Call of Duty 2

"Good game, bit tedious at times, and online play...eww..."

So, your sitting at home, watching t.v., and you see the commercial for Activision's new fps, Call of Duty 2. Getting hyped up, you run to the GameFAQ's boards, and read this review, just dying to know if the game is really that good. Well, heres the bottom line.

Graphics: 8/10
Graphics are one of the biggest selling points for first person shooters, basically because most of them dont do much in the innovation department. Well, im happy to say, that this game is gorgeous. Accurate weapon models, realistic character models, and war torn battlefields all blend to make this game the most realistic war experience that youve ever known. From looking at your commanders face while he issues orders to men that may kill them, to looking at the wrong end of a tank barrel, wishing you had stayed home and studied to be a scientist, instead of going to war, youll realize that this game doesnt let up. The lighting does a good job to accentuate the weapons and realistically lights them up when you move. But, even with all of its graphical glory, it does fall short in one or two places. First, youll notice that if you pay attention to small details, that the rubble and other excess from buildings that have been pre-placed look like crap. A two-year old artist could have done better. Secondly, with this being a "next-gen" game, youll notice the graphics arent as good as they couldve been. Sure, the technology is very new, but is this what we were really expecting from a next-gen fps? I know i was expecting a little more.

Gameplay 8/10
As with every other fps, you have the basic gameplay. Picking up weapons, killing other people, taking their weapons, and doing objectives to complete missions. Nothing we really havent seen before. Theyve added a new feature that helps, though. If you are at a waste high object, pressing the A button will let you climb. Nothing monumental, but it helps in the long run. You dont issue orders, like in most other COD games, yes your squad follows you around. Activision was trying to press being just one soldier, and getting caught in the war. They succed, somewhat. Sure, you feel the sheer size of the war, and in big battles with hundreds of troops you fell minuscule, but most of your squad rely on you, no matter your rank, to complete each and every objective. Even if you have a captain in your squad, and your a private, your the one they send out to go behind enemy lines, and destroy their tanks. Also, your squad wont move or advance unless youve gone a certain distance forward. This can be frustrating at times when you are trying to get some help, but they wont advance. One of the good things about AI this time around, is that the enemy AI is cunningly hard. Whenever you try to go around for a counter attack, they will have enemys there. But it seems that your AI has a few marbles loose. When your shooting at an enemy ditch, your allies will run right into your line of fire, causing you to lose the mission. Also, on veteran difficulty, it seems that the game is just being hard to be hard, I cant really picture war being as hard as the game was.

Sound 10/10
Activision has again done a fantastic job on the sound. Every weapon has their own specific sounds based on the real weapon used in WWII. The battlefield sounds are realisitc, and when an artillery shell blasts next to you, you get an in-game buzzing, making it feel as if you were in the game.

Multi-player 4/10
This is a major low point for the game. Yes, they have lots of maps, but the problem is that these maps are the same maps from the original COD for the pc, except that these have been graphically enhanced, with a few new additions. New objects, or about 10 more feet of map space has been added, but nothing to merit actually playing them. The maps feel very small. In some places you can chuck a grenade from one side of the map to the other, leaving no room for skill. The multiplayer is that of any normal fps. 2-4 people, split screen, and some customizable options, again, nothing we havent seen before. The live play, although, is horribly bad. With disconnections and lag spikes so random, that the player is lucky if you can play 2 games within an hour.

Overall 6/10
The game is good. Graphics are good, sound is superb, although multiplayer is bad. No real innovation in the fps part of the game, and the same battles we have seen before in every other WWII fps. This game could have been better if they had spent more time on a stable live system, and added some new maps. But with a deadline date to launch with the Xbox 360, that may have hurt the game. Finally, the game just doesnt feel "next-gen". It doesnt have any next-gen graphics, no next-gen gameplay, and no next-gen innovation. Its just mediocre, while excelling at one or two options.

Recommendation: Rent it, buy it if you like war games.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/06