Call of Duty

"Are you ready for war?"

No one man can win a war and it takes the strength of entire armies striving together to pave the way for victory. In the greatest of all wars, World War II, more than fifty six million people were killed (twelve thousand of those were Kiwis) and after all was said and done there was no real winner. Many videogame developers have tried to turn the mother of all wars into a playable videogame and one of the very first FPS games was based on WWII. Wolfenstein 3D was set in a fictional Nazi prison and players had to battle their way out shooting through hoards of soldiers in true arcade style. Since then a real strive for realism became apparent with games like Medal of Honor attempting to show the pain and suffering of war putting players through an emotional roller-coaster set in the first person perspective. However even the great Medal of Honor put players in the positions of a glorified soldier who had to pretty much take down every enemy in a level to succeed which is hardly realistic. Call of Duty, a new WWII FPS attempts to put players in the shoes of an ordinary soldier in with an ordinary squad of soldiers.

In this game players slip into the roles of the unsung heroes within the battlefields of WWII, soldiers that died for their country and others that were lucky enough to live. From the start players will be placed in a squad of other soldiers and each of the team members will have specific roles in the various missions ahead. In Call of Duty you will have to work with your squad to advance towards your objectives so you can't just run off and do your own thing (if you do you'll be dead quicker that you can say 'Nazi shish-kebab'). Thankfully your team aren't like your allies in other squad-based shooters in the sense that they actually have a brain.

Developers Infinity Ward have worked hard on the artificial intelligence of both the allied and axis soldiers and as a result they will use realistic tactics in tandem with your own actions. Soldiers in your squad will lay on covering fire, cover your six, pull wounded allies from the battlefield and coordinate attacks on enemy strongholds and players can either take a leading role in the action or follow their team as they move. Working in with your squad is an essential part of the game and those that do not enjoy games where you have to rely heavily of computer players should look for something a bit simpler in the flooded FPS market.

Throughout the game players will assume the role of American, British and Russian soldiers in some of the most historic campaigns of WWII. First up players will assume the role of an American solider the D-Day assault begins, then later they will fill the shoes of a British soldier as they move in on the battle of the Pegasus bridge and lastly players will join the Russians in the harrowing battle of Stalingrad . In one last push for victory players will control all three soldiers at various points in the final mission of the game bringing a fitting climax to one of the better WWII simulations around. The missions are fairly varied and players will have to use stealth, sniper, assault, vehicle and battlefield skills to achieve certain objectives and work through some of the situations the game throws up. The games pace can change often – one minute you can be slowly advancing down a street and then twenty enemies burst out of nowhere and take your squad by storm. Call of Duty is as intense as it comes and if you are brave enough you can jump into the multiplayer mode (up to 64 players) and battle away on many of the multiplayer specific maps.

Call of Duty's visuals pack a real punch. The game runs on an enhanced Return to Castle Wolfenstein/Quake III engine but there have been so many improvements and changes it feels like a brand new setup. The gritty, intense nature of war means that there is no room for pretty colours and over the top visual effects. Instead cold dark environments in war torn towns, battleships, forests and battlefields are the order of the day and Infinity have pulled off some stunning environments with a remarkable level of realism. Even in the heat of battle with huge numbers of soldiers on screen the framerate stays solid but this will depend heavily on what video card you are running (amongst other things).

Games based on war always take a great level of research to ensure that the trials of war are accurately represented and respect to soldiers and civilians affected by the war is of paramount priority. From this realistic remake of a war Infinity have thrusted players into the heat of battle as just a 'regular' joe who is just doing his thing for his country. The action is intense, the visuals are glorious and most of the environments are immersing and believable. A highly speced computer is recommended (as it is with most PC games these days) but many of the graphics options are scalable.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/12/03