It’s hard to deny the appeal of a World War II game. You have the historical backdrop
with all of its massive battles; Nazis, the ideal evildoers whom you can kill
with reckless abandon, are your enemy; and, being a world war, there’re plenty
of diverse locations to see. With such a convincing trifecta, It’s no wonder we
have so many of them and why they sell so well.

Now we have Call of Duty 3, the latest World War II game from Activision to
grace us with its Nazi-smashing goodness.

Call of Duty 2 was a cinematic flash grenade to the senses and was one of
the best releases titles on the Xbox 360 last year, so does Call of Duty 3 really
have to improve much on this formula? The answer is while the game polishes
many of the minor problems that nagged its predecessor as well as expand on
what it did so well, COD3 also comes with a few new problems of its own.

As though World War II games weren’t already like watching a war movie, COD3
takes it up a notch and focuses distinctly on France right after D-day during
the 6 brutal weeks that led to the liberation of Paris. You’ll bounce between
American, British, Canadian, and Polish troops, but your progress is all tied
to overarching goals — freeing the "frenchies". Call of Duty 2 was
noted for not tying together a very coherent story, but COD3 definitely shows
an improvement with the concentration of this important location and period
during the war. Even the loading screens, masked by custcenes of strategic and
historic overviews of the war effort, help make COD3 an expressive and top-notch
affair.

The same can be said, really, for almost every element of Call of Duty 3’s
presentation. The graphics are still to-notch, especially with the many light
sources, particle effects, and increased number of characters onscreen, all
while maintaining a smooth framerate. Sound is bombastic and powerful, as any
World War II game should be, and if you have surround sound, this is one game
that will really take full advantage of it. Voice-acting, too, is convincing
and generally very well done, though some of the lines heard during combat are
repeated almost ad nauseum. The only other distraction to such an immersive
environment is the apparent lack of lip-synching to much of what is said during
cutscenes and in gameplay. It’s obviously not a serious offense, but when you
see detailed explosions going off and thick, volumetric smoke wrapping around
you, it’s hard to suddenly see your comrades speaking to you with puppet-mouths.
Overall though, the production values are noticeably high.

Speaking of your comrades, they’re an able bunch of fellows who get the job
done, but they almost seem too willing at times to let you take on the whole
of Germany’s armed forces by yourself. Which is tough, since they all seem to
have catlike reflexes and a sniper’s ability to hit you from 500 yards away,
even if they’re manning a machine gun turret. This isn’t bitterness talking
from being killed too many times by trigger-happy Nazis, but rather a forewarning
that you’d better know when to hide behind some cover from time to time.

Other additions like the newly added Battle Actions also help keep the game
fresh. On occasion you’ll be forced to perform an action while in the midst
of battle; sometimes it’s simply setting up an explosive charge on a flak gun,
others it’s fighting close-quarters with a nazi soldier. In all cases, particularly
in the close quarters combat, the Battle Actions add variety and further suspense
to an already frenetic game.

Likewise, the branching mission paths give you some choice and help keep the
game from feeling too linear. Usually at least once during a mission you’ll
be given a choice on where you want to lead the troops as you progress. One
option may be to flank a house and take out any Germans patrolling nearby, while
the other is to rush in through the front entrance and clear out the Nazi presence.
Regardless of what you choose you’ll end up accomplishing you’re objectives,
but at the very least it offers some control over how your achieve those ends.

Single-player isn’t the only part of the game to get improvements. the multiplayer
aspect of the game has been overhauled, and it actually makes it worth playing.
Specific classes are now available to choose from, ranging from scout to assault
to commander, each with their own weapons and contribution to the overall scheme
of things; think along the lines of Team Fortress Classic, Tribes, or Return
to Castle Wolfenstein. Vehicles too play a prominent role in achieving your
goals, and help flesh out what the multiplayer aspect of the game should feel
like — a large-scale World War II battle. It may not be as fleshed out as Battlefield
1942, but it’s still fun to play.

As a whole, Call of Duty 3 is an impressive achievement. It attempts to look,
sound, feel, and play better than Call of Duty 2, and on most account it succeeds.
But the Call of Duty franchise, like any other, doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and
is in constant competition with like offerings; and with World War II, that
means quite a few to choose from. Even so, Treyarch and Activision have done
an great job with COD3 and created an experience that is at once much the same,
but also better, than its predecessor.

Review by: GamePro.com