By Boot Scraper
Call of Duty 2 came out as a launch title for the 360 and went on to become the best-selling 360 game. This firmly stated how superb the game was and that WWII first-person shooters still have something to offer. Now, almost exactly a year since the release of Call of Duty 2, we have the nerve-wrackingly intense Call of Duty 3. It is, however, made not by the geniuses at Infinity Ward (makers of Call of Duty and Call of Duty 2), but by the very capable hands at Treyach who made Call of Duty 2: The Big Red One.
Call of Duty 3 focuses on four different armies as they try to defeat the German war machine in France. They are the British, Polish, American, and Canadian armies. Yes, there is a Canadian army and they did kick ass in WWII. The story ties them all up in cinematic pieces that feel right at home in this hellish war. And more remarkable than the cinematic graphics are the in-game graphics that look just as good.
I was expecting more of a slight texture or resolution increase, but what I got was a complete facelift. This game truly shines amongst the other 360 games and shows you why you paid $400 for you new system. The area around you blurs when you aim down your sights, the pieces environment fly into the air after each grenade blast, and the amount of things happening on screen can give you a sensory overload. Even more impressive is that the version on the PS3, which is supposed to be way more powerful than the 360, looks nearly identical to it. And the sound only adds to the visceral visual detail.
Each explosion is loud and thunderous, every blood curdling scream (whether from your teammates or the Nazi you just shot) fill you with adrenaline, and the gun effects are perfect, especially the shotgun that silences everything around it. The only real complaint in the audio portion of the game is sometimes the music goes from John Williams to standard action movie cheese. However, it never interferes with gameplay and can be remedied through your own custom soundtrack.
The gameplay, as I said, is intense. Yes, Call of Duty 2 was intense, but this is just plain nerve-wracking. In Call of Duty 2, you had a certain safety feeling. You could go to a box or wall, crouch, cover your flank, and pick off enemies in front of you. In this game, you no longer have that secure feeling. Enemies can come from anywhere at anytime and no one area is a safe zone. You will find yourself running from cover to cover evading the enemy while trying to take down the guys in front of you. Some places are somewhat safe, but you learn very quickly in this game that the developers are not trustworthy (and I mean that in the best of ways). They will throw overwhelming odds at you, blow up your only cover, and leave you in your chair soaking in your own sweat. Any safety you have ever felt in a shooter is gone. Particularly in the level called The Mace. That had me yellin’ “Oh S—!” more times than I care to admit. However, it is not a ridiculously hard game. The health regeneration and nicely placed checkpoints leave you to be still nervous in the game environment, but not frustrated.
Another great thing about this game is the vehicles. In the single player campaign you get to drive jeeps and tanks, but in the multiplayer you get to drive arguably the best vehicle in a shooter yet, the motorcycle with the side cart. If you don’t understand why I say that then just imagine yourself haulin’ ass in one with your buddy in the side cart while gunfire and explosions surround you. Good times are guaranteed with that addition.
There are some problems in Call of Duty 3 that make it just a notch below Call of Duty 2. First off, the character movement isn’t as fluid as it is COD 2. Moving your character is a little jerkier and you can’t do a quick hop over low walls or out windows as you could in COD 2. Secondly, there are some glitches like people flying 7 feet into the air after shooting them with a rifle and getting stuck on small pieces of rubble. These glitches are very rare, but they do happen. And lastly, your friendly A.I. will often get in your line of fire when you aim down your sights and are about to kill an enemy. This is made worse by the fact that killing a teammate makes you start over from the last checkpoint.
Overall, if you loved Call of Duty 2, buying this game is a no-brainer. It might not be as good as Call of Duty 2, but then again, what WWII shooter is? 4 out of 5.
