Call of Duty 3

"Despite a few shortcomings, Call of Duty 3 is a fun shooter to play"

I always found it strange that the world has been playing WWII shooters longer than the real war actually lasted. Medal of Honor, Brothers in Arms, Call of Duty, and a bunch of crapfests in between, there has always been a WWII first person shooter on the market. I have always been a Medal of Honor fan myself, but that series has been terrible for a while now (the last good game was Pacific Assault). I bought Call of Duty 2 for PC after I heard good things about it and I LOVED it. I was slightly disappointed when it was announced Treyarch would be developing Call of Duty 3 instead of Infinity Ward, however, I got Call of Duty 3 anyway. I wasn't disappointed.

GAMEPLAY

Call of Duty 3 plays very similarly to the last one. The campaign revolves around an American soldier, a Canadian soldier, a British soldier, and a Polish tank commander. Basically, you run through every level, slaughter any German that walks into your path, and complete the objectives. You have the usual set of weapons to work with here, M1 Garands, MP 40s, Thompsons, etc. Like in Call of Duty 2, your health is rechargeable. There's some new ones, such as the FG42, but it's mostly stuff you've shot before. And you can also cook grenades and throw them, unlike Call of Duty 2. You can also pick up live grenades and throw them back at the enemy.

The missions are mostly linear, however, there are certain points in the game where you can pick your path, and your objectives will vary based on it. Like the previous games, you get squad mates that follow you around. You can't give orders to them but they can fend for themselves most of the time. They'll even kill guys for you.

Treyarch has also programmed some small motions into the game as well. For example, you don't just plant a charge anymore, now you have to take the cap off, screw in the fuse, and then arm it by doing a sequence of things with the controller. There is also a point in the game where you rotate the right thumb stick in a semi circle, as if you were rowing a boat. This is slightly tacked on, but it's a nice addition nevertheless. There's also some scripted moments in the game where a German soldier ambushes you, and you become stuck in a battle with him mashing the triggers alternatively as fast as you can(you and him are holding onto a rifle at the same time) and then pressing a button to beat him down. This doesn't happen too often but it's a nice addition.

You don't aim artillery guns like a normal weapon anymore, now you rotate the left thumb stick clockwise/counterclockwise to change direction and the right to change pitch. Also, more vehicles have been added into Call of Duty 3. While in Call of Duty 2 you could only drive a tank, in Call of Duty 3 you can drive a jeep(several types of jeeps in multiplayer), a tank, and in multiplayer, a motorcycle.

The singleplayer campaign in Call of Duty 3 is, in my opinion, very good. I've seen a lot of people say it's terrible, but I enjoyed it greatly. There isn't an Omaha Beach assault style mission(the beginning of the first two are sort of like it but not quite), but the game's 14 missions will keep you coming back for a long time.

The AI in Call of Duty 3 is ok for the most part. The AI of your friends is slightly dumb(they'll tell you where enemies are but at the same time, they'll run right into grenades on occasion), and enemies have slightly too accurate shots, but overall it's serviceable.

One thing I can't stand about the single player campaign is the inability to skip cutscenes. I know it's done to mask loading times, but I wouldn't mind a loading screen.

Overall, Call of Duty 3 is similar to what you've seen before but at the same time it's much better. I enjoyed single player greatly.

10/10

GRAPHICS

Without a doubt, one of the best looking WWII shooters ever made. The game takes full advantage of the Xbox 360's power and it shows. The environments are partially destructible; things such as boxes, barrels, windows, etc can be moved or destroyed by grenades or fire. There is hardly, if ever, any slowdown.

10/10

SOUND

Again, fantastic. The weapons all sound great. The voice acting in the game is also very good, better than a lot of games out there. For example, the U.S. sergeant(who's name escapes me, it's McCullen or something like that)'s dark, scratchy voice perfectly fits his character. The germans often yell out phrases in their common language. The main menu music is one of my favorites, and the rest of the in level music is unbelievable, some of my favorites. The gunfire and explosions sound amazing as well.

