Blimey, a sequel to one of the Xbox 360’s most impressive launch titles already? Well, we can’t really go complaining considering how much we still adore Call of Duty 2.
Whether on your powerfully specced PC or your milky white Xbox 360, you simply couldn’t help but be blown away by its gorgeous looks, incredible sounds and gameplay that even rivalled the illustrious Half Life 2.
This year’s iteration surprisingly hits our consoles first and won’t be seen on its old home, the PC, for quite a while. So desperate to get their hands on CoD3 will have to fork out £20 more – the PC version is £30, the Xbox 360 a whopping £50.
There’s also that old chestnut of dumbing down hardcore PC first person shooters for consoles. Will CoD be any different?
They say:
Xbox 360 Gamer Magazine Online: “Unfortunately for all their stylish bravado CoD3’s woefully linear levels have more in common with an old Medal of Honor game than what we hoped from the sequel to our favourite WW2 shooter of all time... and that just feels wrong.”
Eurogamer: “If you're only interested in the offline game and have maybe had your fill of WWII action, then Call of Duty 3 won't be for you.”
Gamespot: “From start to finish, Call of Duty 3 is an intense experience and a great game. The visuals are fantastic and the sound is some of the best in any game to date.”
We say:
As is now tradition with WWII games, you’re chucked in right into the thick of action before you’ve had a chance to get your bearings.
But instead of the Normandy beach landings to contend with, you’re simply booted over a wall right into the middle of a huge, gorgeous, fire fight.
Doesn’t sound as impressive eh? Well, fear ye not dear gamer as the sheer mass of bullets flying around your ears – lap up the sheer graphical power of the Xbox 360 – ensures this beginning manages to beat the openings of the previous titles in the series.
Bullets whiz pass your ears, huge explosions from tossed grenades smash windows and tear wooden barrels to shreds as you attempt to slowly make your way towards the evil Nazis (boo). Hook up to your machine to a decent surround sound kit and you’ll be ducking and diving like your on screen avatar.
You think CoD2 looked pretty snazzy? Well, you aint seen nothing yet, baby. CoD3 is easily one of the most visually alluring console titles available today. It’s not so much for the amount of detail on characters and buildings – though expect that too – but by the sheer amount of action going on. No matter where you look there’s so much flying around, enforcing that belief that you truly are in the middle of a huge war.
But there are quite a few problems too sadly. Though the developers will no doubt disagree that they’ve dumbed down for the console gamers, the inclusion of strategically placed exploding barrels (something we were tired off way back in the early nineties) can’t help but prod your mind in that general direction.
Gameplay doesn’t seem as ‘free’ as previous editions either. Though the illusion of wide open spaces is there fully intact, you’ll still feel heavily reigned in from what you could potentially get up to. It’s much more a corridor shooter in the vein of Doom than the glorious freedom offered by certain sections of Half Life 2.
All this amounts to a single player mode that’s not as enjoyable as CoD2. It’s still enthralling and damn well exciting at times, but it’s bloody frustrating when you think of what could have been.
Even more annoying, there’s a tendency to get stuck on the scenery during the middle of a fire fight, causing you to perish and end up back at the last saved checkpoint. And that’s about as fun as being forced to watch every episode of The Catherine Tate Show over and over and over…
Thankfully the multiplayer mode helps boost things a huge amount with some of the best online first person shooting action ever seen. Get a few pals on there (and give me a shout on the forums too!) and you’ll be blasting each other away long into the night.
Like this? Try these:
Battlefield 2 – PC
Half Life 2 – PC, Xbox 360
Deus Ex – PC, PS2
FORMAT REVIEWED
Xbox 360
OTHER FORMATS
Xbox, PC, PS2, PS3 and Wii
POSTED...
Mon 13 Nov 2006 at 7:37am
