Call of Duty: Finest Hour

"Over-rated WWII FPS"

"Okay effort, but didn't live up to the hype"

Considering myself a bit of a WWII buff, I really looked forward to getting COD for my Gamecube. After playing through one time, I have to admit I was disappointed. The decline of the FPS continues unabated.

Graphics: 9 out of 10. The graphics are excellent, as characters, uniforms, weapons, vehicles and locales look very sharp. The game runs quite smoothly, but this may have more to do with the Gamecube than anything else. The only reason COD doesn't earn perfect marks is that the characters, especially in the movies, still move cartoonishly, thus reminding you you're playing a game.

Control: 6 out of 10. I'm very fussy when it comes to control pad set-up, and I like lots of custom options which COD does not offer. The gamesmiths should be catering to their customers, not the other way around. Control in the game is okay, but the "in vehicle" visibility is awful, even after changing the view option to third-person. As well, maneuvering the vehicle to shoot enemies with your point defense machine gun is just as bad. In fact, all of the vehicle missions were, in my opinion, very poorly done. They are simply slugfests with no room for creativity or skill nor any historical basis.

Story: 5 out of 10. The story itself is very basic, not much more than a retelling of WWII through the eyes of several participants of the Allied forces. What really bugs me about the story is full of blatant "fantasy" missions such as guiding the Soviet T-34 through Stalingrad. Anyone who knows anything about armor during WWII knows tanks did not EVER enter defended urban areas without significant infantry and fighter-bomber support. I was hoping COD would be a fairly realistic WWII FPS, but I couldn't have been more wrong. This is just Duke Nukem in a different setting. Wait a second. I take that back. Duke Nukem was much, much better.

Replay Value: 5 out of 10. COD has multiple skill levels, but that's about it. No secret levels, no Moonraker Elite, no Death Star Trench, no nothing.
Overall: 5 out of 10. COD did not live up to my high expectations. Luckily, I bought this stinker used so I didn't shell the uberbucks some other suckers did.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/06