Review

Call of Duty 3

By The Watcher
November 02, 2009 15:18 PM PST
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Make a Decision, Man!

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.

Wrap It Up Soldier!

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.