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> Results: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
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Did you know there were two Call of Duty games released last year? Both carry the numeral two in their title, but both are completely different games featuring entirely different missions and settings. Activision's marketing didn't make this very clear. It probably doesn't matter to those already in the 360 generation or gaming on their PCs, but the Call for the "old" consoles might be the better game!
Big Red One is the subtitle for the Xbox, Gamecube and PlayStation 2 iteration of Call of Duty 2 and it creates a unique focal point for the World War II conflict and your place within it during the game. As a member of the "Fighting First" infantry division, you and your squadmates travel through the African desert, across the Mediterranean into Sicily and then make landfall on the beaches of Normandy. With the beachhead secure, you fight your way into Germany, climaxing with a mission to knock out a V2 launch pad near Berlin. This single coherent campaign is far more exciting than a series of disparate missions across multiple theatres of war. It makes Big Red One more of a historical chronicle of events on the soldier level than a sampling of the war's greatest battles.  The missions are all based on actual events and the attention to detail and authenticity of the period is superb. These are strictly linear affairs that run you into countless firefights in all sorts of interesting tactical situations. In addition to playing soldier, you take hold of mounted guns on various vehicles, drive tanks and even take part in a B-26 bombing raid into Italy. That mission in particular is an anomaly that seems less than authentic. Switching through all the gun turrets and even using the bombsight is a little bit much. The amount of enemy fighters you shoot down would make you legendary in the military. Despite that one overly arcade-like affair, the game manages to impress over and over again. Working through a town from building to building is a visceral experience. Often your squad will end up in what seems like an impossible situation only to emerge successful after you and your team mow down all resistance. The designers do a great job of leading you into trouble without ever telegraphing what's coming next. The game walks a fine line between making you a hero and just another grunt. Sometimes your squadmates are in the fore, taking the first bullets for you while you play support. Other times you're right out front taking all the chances and fighting the superhero fight to keep everyone pushing forward. The sheer number of Nazis you send six feet under is implausible, but creates great drama. You use both Allied and Axis hardware throughout the game as you often run dry on your starting weapon set and have to pick up those of the fallen enemy to keep shooting. Guns on bipods, fired from the hip, down the barrel, Panzerschrecks, bazookasﾗthe tools of death come in all shapes and sizes. Everything sounds great, with the aural experience highlighted by a lot of meaningful squad chatter. If you don't listen carefully, you might miss cues on what to do next or where an ambush is coming from. Once again, the quest for authenticity is nicely transferred into a gameplay feature that both helps you and immerses you.  There are plenty of multiplayer modes over Xbox Live and the game performs wellﾗunlike Call of Duty 2 on 360 at release. You can use cover effectively online in well-designed maps that highlight smart movement and fire ability. The game may not look quite as good as those on PC and 360 but it's definitely still impressive. The capabilities of the Xbox are more than adequate to recreate a realistic battlefield experience. This is one of the best World War II games available on any platform and it's kind of a shame it was released next to the 360 and PC versions that wow with graphics but fall down a bit on narrative. 
The Call of Duty series leans further toward authentic battlefield recreation than the recent Medal of Honor games. The fighting is intense and blood is common. Unlike real war though, limbs aren't lost and men aren't turned into pulp, so the graphic violence is certainly within the scale of a Teen rated game. There are two ways of looking at this. As a historical account of the Army's First Infantry, this game has merit. On the other hand, what these men went through was far more shocking than what's in this game. For young people, it's hard to convey just how frightening battle is when they're able to get hit repeatedly and survive so easily in these games.
Control is complex at first, so teens to adults need a little time to adjust during early missions. Some of the later fights have choke points that bog you down and leave you dead multiple times, but for the most part the difficulty is about right. With selectable difficulty levels, you can always notch it down if you're getting hammered and similarly ratchet it up if you need more of a challenge. As always, online play is peppered with awful language but you might consider that just like the real battlefield where even the most timid of men might swear like a sailor while under fire. The content pretty much speaks for itself. World War II made heroes of men, but many more ended up in unmarked graves. Parents have to decide how to approach this type of game on their own as recommendations can only go so far. Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "call of duty, big red one xbox, world war ii" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One |
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