Call of Duty 3

"A solid game, but glitches mar some of its impressive features"

Activision opted for developer Treyarch instead of Infinity Ward this time around, and unfortunately the inexperience shows. While this is a solid game, there are many poor qualities that subtract from the overall experience.

SINGLE PLAYER

Let me start with the good. COD3 immerses you into lush environments that can be chaotic and intense...things that you want in a next-gen shooter. The graphics are amazing - I don't have HD, but the graphics on my screen are still crystal clear. I liked how Treyarch improved on some of the storyline clips shown in COD2, something that I think helps immerse you more into the whole soldier point of view. Some of the characters are very likeable, and you begin to look forward to hearing what they're going to say next. The music is as good as always, and it can be moving at times, getting you into a patriotic spirit of sorts. I liked the inclusion of the Polish and Candian troops, shaking up the standard American/British/Russian combination seen in past games. There are several things here that COD3 has improved upon, and they are welcome changes indeed.

Now for the bad. Keep in mind, I've only beaten the game on Veteran, so I don't know what the game is like on other difficulties. However, while I Veteran I faced difficulties that are nothing short of rediculous and aggravating. Sometimes the AI on your side is smart; generally on the American missions they are half-intelligent and do most of the work for you. However, I've found on most of the Canadian missions that your allies have the IQ of a peanut. While in the trenches trying to destroy some Flak guns, my Canadian allies kept running up the hill where they would be gunned down by one German. They don't take cover, don't shoot back, and just run in a straight line into the oncoming bullets...there were probably over a hundred that I saw die in the same place. Sometimes they won't notice a German walking right in the middle of everyone, leaving the German to attack and kill you (another fault - out of hundreds of men, Germans only seem to target you, the guy behind a tree about a hundred yards back). Germans apparently can see perfectly through smoke, and even if you throw four smoke grenades in the same spot you will have about four guys shooting you with pinpoint accuracy right through it. There are several glitches that prevent you from advancing to another area unless you are absolutly PERFECT in your gameplay; even if you are, you have to be extremely lucky to advance. On the forest level, I would be prone in long grass, yet some mysterious shots would come THROUGH THE MAP and shoot me. They wouldn't kill me, but they would seriously mess up my aiming, and something that gets aggravating after the hundredth time you get shot and jolted out of line. On the Canadian trench level, in the same area as the Flak guns there are three guys in particular that are impossible to kill if you do not have grenades. Armed with fully automatic weapons, they stick their heads out past a wall and unload into the trench you're in. One problem; even if you shoot them in the face, they don't seem to feel it. I'm not going to pretend like I'm the best COD player in the world, but when I'm sniping a guy in between the eyes 16 times, something has to be wrong. Finally, the friendly fire setting on this game is AWFUL. After literally fifty times trying to beat the last stage of the forest map, I was able to complete the mortar section and celebrate. However, when you beat a map, it doesn't save or finish until about thirty second afterwards. Well, I had beaten the map, but Germans kept running up and shooting me. I returned fire, only to have one of my brain-dead allies who was running at the German without noticing got in my line of fire and died. I had to restart at my last checkpoint, and I'm pretty sure I yelled every curse I could think of at the TV. Finally, I was a bit dissappointed not to have a Russian campaign - I miss using the PPSh.

ONLINE

In my opinion, online features are the best of every game. I was a devout COD1 fan, and I was eager to try COD3 out on Xbox LIVE. There are good things about it; there are plenty of gametypes to choose from, and online matches are a lot of fun. Even though LIVE recieves a lot of crap from having jerks online, I've played dozens of matches and only encountered one guy who wasn't nice and helpful. I like the whole class system, and I feel that it adds a bit to COD's online gameplay.

However, like singleplayer, the online part of the game has its setbacks too. There are a fair share of glitches; expect to be shot through a wall at least once. I've seen people and vehicles running around in midair with no way to get down. I respawned once only to have my screen go black and get disconnected from the server (this happened to everyone else too). I once started a ranked match, and as soon as it started everyone fell through the map and the game froze. As annoying as this sounds, getting into a game is the most aggravating part of all. Even with NAT settings open, you have to wait several minutes to find a ranked match, which can get boring if you're waiting longer than playing. One person can leave the game the second before the match starts and everyone will drop, making you wait again.

COD3 is an enjoyable game, but I'll always be a bit biased because I've always been a fan of the COD franchise. However, there are a series of glitches that mar the gameplay and make you want to throw your XBOX at a wall. There are some improvements on this game, but Treyarch and Activision need to get rid of the glitches if they want continued success with this franchise.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/07