Call Of Duty
What is it about shooting Nazis that is so fun? It’s the United Offensive!
Tags: Call Of Duty Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by David Hinkle on Oct 21st, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Call Of Duty (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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In 2003, Infinity Ward (a company comprised of 22 people who had developed Medal of Honor: Allied Assault) left Electronic Arts and developed their own little game called Call of Duty (CoD) that had you playing as several different Allied troops during World War II. Winning countless Game of the Year awards, CoD quickly became the game to play – both online and off. Immersing the player in grandly-scripted battles almost movie-like, chock full of action, and downright awe-inspiring, you had to rely most on comradery to get through alive. A lot of these same mechanics return in Call of Duty: United Offensive – the first expansion pack for CoD.
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This time however, it is not on Infinity Ward’s shoulders, but that of Gray Matter. You may remember them as the developers of the sequel to the classic Wolfenstein that began it all: Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Surpassing even that excellent title, they manage to faithfully recreate CoD’s initial experience and even add a bit of their own flavor to the mix. You have to give Gray Matter credit where credit is due, as I’m sure this task might of been a bit too daunting for myself.
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Once again playing through the perspective of three different Allied soldiers, an American paratrooper, a British commando, and (my personal favorite) a Russian infantryman. Each battle increases the intensity and adds more excitement, adding more rail-shooting scenarios to the mix. Each army’s weapons and vehicles are recreated faithfully, from the British’s silenced Sten to the German’s Flamethrower, and from the British B-17 bomber to Russian T-34/85 tanks. You’ll find these evident at the outset of the first mission, as you’re thrust into the heat of action on the back of a jeep crowded on all sides by Nazi troops and tanks. Immediately afterward, it’s right into trench warfare, where the action doesn’t let up until the final mission in Kharkov, which was a constant battleground as the Germans made their last offensive. Don’t think this will be a cake walk though, as Gray Matter stepped it up several notches in the difficulty department. However difficult it may be though, the experience is sadly a tad short. You’ll find this title racks up about 16 total hours if you take it slow, with the ride being one hell of a good one.
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The one thing that really takes this over the top is the control. Quick and smooth, you’ll be killing Nazis left and right with ease. Another excellent implementation that I love about this game is the precise aim. Clicking the right mouse button places your weapon up to your shoulder, allowing you to stare down the barrel. While this restricts your movement speed, it allows for a much more controlled shot, allowing more precise aiming than the natural shooting from the hip. The other available positions are crouched and prone, naturally, which you will quickly learn are manditory if you wish to survive. The hit detection also is spot on, as shooting in the head instantly kills and shooting in the leg, well, doesn’t.
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And damn do those kills look fabulous. The graphics are really a sight to behold, as even the flying dirt and debris from airstrikes are jaw dropping. Also, the amount of things going on at one time is another awe-inspiring feat all its own, whether it’s platoons of soldiers or fleets of vehicles. The fact that all this is done on the dated Quake III engine is utterly amazing, and shows you the dedication and conviction Gray Matter had to live up to the task. There are some framerate issues during the more chaotic times, but that is to be expected on such an outdated engine. With a high-end ATI or nVIDIA card, you can really immerse yourself in some of the greatest experiences in gaming. While it won’t look like Doom 3, it’s still a sight to behold.
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The sound in this title is spot on and really benefits from a good rig. With a good sound card and speaker set up, the gunfire, explosions, and screams come through with intensity. The music is heavily inspired by films and television such as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. With a very classical score, it really helps pace the action and add to the feeling it must of been to be a part of the Allied forces, taking down the Nazi regime one soldier at a time.
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Although the single-player campaign is quite good, most folks are going to be drawn in by the multiplayer experience. I can’t blame them either, as much of my time has been given to CoD multiplayer. Some of the initial multiplayer modes were fantastic and remain intact such as Team Deathmatch and Search and Destroy. A later update added more including Behind Enemy Lines and Headquarters. A multitude of maps in location and size also added great variety to an already engaging experience. As if this weren’t enough, United Offensive brings even more to the table with 11 more multiplayer maps and 3 different modes of play. Most of these maps support vehicles and put the largest maps in the original game to shame.
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In United Offensive, one of the new modes of play is Domination, a gametype made famous in Return to Castle Wolfenstein, where each team is charged with capturing areas on the map by raising the flag located there and holding position. 6 spots on the map harness these flags, and the team that can capture 5 of the 6 and hold them for a short time wins. Another new addition is Base Assault. The more intense of the newly implemented modes, each team is charged with destroying 3 enemy bases on each map. Destroying the base is a two-step process, however, where the perimeter’s defenses first must be destroyed with heavy weaponry (bazookas, heavy machine guns, etc…), and after that must be infiltrated, have dynamite planted, and await the fireworks. Last is Capture the Flag, but I’m sure we all are well aware of what that entails, so no need to elaborate.
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The addition of vehicles puts a new spin on the gameplay as well. Hoping to cater more to the Battlefield crowd and add more depth to the gameplay, they accomplished what they attempted to do. One of the big problems with the original multiplayer experience was the heavy concentration of sniping. Because the maps really weren’t that large, essentially a lot of ’spawn camping’ would occur. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, basically it means they would have their scopes trained on the enemy’s spawn camp and kill those who freshly spawn. In United Offensive however, tanks make this fairly difficult. Also, given how much larger the maps have becomes, even without tanks they are spaced far enough that it isn’t that much of a concern. Vehicles may sometimes be a disadvantage as well, since some of the European streets can become rather small and cramped, you become prime for an enemy ambush.
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All of this bundled together makes for one of the finest expansions to a PC game money can buy. Whether you’re a World War II enthusiast, a fan of FPS’, or just plain curious, this title is for you. With the bundles out there you can probably acquire the original CoD (if lacking) and this expansion for 50 dollars, and I’d say that is a small price to pay for such a brilliant time had. Although I’m sure anyone involved in the REAL war wouldn’t be so enthusiastic about the experience, I’m sure they would call it an accurate representation of both look and feel.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Intensity + Truely beautiful cinematic experience + Excellent control and hit detection + Great multiplayer + Graphics |
9.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Minor framerate issues - A bit short |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you've already been through the original, you most likely own this or plan on owning this. If not, it's really a matter of whether you enjoy this type of game or not. I'd recommend this game to anyone. | |
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Tags: Call Of Duty
Posted by David Hinkle on Oct 21st, 2004 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
