Call of Duty: Finest Hour

"Yet another solid WW2 entry and the start of the Call of Duty franchise."

Call of Duty: Finest Hour is a console version of the first Call of Duty game, made for the PS2. After playing through it, here's what I thought about it.

Story:8/10

Call of Duty is broken up into three distinct points of view: Russian, British, and American. The first eight missions are from the Russian point of view, as they drive the Germans of Stalingrad. Next, you'll get to experience the Brit's point of view as they utilize hit-and-run tactics in Northern Africa. Lastly, you'll watch the American's capture the first major German city, Aachen, and than secure the last remaining bridge over the Rhine (their "finest hour").

I was pretty impressed with the stories, actually, as each view is narrated by different individuals in those three armies. The Russian and American missions are fairly long (around eight missions each) while the British only have four missions. Nevertheless, the stories are entertaining and solid, based on historical battles.

Gameplay: 7/10

The gameplay in Finest Hour is fairly average. You can carry two weapons at any given time, and trust me you will need the extra gun at times, as ammo can be hard to come by. In fact, many times it's just easier to use the German's guns as you'll run across more ammo that way. You can also use the gun's scope's for a better shot. I liked the fact that you are often fighting with your squad, and that they can take damage and die (though certain key people won't die no matter how much they get shot). Of course, you will also have 2-3 different types of grenades that you can use as well as special weapons in certain missions (think mounted weapons, mines, and bazooka's). Some missions also feature the ability to drive a tank, where you can shoot shells and use the mounted gun. All of this is done well, but is fairly expected in any World War II shooter.

There were some frustrating times though, as this game can be HARD even on the easiest difficulty setting. This is mostly due to there not being enough checkpoints throughout the level, making you restart from the very beginning. Your allies don't really care about objectives or taking out certain threats before others, leaving you to do the brunt of the work. I should also note that the tanks require a little of practice before you can use them effectively. If you can overcome these occasional nuisances, the gameplay is enjoyable enough.

Graphics: 7/10

The graphics are fairly decent, creating a nice 3-D world in three different environments. I liked the amount of destruction in the opening levels. There were also several well-placed explosions throughout the game as well. Overall, things looked pretty good. The background sort of repeats itself, and most of the buildings look the same inside. Also, the quality of the character designs is a bit low, but nothing here makes the game unplayable.

Music / Sound Effects: 7/10

The music is pretty good, they give you some nice dramatic background tunes to listen to as you play. These tune's aren't very memorable, save one haunting overtone done by a choir-like group (that any movie-goer has heard before). The sound effects are fairly standard as well, as you'll be hearing your share of gun shots and death cries throughout the game. The voice acting was solid, although each actor made the character sound VERY stereotypical for their nation (they laid the accents on very strong).

Re-playability: 7/10

Finest Hour features three difficulty levels, as well as the ability to jump between missions once you have completed them. There are also a number of different "cheat" codes that you can unlock, including giving everyone big heads (entertaining!) and making your bullets ricochet.

Overall: 7/10

Overall, a solid WW2 title with a fairly good story. It is rather short, as an adept shooter could complete it within a day. You can find this title for very cheap at almost any game store as well. Have fun and keep playing!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/09

Game Release: Call of Duty: Finest Hour (US, 11/16/04)