10/10

MULTIPLAYER

As good as the single player is, multiplayer is by far the best part of Call of Duty 3. Anybody who wants a good online game doesn't need to look anywhere further than here. First off, Call of Duty 3 can hold up to 24 players online. While most of the time you will never reach this number(at least in team battle), you can often get 14-16 people in a match. There are ranked matches and unranked matches, which can be joined by anyone.

It's clear that Call of Duty 3 took elements from Halo 2's online system, but Call of Duty 3 improves on it greatly. Unlike many games nowadays where there's only one/two of each weapon, you can have whatever you want in Call of Duty 3. There are also numerous vehicles. Two man motorcycles, jeeps, and tanks are all in multiplayer. This is where Call of Duty 3's near perfect weapon balance comes into place. The tank, for example, could kill a lot of people in the hands of an experienced person. However, they are easily vulnerable to rockets. Someone using a Jeep's machine gun, which can kill very efficiently, is easily downed by a head shot from a sniper.

There are many different modes Battle, Team Battle, War, Headquarters, Single Flag, and Capture the Flag. Battle is deathmatch, but it's a free for all, first to 20 wins. Team Battle is Axis vs. Allies, first to 100 wins. Single Flag involves taking a neutral flag and putting it in the other team's base(similar to Halo's Assault), and Capture the Flag is traditional Capture the Flag. Headquarters, a Call of Duty favorite returns. War is a new mode. Similar to Halo 2's Territories gametype, however, it's not a free for all. All of the flags must be captured to win the game. The object of the game is to capture each flag one at a time.

There's more to each weapon though. Instead of just picking a weapon, the player picks a "class". For example, the "Scout" class is equipped with a sniper rifle, and a special ability: calling in an air strike. After you build up kills you can call in a devastating air strike which will kill anyone in its area. The "Medic" class is armed with a shotgun, and also has the special ability to revive players. The support class can distribute ammo to team mates. It's a very nice feature, as it adds to the depth of the game.

But like all multiplayer games, Call of Duty 3 isn't perfect.

There is a rocket launcher in this game, something that may piss off former Allied Assault players(remember those servers that had the splash doubled and the guys were given six rockets?). Fortunately however, they have little splash damage, and from my experience, you can only kill a guy if you directly hit him(or hit about 1 foot away).

However, there is a cheap weapon in the game, and it's the portable MGs you get in the support class. While they're incredibly inaccurate while fired from the waist, it's the accuracy of these things while the player is lying down, and the power they possess that piss me and many others off to no extent. In order to aim through the iron sights, you have to lay down and go prone. If I'm 50 yards away from one of these and he goes prone, I'm dead in a second. It takes less than a second to be in firing position with a machine gun, and it takes a grand total of two bullets to kill. Given the fact that the MGs have 70 bullets to a clip, they fire ridiculously fast, and they're arguably as accurate as a sniper rifle(I'm being serious here), you will get killed a lot by them. It's a very frustrating process, especially when it is nearly impossible to hit them. If Treyarch made them less inaccurate then I would be satisfied, but as of now the MG is an incredibly cheap weapon.

Another problem is more of a technical goof. Team Battle and Battle(free for all) are the same gametype. When you choose what game you have to play, you have to choose "Team Battle and Battle". I HATE Battle, but love Team Battle. The game will randomly put you into a match, and if it's Battle, then I get pissed off. In each match, a host is designated. If that host quits, the ENTIRE amount of remaining players also loses connection to the game. It's very annoying. I also find it hard to connect to a player match.

Also, the Germans are incredibly underpowered in Call of Duty 3. I have almost never lost as the Allies, while I've almost never won as the Germans. If the game puts you on the German team, count on losing. While the Germans have arguably the best gun in the game, the KAR98, most German players are too inexperienced to know how to use it.

Despite the negatives, Call of Duty 3 is a lot of fun to play in multiplayer.

9/10

CONCLUSION

Pros:
-spectacular graphics
-great music and voice acting
-best multiplayer on Xbox Live
-fun

Cons:
-some imbalances and technical problems in the multiplayer mode detract from the game's fun factor.
-some of the multiplayer modes aren't too much fun.

Like all games, Call of Duty 3 has its shortcomings. However, I feel the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Final: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/07, Updated 08/31/07

Game Release: Call of Duty 3 (Gold Edition) (US, 03/13/07)