Before there was a MW3...before there was a MW2...before there was even a MW at all there was only Call Of Duty.
This is Call of Duty and this game is a first-person shooter in which you take part as infantry and combined arms in WW2. Unlike some other games you not only play the role of an American soldier but also from the viewpoint of British and Soviet soldiers. The game was somewhat unusual at the time in that throughout the singleplayer mode, the player is joined by computer controlled allies who range in quantity from two infantrymen in some of the British missions to an entire regiment of tanks in the Soviet missions. The computer-controlled allies will support the actual player during the missions. They also further the game's goal of providing an immersive and realistic experience; that is, soldiers in World War II were usually part of a larger group, as opposed to the lone wolf seen in video games.
Gameplay wise Call of Duty did things like most other FPS games but at the same time doing things a little differantly as well. You take control of an infantry soldier who makes use of various authentic World War II firearms in combat. Each mission features a series of objectives which are marked on the heads-up display's compass; the player must complete all objectives to advance to the next mission. The player has two primary weapon slots, a handgun slot and can carry up to ten grenades. Which are very very handy in a game like this. Weapons may be exchanged with those found on the battlefield dropped by dead soldiers. You can also to toggle between different firing modes single shot or automatic fire. Call of Duty was one of the early first-person shooters to feature iron sights in game play; by pressing the corresponding key the player aims down the actual sights on the gun for increased accuracy. In addition to weapons carried by the player, mounted machine guns and other fixed weapon emplacements are controllable by the player.
A cool feature of Call of Duty was shellshock. When there was an explosion near the player, he momentarily experiences simulated tinnitus, appropriate sound "muffling" effects, blurred vision, and also results in the player slowing down, unable to sprint. As the focus of the game is on simulation of the actual battlefield, the gameplay differs from many single-player shooters of the time. The player moves in conjunction with allied soldiers rather than alone; allied soldiers will assist the player in defeating enemy soldiers and advancing but the player is given charge of completing certain objectives. The game places heavy emphasis on usage of cover, suppressive fire, and grenades. AI-controlled soldiers will take cover behind walls, barricades, and other obstacles when available.
With the gameplay out of the way i am going to take a little look into the campaigns on offer for the player to take part in during this game but i will not go all the way till the end just incase you the reader has not played this yet:
American campaign:
The American campaign begins with Private Joey Martin, member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia, United States on 9 August 1942. This is meant to familiarize the player with the game controls. The first mission occurs toward midnight on June 5, 1944, as part of the airborne operations which began the invasion of Normandy. Martin is inserted outside the town of Sainte-Mère-Église as a pathfinder (might have got my online name from that) to lay a drop zone beacon for other paratroopers. The paratrooper drops end up being scattered, leaving Martin in a mixed unit formed from various companies. This mixed unit clears nearby farmhouses of German soldiers. The following mission has the group capture Sainte-Mère-Église and disable several Flakpanzers which are anti-aircraft tanks just at the beginning of June 6 D-Day. A paratrooper is seen hanging from the town church.
British campaign:
The first mission of the British campaign has Sergeant Jack Evans and a unit from the 2nd Ox and Bucks of the 6th Airborne Division take part in Operation Tonga. Just after midnight on 6 June 1944, the unit is dropped from Horsa gliders alongside the Caen Canal near Pegasus Bridge, Bénouville. They capture the bridge and defend it from the nearby German forces. Capt. Price (never see this guy again) participates in this operation and several other missions as the commanding officer, although most of these missions occur before his rescue. In the next mission, just past noon of the same day, the unit protects the bridge from German counterattack, which includes several tanks. They hold the bridge until reinforcements from the 7th Parachute Battalion arrive. The third mission, on 2 September, has Evans working alone, now with the Special Air Service or SAS. He is inserted next to the Eder Dam and destroys the anti-aircraft guns protecting it. During Operation Chastise the previous May, the No. 617 Squadron RAF destroyed the dam using bouncing bombs. However, the Germans had rebuilt it.
Soviet campaign:
The first Soviet mission occurs during the Battle of Stalingrad, on 18 September 1942. Corporal Alexei Ivanovich Voronin is on one of many barges transporting Soviet soldiers across the Volga River, many of which are destroyed on the way by German artillery or Luftwaffe aircraft. Once across, Voronin is unarmed and must avoid machine gun fire and find an experienced sniper to help him. Soviet artillery eventually clears out the German machine guns, allowing Voronin and the others to enter Red Square. The second mission begins in Red Square with many retreating Soviet soldiers being killed by fellow Soviets. Voronin helps capture the square, which is defended by two tanks and some machine guns. After killing the German officers who have been calling reinforcements, Soviet artillery destroys the tanks. The unit makes their way through the rubble-filled streets to a railway station.
Call of Duty came out for the PC on October 29, 2003 you can also find it on the Mobile phone, Mac OS X, N-Gage, Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.
The System requirements are:
3D Hardware Accelerator Card required - 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible 32MB hardware T&L-capable video card and latest drivers.
Pentium III 600MHz or Athlon 600MHz processor or higher for systems with Windows 98/ME.
Pentium III 700MHz or Athlon 700MHz processor or higher for systems with Windows 2000/XP.
English version of Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7.
128MB of RAM.
8x CD-ROM drive (1200 K/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers.
1.5GB of uncompressed free hard disk space (plus 400MB for Windows 98/ME swap file, 600MB for Windows 2000/XP swap file).
100% DirectX 9.0b compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers.
100% Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7 compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers.
This is one of those games that you near enough hate to miss the first time around. But that does not mean you can not go take a look at it now and enjoy what the roots of Call Of Duty realy look like.