Call of Duty: United Offensive

"Raw, adrenaline-pumpied action: a worthy successor to the first game."

I've been playing the original Call of Duty for some time. First, roaring through the great single player campaign, and then spending innumerable hours on the addictive multiplayer. So, as a dedicated fan of the first installment, even I'm surprised how much this new expansion has sucked me in and refused to let go. United Offensive meets the expectations set by the original easily, and perhaps even tops it in some ways.

As in the original game, single player has you playing on three different sides: American, British and Russian. Just as the first game, you will work with pretty intelligent ally AI in vicious battles and humbling set pieces. Just like the first game, sound is top-notch, especially on a 5.1 surround-sound system. The real surprise, though, comes in how much more raw and intense this game feels. There are many more enemies and allies on the field at one time, and the sheer amount of things going on at one time can be dizzying. Graphical improvements here and there are very welcome, especially in the form of smoke, which is very much improved from its sub par appearance in the original.

The single player campaign is much shorter than that of the first game, but I don't mind, for one reason: Just about every single mission you play is on par with some of the best set pieces of the first game. Forget most of the boring, one to two man commando missions that seemed to hijack parts of the original: They're kept to a bare minimum here. The impression one gets is that this is Call of Duty with all the fat trimmed off, and with the action ratcheted up five or six notches.

Which brings me to my next point: this game is also much, much harder than the first. If you're expecting a cakewalk, keep looking. The game does not baby you: from the beginning, it expects that you know well the art of finding cover, taking careful aim, and making effective use of grenades. It is highly recommended that you become adept at the first game before even attempting United Offensive.

And, one last problem: the AI, especially that of enemies, seems considerably downgraded from the first game. It's not too bad, but certainly noticeable. It is a forgivable flaw, considering how many enemies the game has in action at one time.

Overall, good.

Now, we get to the multiplayer. As I said in my introduction, I've poured hours into the original game's on-line component. As you may or many not have heard, the thing this expansion brings to the table in multi is vehicles: specifically, jeeps and tanks. At first, I was extremely sceptical about this addition. "If I want vehicles, I'll play Battlefield 1942!" I shouted to no one in particular. But my fears were not well-founded, in fact, this new element of vehicles adds more to the game than I ever thought possible.

I suppose the best way to put it is this: Imagine the awesome land-based vehicle combat of 1942, with the close to perfect infantry combat of the first Call of Duty. It's that good.

There are 11 new maps shipping with the expansion, likely more with patches that get released for the game. Some of these maps are closer to those of the first game: small, city-based affairs with lots of close combat and nooks and crannies. And then there are wide, opens maps (some that are at least two times bigger than those from the original) chock full of tanks and jeeps, but also with important places for infantry. Not to mention all the new weapons, rock solid net code, and an awesome rank/promotion system that gives good players good bonuses, similar to Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory's rank set up.

With thirty or forty other people playing on a server with you, the game achieves a state of surreal bliss, where hours and hours of time better spent eating or using the bathroom melt away into the sounds and sights of battle.

In fact, I may never sleep again.

And isn't that what gaming is all about?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/04