Call of Duty Updated Impressions

World War II is one of the most popular settings for new games these days, thanks in no small part to the popularity of motion pictures such as Saving Private Ryan and Enemy at the Gates. One of the most obvious examples of this influence was last year's excellent first-person shooter Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, a game that combined fast-paced gameplay with polished, cinematic sequences that helped bring some of the tersest and most exciting moments of the war to life for its many fans. Since then, several of Allied Assault's developers have moved on to create a new studio, Infinity Ward, which is hard at work polishing up its new first-person shooter, Call of Duty. We were recently fortunate enough to get an up-close look at the latest version of the game, as well as to discuss it with Infinity Ward's Vince Zampella.

The war wasn't won by one man. But 300 might help.

Call of Duty will emphasize team tactics, both in its single-player campaign and in its multiplayer modes, though the exact details of the multiplayer component are still being kept secret. According to Zampella, the game will make clear the fact that "no one man won the war." In other words, you won't be able to carry an impossibly huge arsenal and destroy the combined forces of the Axis powers single-handedly. In all three of the different single-player campaigns (American, Russian, and British), you'll be accompanied by teammates in many of your missions, and you'll need to rely on their help just as often as you'll need to keep them out of trouble.

According to Zampella, the developer is also attempting to reproduce the historical character of the different theaters of war. For instance, several missions in the British campaign will require you to go up against tough odds--specifically, Axis outfits much larger than your own--but you'll have the benefit of far better intelligence than your enemies, so you'll be able to better plan surgical strikes. And in the Russian campaign, though you won't have the benefit of either exceptionally good intelligence or especially advanced weapons, you'll often have the benefit of greater numbers.

As this screenshot suggests, the landing at Stalingrad wasn't easy.

Each of the game's single-player campaigns will open with what Zampella describes as a "key moment," a dramatic in-engine sequence that re-creates a crucial event from the war. But like the cinematics in Allied Assault, these sequences will take place in real time, and when they come to an end, you'll be thrown into the action immediately. We watched the opening of the Russian campaign, which begins with the Russian army crossing the Volga River in an attempt to retake Stalingrad. The mission begins with a landing on the banks of the besieged city, during which you and your huddled comrades are being sternly lectured by your commanding officer, who demands that the lot of you march forward bravely on behalf of Mother Russia--and warns you that any man who takes so much as a single step backward will be branded a traitor and shot.