Call of Duty: Finest Hour

"A great, underrated World War II shooter with high intensity."

I rented Call of Duty: Finest Hour and instantly fell in love with it. It's a great game, but with some flaws that make it not so great. LOL. I hope my review is helpful to anyone interested in this game.

Story 10/10

It's an interesting angle taken with this game. The story is about different soldiers that join the War that changed the World for their own reasons. They have monologues before their first missions telling you their feelings and why they join to fight the German War Machine.

Controls 8/10

The controls in this game are pretty good but have flaws. Controls are like most other shooters on the Gamecube. The reload button for example is a button on the D-Pad. Another thing is the tanks. OMG!!! The American Sherman and the Soviet T-34 have first and third person views. It is impossible to aim in third person. The shots do not line up with the cross hair and it is damn hard to drive. The third person view is VERY crappy. First person on the other hand, is decent and the crosshair line up to where you want your shot to go and is quick and easy to drive. This game also does a fine job with looking down your scopes/barrel of gun with the L button to look down your line of sight like it is a real gun!! Makes the shooting more realistic. Overall, the controls aren't bad except for a couple of oddly placed buttons and the third person view in the tanks.

Sound 10/10 ++

The music. The glorious music. The music adds that epic feel to this game and surely without it the game would not be the same. Micheal Gianchico does an excellent job composing. Also, the explosions and guns make one feel like he or she is in the heat of battle. Germans yelling, Machine guns blaring…Great!!!

Graphics 8/10

Some environments are a bit bland as well as characters. Plus, the helmets have sides in this game. They aren't round. That pisses me off. Lazy developers. But, there are parts of the game that are just beautiful. The first Russian mission of crossing the Volga River and fighting in the building is truly a work of art. It is so magnificent. The guns are remarkably detailed as well.

Gameplay 8.5/10

The gameplay is a little lacking but has so much to it. In this game, you are NEVER alone; unlike in the PC Call of Duty where there were parts of the game where you were alone even though the Game's motto was “In war, No one fights alone.”

Unlike in other World War II games **cough Medal of Honor: Rising Sun and Medal of Honor: Frontline cough** the enemy AI is very intelligent as well as the ally AI. In one British level you are in a fort in the desert. The Germans have heavy machine gun fire. Well, in certain parts of this level my allies saved my life. Literally. And the Germans did an excellent job defending their positions. That mission has to be the most intense mission I have played in any World War II game.

Also, like in the PC game they had three different campaigns: Russian, British, and American where you played as different soldiers. The Russian levels are very well done and capture the infantry man's role in war quite well. The British are like secret ops in North Africa, and the Americans levels are the most frustrating pieces of chocolate. Although, all the levels are fun except for one thing. THERE ARE NO SAVE POINTS!! If you die, you begin the level all over again, but occasionally there are checkpoints like one or two half way through the level. Another thing is the tanks are way too easy since your health regenerates when you drive one and it is used too much in this game for an FPS. WAY too much tank!

Also this game is way to linear. You have no where to explore really except for a couple of Easter Eggs, but they don't require much exploring or looking for. This brings me in to my other topic.

Replay Value 5/10

Some levels may be replayed for fun (Russian levels for me) but there is no multiplayer and not many extras. You unlock three movies and a photo gallery by just beating the game. And some codes, but that depends on the difficulty level you beat the game on. But, there are Easter eggs to be found. They are funny to like the Creepy and Disco rooms. That's about it.

Comparison

To compare this with Medal of Honor lets see. It is SO much better than MOH: Frontline or Rising Sun. It adds where MOH left out and is more intense than D-Day or Pearl Harbor. And you aren't James Bond in World War II in this game either. If you loved those two this is a great game to get. Although, the new Medal of Honor game, European Assault blows this sucker out of the water! It has every thing in this game, but more. Open areas, not linear, better AI. For example, enemies flank you!! Also you have a squad to command. And oh so much more.

Rent/Buy

If you like FPS' you should rent. IF you like World War II shooters I suggest buying it. A great game that tends to be underrated because of its PC predecessor.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/05