For this being developers Infinity Ward’s first stand-alone game, they have hit the target dead on! Under the circumstances, you would almost expect an amateurish game, but helping out on Medal of Honor has obviously benefitted their skill and experience.
Call of Duty
There has been a handful of great FPSs in the year of 2003, such titles as Medal of Honor, Halo, and Battlefield 1942. So, with that taken into account, one must think, “With all these titles already made, wouldn’t the whole idea of a WWII FPS become old?”. Of course, it is perfectly sane to think this, but WWII has so much to offer–you couldn’t, and shouldn’t (historically speaking) ever get bored with this topic.
Call of Duty is easily the best FPS to be released this year. It, of course, has all the fundamentals, such as; real events, historic settings, and of course plenty of action, but even including these basics, it also has more to offer.
Another great thing about CoD, is that it is realistic. While navigating through the battlefield you cannot simply run out into the middle and start wailing you gun around–doing so will surely lead to your speedy death. In Medal of Honor you can take gun shots to the head and still live to fight another day (or level). This has been improved in Call of Duty. However, being shot in the legs, arms, and sometimes the chest will not result in instant death. When you do get shot, the screen shakes and a reddish streak appears to help you finding the soon to be unlucky enemy brave enough to let loose at you.
Making your way from point A to point B can be quite sluggish, since you can’t run or tiptoe, but it is at the right pace considering that you won’t want to do much running. There are three positions that you assume during the game: crouch, stand, and prone. While moving in crouch will be slower then in standing, it is not huge difference. This will aid you when you are trying to make your way through a major gun fight, in which you would like to take the safe way and be hidden.
Where the realism really comes into play is that you can only have a certain amount of weapons equipped and ready to use–unlike in certain predecessors. Cross hairs will guide you through making sure that your shot is accurate; when you’re standing still the cross hairs are smaller, and while moving they’re larger. And make sure you reload before your clip runs out, for it is always safer and faster.
Like every game, each weapon has it special use. The sniper rifle snipes (obviously), side arms are for close combat, grenades are for clearing your path, etc. When you use the guns correctly, they will prove to have deadly effects. Weapon recoil will see your arm shooting back.
A.I. is very important in a game where you will have partners helping you during the missions. For the most part your team’s A.I. is ok, but they can seem a little rusty at some moments. They will quite often not spot an enemy standing nearby and susequently fail to take appropriate actions. To make sure that you will not feel left out, the developer’s decided to let your allies enjoy when they get shot. When they do get killed often they will get back up and stroll around like nothing has happened.
One person alone could never be responsible for ending a war. It must be done through teamwork, and that’s what Call of Duty offers to make the experience even better. The battles are fierce and heavy–often a force to be reckoned with. Another great aspect of CoD is that the battles don’t happen the same way every time; this can arouse new interest and keep you wanting more for the 3rd time or 5th time.
After a while you might get bored of playing CoD over and over, but worry not, for there is a nice multiplayer add-on to boost any flagging interest. To know how exactly you were killed, there is also a feature called the ‘kill-cam’. Here you get to watch the last 5 seconds of your life through your killer’s eyes–scary!
With such game modes as; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Behind Enemy Lines, and more, this will be the thing you’ll be playing for most of the time.
Gameplay
Call of Duty stands as the year’s best FPS because it has what every World War II first-person shooter should have, and it has more to boot. Gameplay is solid, with tons of guns, huge fights, and realistic warfare. It will have you feeling as though you’re actually there in the middle of the action. With the limited amount of weapons you are allowed to have, you will have to think on which way to approach the enemy. With almost every corner you take there will be action, with fights of up to 15 people or more.
Sound
From hearing your weaponry crack as it expels rounds of ammo to the wounded soldiers crying and screaming in agony. When you’re not immersed in combat you can also hear gunfire exchanges far away in the background–this detail makes it feel almost like a real war!
Call of Duty does have a musical score, but the developers really could have left it out, because it is very seldom that you get to hear it during the gunfights, explosions, ricochets and screams.
Graphics
Since Call of Duty uses the tried and true Quake 3 engine, there isn’t a big advancement in graphical technology. It still looks like some of the best games currently available without feeling in any way dated. When you get close to some objects, like brushes, they tend to show as somehwhat blocky, but this is a small dent, in this otherwise suberb category.
Replay
If you should ever get tired of beating the game in its different difficulty settings, you can go online and duke it out with your friends. Since set up is easy, you should be having online warfare fun in no time. You can either set up a Lan party or use the multiplayer feature. With the unscripted battle fights, each time you go to play a level, they turn out different, so this brings up the interest in beating the game more than one time!
Final Thoughts
With massive levels and huge conflicte, Call of Duty will provide you with a lot of fun–for a long time. Multiplayer features are excellent and you will be playing in no time.
Call of Duty has the best in-game graphics available today, it also arrives with realistic settings, detailed model facial features, and still only through using the Quake III engine. Gameplay is solid, with fun to be had on every level.
Everything about Call of Duty is great, it’s almost without flaw. I can give this game nothing but a near perfect score! The year’s best World War II FPS, bar none.
President & CEO
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