Call of Duty 2 – Review

The global groan of despondency that must have met the Xbox 360’s launch list was probably warranted. Outside of the unit problems suffered by the new hardware itself, the console hardly arrived supported by a glittering parade of tempting next-generation releases. Furthermore, the unveiling of Call of Duty 2 amongst those frontline titles probably chimed a fair few bells of pre-emptive doom with expectant gamers. Sure, the original Call of Duty had made a sizeable impact on the gaming world but, since then, the market had become saturated with WWII first-person shooters…did anyone really care about the emergence of yet another?

Well, sales figures certainly indicated that they did. But the limited hardware stocks were also mirrored by the limited software options, which almost guaranteed a modicum of success for all of the Xbox 360’s launch titles. Writing this review somewhat belatedly, and at the tail end of the game’s almost fanatic critical praise, did developers Infinity Ward really produce a game worthy of such high critical praise?

Where content is concerned, Call of Duty 2 offers absolutely nothing new to the first-person shooter genre. Nothing. Though the level environments are considerably more expansive than Cal of Duty fans are perhaps accustomed to, the game still plays on rails. The fact that your campaign characters (separate soldiers cast in the Russian, American, and English armies) are issued barked orders throughout individual missions doesn’t alter the linear structure of the game—though it does attempt to camouflage it. And, more importantly, the overall game is not ‘next-generation’ in terms of visual power; it finds itself loitering uncomfortably in limbo somewhere between impressive and disappointing. Now, before dedicated fans of the series start sticking pins in waxen ‘Stevie’ dolls, the following point needs to be made clear: Call of Duty 2 is an excellent game. But it’s not a true next-generation title, and perhaps some of the current reviews fail to recognise this.

Graphically, CoD2 is certainly easy on the eye, though this doesn’t really become apparent until the beautifully frenetic and close-quarter missions of the Normandy campaign. Yes, on the whole everything is well constructed, well presented, and well observed, but compared to the power displayed in Perfect Dark Zero, the visuals are sadly lacking in tangible solidity. Somehow, and despite its 360 placement, CoD2 still feels jagged and blocky and underdeveloped. Atmospherics may be a significant step up from that which we’ve come to expect; heat hazing is undoubtedly impressive, while bullet impacts cause dust plumes on walls and clothing, cold weather reveals the warm breath of hidden enemies, and massive explosions and smoke grenades lay down believable and temporarily blinding coverage, yet some of it is still obviously layered and staccato, and appears more of a step rather than a jump ahead of the Xbox. Are this reviewer’s expectations set too far forward?

Those pins look dangerously close to waxy nether regions, so allow this timely reiteration: Call of Duty 2 is an excellent game. And why? Because although it brings nothing original to the first-person table and somehow stumbles across the next-generation quality line, what it DOES do is create such a frantically cloying, relentlessly compelling and utterly authentic sense of gameplay that all other ‘next-generation’ discrepancies are instantly forgiven, ignored, or overlooked. The gameplay component alone catapults CoD2 into another world when placed beside flag-waving Medal of Honor, gritty Brothers in Arms, and even the original Call of Duty. From the first moment you take up arms in the bitterly cold Russian campaign you are absolutely aware of your own vulnerability and reliance on those around you. You’re also painfully aware of the frighteningly merciless A.I. and its unnerving sense of accuracy, single-mindedness and self-preservation. In short, Call of Duty 2 viciously beats you about the face and neck until you opt for a convenient save point and take a well-earned coffee break. Time and time again it has been stated (by this reviewer) that gameplay is everything and, in that sense, Call of Duty 2 is king.

In-game music and sound is also terrific, and thunderous when played through a decent surround sound system. Musical compositions from level to level are sweeping in their intensity and always complement the onscreen action without ever overshadowing the game sound. Squad chatter between both allied and axis troops bolsters yet further the sense of historic authenticity, and desperately trying to follow orders amid relentless gunfire, ricochets, and explosions, while also straining to hear screamed warnings from fellow soldiers, or translate distant German instruction into hurried flanking actions—something soldiers must have found themselves doing repeatedly during WWII—only serves to increase the pressure on player nerves and magnify the overall effect of the game. Of course, much of this is lost for hard of hearing gamers, but central dialogue has a subtitle option, and the historic pre-level explanations are also both vocal and textual.

Girl gamers hoping to bear arms as a WWII heroine will, once again, be sadly disappointed, as Call of Duty 2’s central protagonists are men from start to finish. As with Call of Duty and Call of Duty: Big Red One, the desperate struggle of the Russian people as a whole would have provided the perfect platform for the inclusion of a female playable character—but sadly no one thought to act upon this gender-balancing opportunity. It’s all the more frustrating as the characters of Joanna Dark and Lara Croft absolutely disprove the theory that gun-toting action chicks don’t sell.

Across the cold desolation of the Russian Front and heat haze of North Africa, to the carnage of Normandy and the final exhausted push across the Rhine into the heart of Germany, Call of Duty 2 offers vastly different campaign packages that no fan of first-person shooters can afford to be without. Moreover, its Veteran difficulty setting (where the majority of the game’s ‘Achievements’ can be unlocked for amassed player points) offers an experience that perhaps reaches as close as we’ve yet seen to absolute realism. In Veteran mode any solo-soldiering and blind single-handed heroics are rewarded not with medals of honor but waves of lead, and almost instant death. Tactical usage of both smoke and fragmentation grenades, as well as the constant hugging of cover and reliance on your allies is paramount should players wish to progress and/or live. It’s an altogether astounding gameplay experience.

In terms of visual punch and 360 gloss Call of Duty 2 is not the next-generation game some reviewers have painted it as, yet it IS perhaps the most well-defined and well-crafted WWII experience to ever blast its way through the crowded battlefield of genre titles. It is easily the official flag bearer for future FPS standards, and it will take quite some game to deprive it of that title. Once again, in a world where consumers wrongly pander to bigger and better when it comes to graphics and gimmicks, it’s pure gameplay that sees Call of Duty 2 rise above the dregs and breath fresh life into a tired and stale section of the market.

Review by Stevie