With hardly anything to do after the prelims (I decided to have a week's break before doing TYSes) due to the major lack of games during this period of time, I decided to give Call of Duty 2 a go. I've heard a lot about the game, I played the demo about 2 years ago, and I know its a really good game. How could I not have played it?

This game takes place in the World War II period. You get to play through the lives of four different people from 3 different countries, Russia, USA, and Britian. Of course you're fighting against the German Nazis. The game isn't very long (I completed it in 10 hours), but its sure to leave a very deep impression on you. The single player mission also comes with many black and white videos and pictures about World War II. These videos and pictures are real, and are rather interesting to whoever is interested.

You'll be playing through the lives of a person together with a squad, with one or two people in the squad who will be with you all the way through the war. You'll be given a lot of orders from the squad leader or the main commander in charge who's never in the battle.

You'll really come to appreciate your squad due to the brilliant AI. Grenade in sight? Your squad shouts out a warning. Snipers around or any other potential dangers? Your squad tells you where the danger is very specifically. Of course the AI fumbles once in a while, but that actually adds a little to the realism. Humans make mistakes don't they? Privates really get themselves killed very often. They don't run when a grenade is right behind them, and you get to watch them fly up right before your very eyes.

The health system is something new to the Call of Duty series. There isn't a health bar at all. Whenever you are dying, just don't get shot for a period of time and you will be back in top form. This actually makes the game very easy to play, as you don't have to worry much about your health. Of course, you won't be able to take in a whole load of shots from an MG42 (machine gun) or a grenade.

When you get hit from something really devastating, like when you hide behind a wall and a tank blasts away the wall, you will drift off to some sort of a near-death experience. Everything starts slowing down, everything you see appears fuzzy, movement becomes slow and limited, and you will lay prone on the ground no matter what. The first and second time I had that experience, I really felt that sense of fear and sadness that the men of World War II felt.

A little spoilers here.
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Another experience is the mission of Pointe du Hoc. The moment you get off the ship and step onto the beach, you get hit. That near-death experience comes to you, but it seems scripted. You lie on the beach, helplessly watching your comrades all run pass you. Some of them get shot as they run, falling before your very eyes. Looking upwards towards the sky, a friendly face looks at you. You suddenly start moving backwards, most likely dragged to safety by that friendly face you just saw. You see another injured comrade being carried by another comrade. They get shot right in front of you. Your near-death experience is disappearing. You are standing upright now, and you are face to face with that friendly face. He pats you on the back, and he gives you a nice, warm, smile.
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End of little spoiler.

Playing normal difficulty, I realise the Germans can't throw grenades very well. When you hide behind some cover, they always throw the grenades right in front of the cover, resulting in the explosion being blocked off and not hitting me. One thing I really hate is that the Germans take cover way too much. I don't blame them for trying to survive, but it is irritating. My patience for waiting for them to come out so I can kill them disappeared when I was into my 5th mission or so. I just charged in like Rambo after that. Health regenerates anyway.

The graphics are pretty good for a game that's two years old, but I didn't play to the maximum settings. Whenever the whole area is flooded with smoke the sound just kept repeating itself. You'll see much German graffiti scribbled on the walls of places here and there, who knows what they mean? The game isn't very gory, blood can only be seen when someone gets shot.

The sound is good. Voice acting is convincing and the direction of sounds can be heard easily. I still remember an amusing scene due to the voice acting. I won't say much.

Overall, this game really brings you right into the heart of the game, and it will really engage you as much as possible. The gameplay is near perfect, the graphics are good, and the sound is great. Chances are also high that you will start to understand and sympathise with the suffering the Allied soldiers and innocent people went through.



Graphics:8.6
Sound: 9.3
Gameplay: 9
Lasting Appeal: 9
Overall: 9.6