significantly. No longer do players have to complete each campaign in order from beginning to end, this time around successfully completing a certain number of missions will open up the next allowing players to weave in and out as they see fit rather then being tied to a chronological order ā“ although this method is naturally available to those who prefer it.
Although the emphasis is undeniably on action thereās a often a sense of variety to whatās laid before players, such as the task that sees players moving from point to point in Stalingrad to reconnect a wire and communicate back to HQ. The British campaign features the return of tanks although their inclusion is perhaps the gameās sole weakness, resulting in a relatively easy experience that detracts from the immense sense of captivation the rest of the game creates.
Recognising the success of Halo and numerous first-person-shooters since, Call of Duty 2 does away with the percentage based heath meter and replaces it with a rechargeable shield system that urges the player to find somewhere quiet for a brief period to recharge their health. Combined with the excellent use of checkpoints throughout the game, Call of Duty 2 creates a much improved sense of progress through the game to the point of making it impossible to step away from the controls. The game just throws you back into the action and rarely far away from where you last died; the effect is a game that keeps players continuously hooked ā“ I sat down and played Call of Duty 2 from start-to-finish in 12 solid hours and only once felt frustrated enough to get away from the keyboard once. Importantly for this type of technique Call of Duty 2 does a good job of indicating danger and damage to the player through patches of blood on the screen and cries of pain from the character, the moment youāre in trouble Call of Duty 2 makes sure you know about it.
Advice before the game made it clear that smoke grenades will save your life; a notion quickly put aside by myself, after all how many times do you actually use them in other first-person-shooters. My mind quickly changed however when the sheer intensity of the action became apparent; you need these to survive, creating a cloud to mask your movements is absolutely essential within the game. Thankfully the sublime graphics engine that powers Call of Duty 2 fully realises the true benefits of a smoke grenade; after a few seconds the sizzle of smoke will build up into an encompassing cloud, making it almost impossible to see in a truly authentic way. Thereās a wonderfully subtle and soft outline to the cloud especially so on the Xbox 360, whilst silhouettes of soldiers gradually become increasingly visible through the smoke. By the time youāve reached Assault on Hill 400 or the D-Day landings on Point Du-Hoc smoke grenades are vital, youāll get nowhere without these and quickly find your supply diminished.
Perhaps the greatest feature that helps to recreate the chaos of war is the Battle-Chatter system. The sheer intensity of the game is made even more dramatic by the endless lines of dialogue that frequent the experience; from screams of anguish to tactical updates of enemy positions and the British calling everybody else wankers, Call of Duty 2 is the nearest thing to war that many of us will thankfully ever get to see. Once again Infinity Ward havenāt attempted to dress the brutality up in Hollywood style, the game captures the losses that people went through ā“ particularly from the Russian perspective ā“ whilst the original idea to depict the campaign through three different perspectives must always be applauded. Authenticity is once again the name of the day for Call of Duty 2, running through everything from the missions to the weapons - youāll also find the Nazis utilising Battle Chatter in their native language!
Although there are some missions when youāll find yourself in isolation the vast amount of missions put you alongside dozens of fellow soldiers. Call of Duty 2 handles these with ease making their movement, shooting accuracy and general behaviour absolutely spot on; theyāre not good enough to lessen the challenge to the player but at the same time they go beyond the vast majority of squad shooters both in terms of numbers and AI. Players have no control over squad commands, however given the focus on action this is very much a good thing and the sense of belief heavily improved as a result.
Infinity Ward have somehow managed to expand upon the environments and the mission structures with non-linear designs, yet somehow managed to retain the same cinematic nature of its predecessor. Infinity Wardās President explained to TVG recently that this was simply a result of a lot of hard work, with the team having to expand upon the number of such events exponentially for the sequel. This has helped to ensure that the game retains the epic feeling that popularised its predecessor, in fact weāre prepared to say no other game matches the relentless onslaught of āwowā moments that Call of Duty 2 presents, whether itās watching a German tank roll over your head from the trenches below; standing in a horror as a fellow British soldier gets nailed down from behind a closed door or abseiling the cliffs of Point Du Hoc and seeing a body fly over the cliffs and knocking the soldier above you to his death on the beaches below. These really are mere descriptions of some of the situations youāll find yourself in with Call of Duty 2; rarely do games capture the imaginations of players from start-to-finish, but with a steady supply of such events for each mission; a great sense of progress and satisfying gameplay Call of Duty 2 does just this.
Beyond the basic supply of deathmatch, CTF and team variants, Call of duty 2 also features two objective based multiplayer modes entitled Headquarters and Search & Destroy. The return of Kill-Cam is a welcoming feature and one weāre surprised hasnāt been copied since the first game, however ultimately the game is largely all about the single-player with multiplayer coming as an interesting diversion.
As youād probably expect Call of Duty 2 is a fantastic game to look at beyond the exceptional particle-based smoke effect Iāve already talked about. A profound real-time lighting engine combines with normal mapping, specular highlights and every other buzz word to create a truly exceptional title that also manages to do it all on a big scale. Away from the cries of war Call of Duty 2 furthers the sense of attachment with a soundtrack that is both mournful and rousing at all the right places.
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Date Added:Mon 30th Apr 2007 00:52
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Date Added:Tue 26th Sep 2006 17:32