Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 for PC and X360 is a full-fledged sequel to the first person shooter released at the end of 2003. The action of the original game took place during the World War II and the game itself received many awards. It was also praised by players all over the world. The second game in the series, similarly to the first one, was developed by Infinity Ward - team that hired some people whom earlier worked on Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.

Story

Once again players can complete three campaigns in the years 1941-1945. As an American paratrooper, the player is mostly fighting in Western Europe (Normandy landings and further battles fought to push Germans from France, Belgium and Holland territories). As a British, commando the player fights in Northern Africa (Tunisia etc.) and then joins Americans in France. When deciding to play as a Russian infantryman, the player goes to Stalingrad and fights on the Eastern Front. A new feature in the game is the ability to switch between various campaigns, for example in order to complete them chronologically.

Gameplay

The virtual battles now simulate real ones even more realistically. There are many soldiers (including both allies and enemies). Explosions can be heard in the background (the battle takes place not only in front of player’s eyes). The soldiers have about 20,000 lines of speech (cries like “reloading weapon!”, “cover me!”, “get down!” can be heard regularly), which increases the realism of the game. The bullets affect the surroundings; buildings and some objects can be damaged or destroyed, there are marks on the ground after mortar or cannons attacks, the smoke after explosions can limit visibility. All around there are bodies of fallen soldiers, bullet marks etc. In addition to various historical weapons that are used in battles (rifles, handguns, grenades etc.), players can also use a few types of vehicles (for example tanks).

In comparison to the original game, the player needs more time to complete the whole game. The developers created few paths/ways of completing specific scenarios. This reduces the feeling that the game is too linear. The maps are a couple of times larger than in Call of Duty. The players still have predetermined mission objectives to complete, but now they can freely select the order in which they will complete them. The order of objective completion can impact the other phases of the mission (for example, destroying the enemy outpost at the start will reduce the number of opponents and make other actions easier. If the player decides to complete other objective at first, then he will be forced to defend from much stronger opponents).

Technical aspects

A greatly modified Quake 3 graphics engine was used in Call of Duty 2. It was improved to use the potential of PC and X360. The game interface hasn’t changed much in comparison to the first game in the series. However, one can easily notice other visual improvements – more detailed graphics, better textures, new character models and their movement animations. Shadow effects, explosions, fires and smoke look better as well. The game has also new artificial intelligence algorithms, and multiplayer mode (with few new game modes added to the classic modes of deathmatch and capture the flag).

Last updated on 10 December 2007