The Big Red One Answers The Call Of Duty.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the first installment, I was quite anxious to get a hold of Big Red One. On the other hand, I was just a tad bit skeptical when I heard the sequel was coming out. What with so many World War II first person shooters out there, I was asking myself what made this one so special. To sum it up..... Everything and nothing made this one stand out.
Now that you are completely confused by my last statement I will explain. Big Red One offers next to nothing in terms of break through innovations. The one thing I would consider new is that your squad AI is actually worth a hoot. They were not always getting in the way, a la Medal Of Honor: European Assault, and they actually pulled their weight during combat. The player isn't forced to kill ALL the bad guys.
What I meant by "everything" is that almost all aspects of the original game were tweaked just a bit to provide improvements to something that seemed fine the way it was. Many little improvements here and there have done wonders. I was much more impressed by the "little things" then I should have been.
With the name Big Red One you would expect it to be exclusively about the First Infantry Division. Not so here. While the main story line is about the Big Red One, the game does digress a little in the form of tank missions and a bomber sortie. I was slightly baffled as to how the developers were going to pull this off. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Nobody is going to win an Oscar for story-line or anything but they managed to incorporate everything rather well.
I always believed that I would never again see a better World War II first person shooter like Medal Of Honor: Front Line. It actually feels good to be proven wrong. I have yet to play the XBOX 360 version of Call Of Duty 2, but as of right now Big Red One is #1 in my book. If you're looking for a good, new World War II first person shooter this is the one for you. Big Red One offers much to anyone interested in the genre.
My final grades are as follows:
Graphics-- 8.5 Well done, nothing spectacular but an effort was made and it shows.
Gameplay-- 8.5 Here is where a notable improvement was made. I really enjoyed playing through this one but it was just a bit too short.
Depth-- 7.5 Big Red One throws you into the action from the get go. A slight learning curve exists due to the button configuration but it's minimal. The number of weapons and the realism in handling them is right on.
Replay Value-- 6.5 The good part is that you don't have to play through the whole thing in order to get to a specific level. That's always a plus but I'm not one to revisit most games after I beat them.
Story-- 7.0 As I said before..... No Academy Awards but it was put together really well.
Sound-- 9.5 RAT-A-TAT-TAT!!!!! I love that sound. Plugging this one into dad's surround sound stereo had me ducking for cover and and yelling: "INCOMING!!!!!!"
Challenge-- 6.0 We finally get to the one drawback. I finished Big Red One in less then 6 hours of playing times. The only challenges I faced came when the game froze at the very end of a certain level.... Twice!!!! It forced me to replay the whole level. Sadly, this wasn't much of a challenge.
Overall-- 8.0 Hands down, this is one of the best World War II first person shooter's out to date. I suggest renting it though due to it's lack of challenge. If it were a little longer Big Red One would be the new torch bearer for the genre.