Call of Duty: United Offensive
- April 01, 2005 13:25 PM PST
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We heed the call and do our duty as we head into uncharted waters with the upcoming expansion pack.
Activision representatives stopped by our offices last week for a closer look of the upcoming expansion to Call of Duty, entitled United Offensive. The main focus of the demonstration was to show off the new vehicles at your disposal as well as showcase the new and improved particle effects -- captivating weather effects and nerve-racking pyrotechnics were among a few. Additionally, Activision has expanded the magazine of weapons and weapon innovations, such as the flame-thrower and deployable machine guns and a new sprinting ability allows foot soldiers to make quicker runs for cover.To begin the demonstration, we were taken to Kursk, where the largest tank battle took place during WWII. There, in anticipation of our arrival, a fleet of German tanks unleashed a massive monstrosity of explosions with a thunderous boom to go with every blast, shattering all sorts of dust clouds and debris right over our heads, immediately drawing us into the action.
As the deep trenches of Kursk protected our character from a horrific death, a Russian counterstrike commenced after the attacks died down, and our role as a Soviet operative hence came into play. During this instance, German troops began to advance toward the trenches to finish the job. With a very convincing rendition of the added Moisin Nagant, a Russian rifle used in WWII, we began to pick off the Nazis, one by one. As the timely headshots rolled in, we gazed over our right and left shoulders to find neighboring soldiers in the same predicament, and we were instantly reminded that we had our fellow comrades to thank for the assistance.
Although our main objective was to plant explosives onto enemy tanks without being seen, we were made aware of other things that were happening in the surrounding area. The shards of dust clouds left behind by the tank blasts and the many different explosions themselves, the new fog effects, and the interaction with water from other missions, definitely left a glorifying impression for the newly enhanced particle effects equipped in this upcoming expansion pack.
Meanwhile, we got a preview of one of the most anticipated additions to the United Offensive expansion -- the new archive of usable vehicles. Unfortunately the Activision rep would not let us play, instead promising us ample time to test drive them next month when they returned to show us the new multiplayer modes.
As we ran along the trenches of Kursk, we picked up a few of the new, deployable machine guns, the new flame-thrower, and some grenades which we were told can now be cooked-off before releasing. The same could be done with smoke grenades as well. The deployable machine guns could be mounted anywhere the associated icon appeared, from atop sandbag barriers to building windows. If they are not accessible during a time you need it most, you can activate the prone position, and your machine gun will be automatically mounted onto the surface of the floor.
With these new toys handy, Activision suggested that we get acquainted with them by firing off a few rounds, cooking-off some grenades, and enflaming a few Nazis, which we did, and all of it came with too much ease. Sensing our eagerness to move the show along to the bigger stuff, Activision then brought the first mission to a close and took us some hundreds of thousands of feet above the ground for a little aerial combat.
One of the missions from the British Campaign had us manning the tail gun of a British bomber as we flew over Western-occupied territory. Here, our main objective was to take down German fighters attacking the bomber. Though as simple as this sounded, it was not quite so easy to perform. As advised, the rounds we fired from the turret guns were real projectiles and so leading a target fighter plane for its eminent takedown was necessary and took some careful consideration. To add to the difficulty, random events occured throughout the mission.
For instance, enemy planes kill other crew members aboard the aircraft, and you are then charged with the task of alternating between the unmanned turrets -- your pilot calls out which one he needs you to man. On the bottom left corner of your display HUD is a damage indicator with an image of your plane, which is very easy to read -- green means you?re okay, yellow suggests caution and red demands extreme care -- and is broken down into separate parts of the ship.
Should your plane have to sustain too much damage, it starts to rattle; making it even more difficult to get a nice shot off your opponents. Once the display indicates all parts of your plane in red, it means you?re very close to failing the mission. Also, failure to comply with your pilot?s requests within a certain time limit can and will result in an unsuccessful mission. Once this mission ended, we all took a deep breath and landed back into a Windows desktop -- onto the next objective.
It is now Winter in the town of Noville, and 3 squads of American troops arrive by tanks. Our mission was to rendezvous with SAS support commandos. Here we also bumped into extremely hostile packs of armed German kitchen staff. However to keep it fresh, we left the scene and advanced directly to the part where we were sitting in the sidecar of a bike, driven by an SAS agent. As soon as the Germans learned of our presence, we were chased down by a number of jeeps packed with a few soldiers and some heavy machine guns. This is where things got very intense.
From the motorcycle chase, through the scenic escape route over the side of a cliff, and then onto the boat run, every bit of it certainly had a James Bond flick feel to it. And, boy, was the boat packed with detail.
Again piloted by your SAS agent, you are in the back of a speedboat fending off other boats on your tail. You could see every ripple created by the propeller of the engine as well as every blast in the water each time the enemies missed. After we shot down the enemy boats, the mission drew to a conclusion where we caught a live action sequence of the result of our supposed success from a previous mission -- a series of theatric explosions well within our view as we sat by the bay.
Shortly after, we were briefed about the new multiplayer modes and added features that will be available in the retail release. Some of the new playable modes will include your standard yet still customizable Capture the Flag, a base demolition mode where teams square off to completely demolish each others? bases, and a Domination mode, which was the mode we were given a first look at, and was also where we were thoroughly versed with the new vehicle driving system.
Any of the multiplayer maps can have vehicles in them, and each team will be designated their own set of tanks, jeeps, and whatever have you. However, you can still seize and commandeer your opponents? vehicles, though they will take some time to hotwire before you can actually use them. Driving each vehicle is relatively straightforward. Most vehicles, if not all, will allow you to bring other friendly players along for the ride. And if there is vacancy, any player can switch between seats.
Drivers won?t be able to operate and fire weapons on their vehicle, but with a flick of the mouse scroll, you?ll be placed in an alternate seat in a matter of seconds where you will be allowed to fire your arms or, if you?re the appropriate seat, fire any armament loaded with the vehicle. While in any seat, you will have alternative viewpoints, which can be toggled with the click of the right mouse button. For drivers, this means that they can drive in third-person view. Others may see a scoped variation of the first-person view with the same toggle.
In domination, your team objective is to seize all command posts on the map, in this case, we were told there were five. And because there weren?t any other players on the map during the demonstration, we were told to imagine what the chaos would be like -- to actually experience it we were going to have to wait.
There?s definitely a lot we can expect from the upcoming expansion to Call of Duty. Yet from what we saw in the demo, we can only speak for half of what?s to come. As excited as we were to see the new features such as the newly enhanced particle system and the new crafts and toys in action, we can?t neglect the importance of the added missions that will help trace the history of the various World War II campaigns that will be available upon release. After getting a glimpse of only a few, there?s nothing much else to be said about them.
Fortunately, it won?t be long before we get to see how it all comes together. Despite the nature of the game -- for it is one of war -- Activision is planning on a Teen rating. Call of Duty: United Offensive is scheduled for an early fall release.
