Though not as good as its Xbox 360/Pc cousin, Call of Duty 2, Big Red One is vastly underrated. This game is much different from other World War 2 games out there for a number of reasons. First of all, it explores areas of the war in Europe that are not often covered, though it does sport many WW2 game cliches (the D-Day invasion, guys throwing up in landing craft right before you hit your destination, etc.). There are actually a couple of levels in Italy and Sicily, which are rarely used settings in these types of games (even though the undertaking of capturing the Italian peninsula was a major campaign. In addition, many WW2-era weapons are used for the first time in the franchise, not to mention in the WW2 genre as a whole, such as several Italian and French weapons, as well as a number of previously-unused vehicles from both sides the Allied and Axis powers. With good gameplay value, a compelling story, cool weaponry, and many unlockable items, one wonders why this game is not getting a perfect 10. Despite these excellent qualities, Big Red One has a lack of consistency in its levels and their difficulty and length. Some levels are incredibly long and hard, while others are relatively short and easy (as one would expect). However, the problem with this is that the campaign does not start off easy and end with an extremely hard last level. On the contrary, the earliest levels are some of the game (as are some of the middle missions) but some of the later levels, in particular, the last level (despite its rather lengthy duration), are quite easy. The last level ends, in fact, with arguably one of the easiest-to-perform tasks in the entire game (planting charges on a V2 rocket), which comes several minutes after one of the main characters gets killed by mortar rounds. The game does not resolve this character's death, nor does it resolve or even comment on the death of another crucial character during the midpoint of the game. Actually, the player is never actually told whether or not this character is a KIA--he or she just has to assume the injured soldier died. These are major story and organizational flaws, but through many effects, awesome weapons and levels, and a couple particularly cool vehicle levels, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One manages to succeed overall.
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