Call of Duty 3

"Realistically, you're trading awesome graphics and multiplayer for a campaign experience that the other versions can't provide!"

This is the first Call of Duty game that I got the chance to finish. All my past experiences of Call of Duty games have been over demos and friends bringing their game over. So this game was finally a game where I could sit down and play it all the way through without worrying about when my friend has to leave and take it back. And let me tell you, this game is an intense ride from start to finish! I had a blast playing this game it kicks Red Steel's butt. And what's funny is that Red Steel was more hyped(well, at least for the Wii).

This game takes place in the Normandy breakout. You'll be taking the sides of different armies fight the Nazi's. Though, the game is a lot grimmer the most of the other games out there, most of the people you fight with in this game hardly seem worth caring about. Torwards the end of the game, there's this one person you'll feel sorry for, but that's about it.

Sure, the game is out for the 360 and PS3, so what's so special about the Wii version. Obviously, it's the unique controls that this version has to offer. You move using the Nunchuck and you aim and turn using the Wii remote. It gets some taking use to, but in the end, the controls will turn out very smoothly. There are other actions you can use with the Wii remote, like jabbing to do a melee attack or shaking the nunchuck to switch weapons. They work ok, but they've been mapped on buttons, so, you'll probably use those instead of the motions.

There are also some features that work well and others that just suck. For instance, you'll sometimes drive a car, and to do that, you'll have to hold the Wii remote and nunchuck up as if you were steering an actual car, and turn the controls to turn in the direction you want to go. This works well.

What doesn't work so well is when you're planting detonations on artillery, and it gives a set of actions to do. You have to push the nunchuck forward, turn it clockwise, and then pull it back. It may sound cool in theory, but the nunchuck is the least sensitive thing in this game. You'll have problems just trying to put the pin in the detonation, turning it clockwise actually works ok, but you'll problems pulling out the pin. I had to pull the nunchuck back numerous times to finally pull the pin out, and I actually felt the blood from my arms drain just from doing that. Luckily, you'll only have to do this a couple of times through out the game.

Aiming in this game works great. Using the wii remote to aim is a lot of fun, unlike Red Steel. You use the A button to aim with your gun and the B button to fire. Sure, you can fire without aiming, but that will decrease the accuracy of your weapon. It's fun to aim with the remote pull off some satisfying shots against your enemy. The problem is that when using a scoped weapon to aim with, the cross hair stays in the middle of the screen and you point your remote at the edge of the screen just to turn, while the aimer still remains in the center. Turning while scoped can be incredibly clunky.

You'll be doing a lot of running, taking cover, and shooting at your enemy. The enemies' intelligence is ok, but they hardly take the offensive. You can easily just stay behind cover and pick them off one by one, and with the wii remote, it's actually quite easy. I would recommend putting the difficulty on the harder setting just to get the game a little more entertaining.

There are sequences where you'll get jumped by an enemy and will grab your gun and push you with it. You'll have to push the remote and nunchuck alternatively to push back at the enemy and when he's lost his balance, you have to swing the remote and nunchuck down to send your enemy flying back. This actually works quite well, and this adds to some of the few surprises this game has to offer.

Sometimes, there are objectives where you can choose a path on how to get there. It's pretty cool and adds a little freedom to the game, but the game is always set on your pre-determined path. There are objects every, even invisible walls blocking your path outside of where you are suppose to go. I was actually surprised during the few times where you can jump over an object, but even then, that leads to your objective. The game feels kind of limited on where you're suppose to go.

The game is actually really fun, though the controls may sound like they won't enhance the gameplay, rest assure it does. It feels incredibly satisfying being able to hold up your Wii remote and pick off a enemy. Though, most of the game feels scripted, there's hardly a dull moment in the game. While the AI maybe desired at times, especially since most of the time you'll find yourself slowly moving around a corner, and picking off each enemy as you go, the battles are still a lot of fun.

The real downside of this game is no multiplayer. Not even split screen. That leaves with, really, nothing left to do. I know that the online proportion of the game wasn't out when this game and the Wii came out, but they could've gotten around that with at least split screen. Even the 360 and PS3 has a split screen mode, and it makes it really disappointing to find out that the game has practically no replay value. But at least the game is solid enough to make you want to finish it without being a chore.

The graphics in this game are ok, but they don't even push the Wii to its limits. At least you'll find lots of destructible environments and good weapon models. The frame rate in this game is pretty consistent, and it had no slowdowns in this game. But, one time the game froze on me, but that's only a minor issue. Still, the graphics won't really impress you, and seeing what the Wii is really capable of, it's a question of whether or not the makers were actually trying to do.

The sound in this game is a different story. There are explosions, gun fire, and some top notch voice acting. This really enhances the games experience. There are even times when you find yourself a little to close to an explosion and your character is briefly deafened from it. Then, you'll hear the sound effects slowly kick in, which makes it a cool and dramatic effect.

Call of Duty 3 on the Wii is a great game. The disappointing part is the lack of multiplayer. But its unique controls actually enhance the gameplay, it's just the small things about the controls that hurt parts of it, but overall, this game is great. You'll hardly find a dull moment in the game. If you're deciding whether to get the Wii version, or the other two versions, you can buy this game, and try out its campaign with the controls, and turn it back in for the online play of the 360 or PS3. That's what I'm doing.

Presentation: 8
Graphics: 6
Sound: 10
Gameplay: 8
Value: 7

Overall: 7.9

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/19/08, Updated 07/14/08

Game Release: Call of Duty 3 (US, 11/14/06)