Call of Duty

"Short, but sweet..."

Call of Duty is a first person shooter where you, a soldier fighting the front lines of World War II, shoot Germans. The game, like other first person shooters, is suspenseful at some moments and full of action at others. Call of Duty heralds from Infinity Ward, a shoot off company founded by many of the team who created Medal of Honor Allied Assault.

-Structure-
-Graphics-
This game's graphics are outstanding and add immensely to the active feel. I was personally amazed to watch the lips on the NPC's (non-player characters) actually move to articulate the words that they were saying. The movement of NPC's around and over obstacles will envelope a player in the action, and trying to see through the many layers of grass and shrubbery to shoot the enemy characters is difficult at best. The smoldering of burning objects and the chunks of debris coming from bullets impacting off surfaces simulate actual physics while explosions from grenades and mortars shoot up dust that will linger in the air for a short time. Sky and time transitions are almost flawless. Even the moon is drawn noticeably well. White flashes on the night horizon hint at far away battles, but the distance fog generator is a little strange. Objects at a distance begin to turn gray but not gradually. They just are or aren't fogged over. For instance, during the Pegasus bridge level facing the forest on the horizon, the trees melded into one gray/blue continuous 2-D picture that circled around the level. The enemies could move in and out of it, though. The bridge in the game was modeled after the actual bridge, and during the debriefing/briefing, a real-life picture will be shown to compare with the in-game bridge. The many minute details are obvious signs of hard work.
Score: 11.4/12
-Sound FX-
The noises in Call of Duty are clear and sharp. The buzz-saw of the MG 42's and the dunt-dunt of the Bren gun are easily distinguishable as with most of the other weapon noises. In addition, the constant background gunfire accentuates atmosphere and replaces most music. Character voices are also very clear. A German NPC yelling ''GRE-NAH-TEH!'' when your character throws a grenade into a nearby window will drag a player into the action and adds personality to the other characters. If one were to listen to Call of Duty while someone else were playing the game. It would be like listening to a movie soundtrack. Certain sounds go off at certain times or when characters reach a certain point and the jeep engine noise does not match acceleration and deceleration, but for the most part the effects are a clear cut match. They aren't anything spectacular, but they are well done.
Score: 8/10
-Music-
Music is something this game lacks, which is good. The times when music does play are moments where either your character did something well, it is an intense historical moment, or there is not much happening. The orchestral arrangements play quietly (compared to the sound FX) in the background, but it is still crystal clear quality and a good match for a game of this genre. The lack of music adds to suspense and allows the player to use their sense of hearing to their advantage. If you enjoy games with catchy theme music, then this is not a game for you. The music is not catchy and is sometimes unnoticeable, and leaves one wondering why the creators traded music for more levels.
Score: 7.2/8

-Game Play-
-Control-
Controls can easily be adjusted through options menus. Other special features in the game, such as the lean, allow for a more enjoyable experience, and also help a player avoid those untimely ''bullets in the chest.'' Your first mission, a training course, will be boring for experienced players, but will teach the controls and help a new player become accustomed to walking, crouching, crawling, and climbing. Guns are simple to use (a basic point and click), but accuracy is affected between different stances and while moving, adding to reality and enjoyment. First encounters with grenades may be awkward in the training course, but skill with grenades will improve in combat levels. The use command is also a bit ornery and requires the character to move into an almost exact location to perform a task sometimes. A mouse is required to fully participate in the game because aiming and reflexes must be quick. I would recommend a decent optical mouse because jerks and stops in mouse performance may mean death for the character.
Score: 4.25/5
-Difficulty-
An experienced gamer may find normal to be challenging to an extent that they will be confused and die or they will run into too many enemies and they will die. The abundance of health packs in almost every level will inhibit loss of life slowly throughout the level making it almost certain a player will die from many bullets entering the character in a short time, a mortar round or two landing near or on the character, or the occasional aerial bombardment by the German Luftwaffe. Lower difficulties offer the character more damage resistance while higher difficulties do the opposite. This allows all skill levels of players to enjoy the game's extensive action, special effects, and levels the same; it would just be harder to die. I would recommend anybody who possibly plays counter-strike or other first person shooters regularly would find more enjoyment in the game if they consider the ''hardened'' difficulty to be their ''regular.'' The lack of game play variance among the difficulties is disappointing. Addition of levels, eye candy, or even enemies would’ve provided incentive to play the game again on higher difficulties.
Score: 10.5/15
-Story-
Call of Duty's simple storyline doesn't add anything to the game, but it doesn't detract from it either. Basically, your character is a soldier fighting the front lines in World War II. You either control an American, a Brit, or a Russian. The character goes on missions and kills Germans without any background or clutter besides a briefing. It’s a fine storyline for a game of this genre, but it isn't special.
Score: 4.8/8
-Fun Factor: Single-Player Missions-
This game is a 15 hour roller-coaster ride that seems to end far too quickly. The first missions are riddled with fast-paced action battling over a small village in Normandy. Once the gunfire begins, it never stops until the debriefing. Your character’s commanding officer will constantly encourage forward movement, hurling your character and other NPCs into the fray, all of them risking their necks at every corner. If your character doesn’t stay with his team or follow orders, he will most likely be shot. Your buddies will automatically give covering fire and will throw grenades into buildings so your character will stay alive to keep fighting the Germans. In addition, the enemy will cover his buddies and throw grenades at you just the same increasing believability. A wounded enemy will also sometimes stumble to his feet and return to his efforts at killing your character. The Germans will even toss your own grenades out of there lines and back into yours. After your initial insertion, you as the player will not understand the concepts of lean, ducking, or dodging enemy fire. This “green” experience just adds to the believability because many soldiers had limited training and a lack of understanding of what they were about to face. As you proceed through the missions, like all things, your abilities will increase through practice. Lobbing grenades constantly will become second nature as will hiding and diving behind bushes and finding any, and I do mean any, cover your character can. The strangest thing I found in this game is the fact that the enemy will shoot at your character if he doesn’t use available cover and the enemy will shoot at something else if your character keeps hidden from sight. The AI seems to fire on the easiest target it can and basically, if you can see them, then the Germans can see your character. Finally, your character is the hero at all times. You can always kill one more German, destroy one more Tiger, and down one more Stuka than your buddies, because that’s what will keep you alive in this game. Have no qualms about getting the job done: sniping enemy officers, planting explosives, and pulling the trigger quicker than your enemy, because you will have to and because sometimes nobody else will. Call of Duty’s outstanding graphics, clear sound FX, and life like nature combine to give the game a realistic feel.
Score: 22.5/25
-Fun Factor: Replay Ability-
I’ll just say it, I think replay ability will be lacking in this game. The initial play-through was a very enjoyable experience, but the next play-through came up with nothing new. All events are scripted and are activated by your character doing something. This game is similar to watching a movie. Once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. A second play-through may allow a player to catch the events that they missed, but its not that the event didn’t happen during the first go. Increasing difficulty may add to the reality factor because your character will no longer be able to take the damage he did in other difficulties, but again, nothing new is added from other difficulties. In addition, if you are easily frustrated by sniping and snipers, the multi-player feature might not be for you.
Score: 6.8/17

Graphics: 11.4
Sound FX: 8
Music: 7.2
Control: 4.25
Difficulty: 10.5
Story: 4.8
FF SP: 22.5
FF Replay: 6.8
Total: 75.45/100

Divide by ten and this games score becomes a 7.5. This game is a fun run-through. Borrow the game if you can. If you hold onto the game, the multi-player maybe patched up enough to become more popular.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/03