Call of Duty

"Big Explosions, Dead Nazis"

Twenty-six levels, divided between three campaign, Call of Duty puts you in the boots of an American, British, and Soviet soldier. Each is a rush from one battle to the next.

Each campaign is divided between two long missions, occasionally broken up by single level length missions. Mission begin with an general overview with each levels objectives explained to you on the spot. One level flows smoothly into the next. So much so that the end of each campaign comes to an abrupt ending. This is an inherent problem in the attention to accuracy in presenting a real-life experience. Any encounter, if handled poorly, could be your last. This is true of the first battle of war. This is true for the last battle of a war.

World War II has been hashed ad rehashed into a fine tuned, digestible patty. Call of Duty stands on the shoulders of WWII shooters that came before, and stands a little higher because of that.

Focus is on being a single member in a larger battle. The American campaign has you moving with a single large group of soldiers who you stay with for the length of the campaign. Move, take an area, and move on. The British campaign puts you in a smaller group that works in conjunction with other small groups of British soldiers that move in and out of parts of the campaign. The Soviet campaign makes you one member in a huge battle raging all around you, often groups of other Soviet soldiers. You are never a member of a team, and often find yourself the sole survivor of a larger battle. You constantly meet with one or two other soldiers to make a small group, but the soldiers you're fighting with and around are constantly changing.

Working with these groups of soldiers, you move from one piece of cover to another. Stay with the group or move around to flank, it's your option. Just don't be caught in the open.

Call of Duty brought about the two fold aiming system by switching between a normal FPS view with a shrinking/expanding cross hair and iron sights. Along with it's emphasis on cover, and team tactics, this sets Call of Duty apart from other WWII FPS games of its day.

Call of Duty is fast and smooth, filled with explosions and dead Nazis. It earned its bones as a top competitor with its first game. Call of Duty appeals to a large audience, and disappoints only a few.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/09

Game Release: Call of Duty (US, 10/29/03)