After previewing 10 Xbox 360 titles on
Tuesday, I came away with one at the top of my list. Infinity Ward's exceptional WWII FPS, Call of Duty 2.
Why? For me, it was the most fun. Since my gaming experience is primarily console-based, I've never played the
original. For those that have, perhaps CoD2 will not leave the same impression.
CoD2 offers an incredibly satisfying blend of action, response, and smooth-running chaos. The theme here is no one fights alone. CoD2 is great at creating the illusion that you're, indeed, not playing alone. I think there are a lot of gamers that have begun to move the majority of their playing time into the multiplayer arena—like Xbox Live. When you go back to playing single-player (after hours of Live), the experience can really feel lonely. I think CoD2 does a great job erasing that loneliness.
The developer on-hand dropped me into a North African town, a level that?s about midway through the game. CoD2 follows the war chronologically, starting you out as a Russian soldier, then moving you into some British boots, and finally ending with an American perspective. If you?re not up on your WWII history, the North African segment of the game follows the British story, Boy Scout uniforms and all?hey, it?s hot in Africa!
The objective was to wipeout a number of antiaircraft units that are scattered around town. You can attack these units in whatever order you see fit. In addition, you choose your course; try slinking past the firefight via narrow alleyways in order to flank the German troops, while your friendlies engage them head-on. I really enjoyed this freedom of movement, which worked in this case because it forces the player to use strategy.
Gameplay is fast-paced?this is no sim, it?s more akin to an arcade. Ammo is plentiful, your shots are deadly and accurate, and there are no health packs to distract you?you die when your vision becomes engulfed in a blood-red haze (if you start to see the haze, simply duck out of the action, wait for your vision to clear, and you?re good to go). In addition, the Germans are always tossing grenades your way. Infinity Ward uses a grenade icon to alert you to the position of nearby projectiles; move far enough away and the icon disappears (meaning you?re safe)?you can also find something to duck behind if you?re not in a position to run.
I was really impressed with the framerate. CoD2 never slowed down, even during the unparalleled chaos of the Normandy invasion mission (more on that later). I?ve grown so used to checkpoint hiccups that my mind has trained itself to make a mental bookmark; so that when my character dies I automatically recall where I?m gonna restart before things reload. With CoD2 the checkpoints save without that hiccup, so every time I died I was left wondering (for a second) where I would have to restart?but, true to its arcade nature, checkpoints come often.
The controls are equally satisfying. With the additions of the paddles (LB & RB) the Xbox 360 controller is capable of handling key functions with ease?instead of relegating them to the awkwardly placed Black & White buttons on the Xbox?s S-controller. The growing trend seems to be, moving the zoom function to the left trigger, while bouncing grenade tossing to one of the paddle buttons?actually LB tosses smoke grenades, while RB tosses frags. This works well once you adapt. In addition, the melee attack is performed by clicking-in the left thumbstick?I?ve never been a huge fan of this clicking-button, so I?d prefer to map the melee back to one of the face buttons (perhaps exchange it for the position-changing function). The ?A? button initiates a nice context sensitive action, allowing players to hop over obstacles with ease; tapping ?X? reloads, while holding ?X? swaps your current weapon for one on the ground; ?Y? switches between your two weapons; and tapping ?B? puts you in a crouched position, while holding ?B? places you in a crawl.
Sound is also well implemented?especially when contained in the surround sound supported, wireless headphones that were provided. There is a lot of AI chatter, which enhances the you are not alone experience. In addition, all of the friendly NPCs are given names and ranks that pop up when you aim at them?this helps to prevent friendly fire (war gets confusing sometimes).
I also got a look at the Normandy mission, which has been the subject of a number of preview videos and demonstrations. I?ve always been particularly sensitive to reenactments of the Normandy invasion (be it in film, art, games, etc.) because of my grandfather?s involvement in that particular event. It?s always terrifying to imagine him in that scene?and to imagine myself there. My grandfather never speaks of the war, which further enhances my sense of the imprint of devastation that WWII left on a generation of people.
I wasn?t sure I wanted to play this mission, but I went ahead and let the developer demonstrate it. The effect was profound, not unlike my first viewing of Saving Private Ryan on the big screen. Video games have always ignited our imaginations, but it?s getting to a point where the visuals and on-screen capabilities are?depending on one?s disposition?changing the experience from fun to emotionally taxing. By all means, this is a compliment to the developers and a testament to the potential that will be unlocked in this next-generation of gaming.
It?s easy to see why Call of Duty 2
was my top pick from Tuesday?s preview event. I?m a big FPS junkie, and CoD2 was the standout title
of that genre. There?s a lot of fun to be had when the Xbox 360 launches. But, I?ve been careful to point out that the
fun won?t be all that different from the kind we?ve been having over the past several years?for now at least. I?m gonna
get into this more in my Xbox 360 wrap-up (later today). But in an effort to stay on-point, let me just say, Call
of Duty 2 has my ringing endorsement.
Aside: I was disappointed to learn that CoD2?s multiplayer only features 8-player support?what happened to 64? I was hoping that multiplayer would emulate the massive battle experience of single-player. I kept pressing the developer to give me a better idea of what to expect. He said that the multiplayer was based in tight quarters, a much different experience than the campaign. Keep this in mind when considering CoD2?s long term value.
