Twenty-six levels, divided between three campaign, Call of Duty puts
you in the boots of an American, British, and Soviet soldier. Each is a
rush from one battle to the next.
Each campaign is divided
between two long missions, occasionally broken up by single level
length missions. Mission begin with an general overview with each
levels objectives explained to you on the spot. One level flows
smoothly into the next. So much so that the end of each campaign comes
to an abrupt ending. This is an inherent problem in the attention to
accuracy in presenting a real-life experience. Any encounter, if
handled poorly, could be your last. This is true of the first battle of
war. This is true for the last battle of a war.
World War II has
been hashed ad rehashed into a fine tuned, digestible patty. Call of
Duty stands on the shoulders of WWII shooters that came before, and
stands a little higher because of that.
Focus is on being a
single member in a larger battle. The American campaign has you moving
with a single large group of soldiers who you stay with for the length
of the campaign. Move, take an area, and move on. The British campaign
puts you in a smaller group that works in conjunction with other small
groups of British soldiers that move in and out of parts of the
campaign. The Soviet campaign makes you one member in a huge battle
raging all around you, often groups of other Soviet soldiers. You are
never a member of a team, and often find yourself the sole survivor of
a larger battle. You constantly meet with one or two other soldiers to
make a small group, but the soldiers you're fighting with and around
are constantly changing.
Working with these groups of soldiers,
you move from one piece of cover to another. Stay with the group or
move around to flank, it's your option. Just don't be caught in the
open.
Call of Duty brought about the two fold aiming system by
switching between a normal FPS view with a shrinking/expanding
crosshair and iron sights. Along with it's emphasis on cover, and team
tactics, this sets Call of Duty apart from other WWII FPS games of its
day.
Call of Duty is fast and smooth, filled with explosions and
dead Nazis. It earned its bones as a top competitor with its first
game. Call of Duty appeals to a large audience, and disappoints only a
few.
