With every Call of Duty that is released on the PC, a different one comes out on the consoles. With the first Call of Duty, there were the super repetitive levels that were drawn out with little checkpoints to save you game along the way. This game was Call of Duty Finest Hour. Now this fall they released Call of Duty 2, so of course they released Call of Duty 2 Big Red One.
Call of Duty 2 Big Red One puts Finest Hour to shame. The sad thing about it is that Finest Hour was such a bomb, that most people might just pass this one and go pick up another great World War Two shooter like Brothers In Arms, which you should still pick up. This game draws away from all the other Call of Duty games and focuses on the 1st Infantry Division, which you play as the whole time, through Africa, Italy, and Normandy, and it does not once get boring. With the multiple things that you can do in just one level, to the length of them, this game just is a blast to play.
Graphics wise, this is the not the best looking game on the Xbox, but I have said this before and I will say it again, if the graphics fit the game, than it really doesn't matter how great they are. There are tons of different environments, from the deserts of Africa, to the beaches of Italy and Normandy; this game has it all, not to mention that you spend a couple of levels in a plane, a flak gun, and a tank. It is hard to believe that this game never once gets old the whole time that you are playing it.
The levels are long, but this time there is much more too do, and you are not doing the same thing for twenty to thirty minutes straight, yes the levels are that long. Throughout the levels you will be doing things like, flanking a fleet of tanks, getting medics to the wounded, or going door to door killing all of the Nazi's in sight. This is a very fun game if I do say so myself, not to mention that the checkpoints are closer together this time, I just wish that you could shut off a mission in-game and then reload the checkpoint instead of having to do everything over again. So if you are starting a level, well just be sure that you actually have time to finish the level.
I do not think that this game lacks in sound at all. I mean the voice acting could be a little bit better, but I am not complaining at all though. The guns sound really good, along with everything else in the environment. The one problem that I did have with the environment was that barrels that had been shot never exploded and you couldn't really use it to you advantage besides taking cover and things like that.
As for the controls, that is another story. Instead of just going with the standard first person shooter format, they decided to go an completely change everything, which yea, is a little hard to deal with when you first begin the game if you are a die hard fan of the genre. Luckily though you get used to it, and it turns out to be a great control scheme that you will actually like, its just too bad that the normal FPS reload button is the grenade button in this game.
Pros:
+ So much better than the first
+ Good graphics
+ Controls
+ Good, solid story
+ Long levels make for a good 8-10 hours of gaming
Cons:
- Checkpoints don't save, so if you are gonna play a level make sure you have time
Overall: This game is a very fun and well-done first person shooter that completely redeems the series on the consoles. The levels are long and if you have time to go in for the long haul you will find this a very rewarding experience and one that you are sure not to forget, even if this game is more about the single-player game than the multi-player. I give Call of Duty 2 Big Red One a 9/10.
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