Call of Duty 2: Big Red One

"What Finest Hour Should Have Been..."

First of all, I would like to tell you that I love the Call of Duty series as a whole, but I hated Call of duty: Finest Hour. So when I hear about Call of Duty 2: Big Red One for the Xbox, PS2, and GC, my expectations were low. But after playing I can tell you that this game is absolutely amazing! Tons of weapons, intense shootouts, and full infantry assaults are standard here. Read on...

Graphics 7/10 - Graphics are the low point of the game. Characters are ugly and textures are washed. It's pretty obvious that the source of this game was on the PS2. The good news is, explosions and smoke look good, and that coupled with the lack of disappearing bodies and tanks more than makes up for the otherwise weak graphics.

Sound 10/10 - It's true Call of Duty quality here. Stirring emotional scores and great voice acting suck you into the experience. The developers even got many of the actors from Band of Brothers. You will rarely ever hear lines of voice repeated. All weapons sound realistic and powerful, most notably the echo from the sniper rifles and the great MG 42 sound.

Gameplay 9/10 - This is, in my opinion, THE best WWII game on the last gen consoles. If you've ever played the original Call of Duty, you know what I mean. The gameplay flies along at breakneck speeds, leaving you little time to look at the surroundings. You play as a nameless soldier in America's 1st Infantry Division. And that's what it feels like you are. The games drops you into heavily-scripted uber-intense firefights and never lets go. The first two or three missions are a little boring, but the game does pick up later.

You start out in Africa and fight into Sicily, Normandy, and later Germany. Along the way you will fight the French, Italians, and Germans. And each enemy has plenty of weapons. Every level introduces a couple of new weapons, which all feel fresh and new. The same can be said about the mission design. The objectives never feel repeated and the levels always feel like a completely different place.

This game also has tank missions and even a mission that takes place in an American bomber over Sicily. The excuses for putting you in these situations are pretty lame, but the levels themselves are fun. The bomber mission especially is good with planes buzzing around everywhere and being able to man many positions.

Replay Value 7/10 - This all depends on the kind of person you are. The multiplayer is online-only and includes some decent maps and standard gametypes. But it's really about the singleplayer here. I've played the game over three times and it is still fun to me. If you gat bored easily, then this game is not really going to keep you for more than one go.

Conclusion 9/10 - Call of Duty 2: Big Red One does nothing new or innovative, just throws you into some of the most fun shooting to be found on your Xbox this year! The game is amazing in almost every sense and is an outstanding achievement for a game made in less than one year. With stronger hardware, this game could rival the "real" Call of Duty 2. With my strongest recommendation I say "Buy!'

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/05