I have been looking forward to this game all summer and the 2 demos only made that interest peak more so needless to say I devoured this game as readily as I did Max Payne 2.
Graphics/Sound - This game is based on a heavily modified Q3 engine.... blah blah blah. The game looks great, not as nice as MP2 (my current PC high water mark graphically) but it easily allows you to suspend your disbelief. The sound is simply unreal, it is loud, abrasive and comes at you from all directions in a 4 speaker set up. Hitman 2 used to be the game that defined the sound experience but MP2 was better than that and this is a step beyond MP2. Overall 22/25.
Gameplay - I am not a man of many words so I will sum up my experience with just a few.... INTENSE, INTENSE and when it isn't INTENSE it is ultra INTENSE. Get the picture? The game from first level to last level with one exception is intense, difficult and keeps your head on a swivel. I really enjoy the 3 different campaigns, the different weapons and the variety of missions... time based, rails, kill everything that moves, you name it and the game excells at bringing it to you in a World War II setting. The gameplay puts you into the shoes of a average Joe and a group of soldiers that fight fairly well along side you. I can't say I felt attached to any NPC but still battling in WWII was overwhelmingly NOT a one person against the world event. MOHAA did a good job scripting events and making you feel part of the war but CoD takes this feeling and expands it with the group of soldiers you fight with during most of the levels. Overall 33/35
Bang for $ - I am not interested in playing thru CoD a 2nd time in SP like I still intend to do in MP2 but the MP game looks to be the extra playtime I am craving. The SP game on Hardened was 12-15 hours and although it did not have the Sniper Level of MOHAA it does have numerous levels that you almost get violent on your PC and then somehow someway make it thru. A great example is Pavlov's House (Russian Campaign), I tried so hard not to quick save during this level, to only restart from a predetermined checkpoint but ultimately I broke down and started saving during the last few minutes of hell. The level is intense and very difficult in the quantity of enemies that come at you but finishing it was exhilirating. MP has the standard DM and TDM as well as Search and Destroy (Objective MOHAA), Retrival (Variation of Objective) and Behind Enemy Lines (Sounds interesting but I haven't played it much nor understood it too well), the maps are large and varied in comparison to other MP I have played. The MP has caught my attention enough to get me spending hours wasting time in front of this PC killing for enjoyment. With a good internet connection and some practice, the multiplayer component will have me playing this for a long time after the SP 'story' is finished. Overall 23/25
Personal View - Hmmm.... I thought this game was great from beginning to end, the only things I would ask to make the experience even richer? 1) Have a story line that provides the player with a 'Band of Brothers' attachment to the platoon. In 'Band of Brothers' I grew as emotionally attached to the characters during this 10 hour mini-series as I think is possible. Pretend you have watched ER for 10 years (I haven't) and the bald surgeon who is a jackass.... when he took the dirt nap recently love him or hate him you felt it, he had been a part of your Thursday night ritual for years. I want a game that does that when a character dies or leaves, it will move this entertainment closer to a complete mainstream acceptance. 2)Create an evolving character like in Dues Ex, NOLF, NOLF2 and others where as the game progresses so does the characters proficiency. In these games, the avatar gets better as the game progresses, shoots better, is more quite, snipes better and so on so forth. I don't know why this mechanic can't be incorporated into a game like CoD, i.e. at the start the crosshair expands very wide when you are on the move, as the game progresses it expands less and less to the point where you can be on the move with the sinper and have nothing but a rock solid zoom view. I think this would make you feel more 'in the game', think of it as ratings in a sports game, the rookie with promise evolves from a raw rookie to a hall of fame caliber QB, except for this happens during a 15-20 game experience and not during 15 seasons of play. Overall 14/15
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