It doesn't do anything revolutionary, but it does provide an action-packed and historically-inspired experience.
If you couldn't tell from my smarmy lead-in, I played Call of Duty 2: Big Red One with a healthy twinge of skepticism. After all, Xbox has been known as the first person shooter console of the current generation since the Halo franchise stomped its way into millions of homes back in 2001. Why on earth would I feel the slightest bit of elation at the release of another game covering the Great War, especially if it can't possibly compare to the granddaddy of console shooters?
The good news is, even though Call of Duty 2: Big Red One covers the same ground as previous titles like the Medal of Honor franchise and last year's mediocre Call of Duty: Finest Hour, it's the best console offering of the lot. So if you're hankerin' for a Nazi-squashing good time, you should enlist with the boys of the Fighting First.
Combat in Call of Duty 2 is varied. You begin the game as a new recruit in the First Expeditionary Division (a vicious fighting group formed during World War I). From the get-go, you must follow your comrades through hellacious urban battle zones and complete a laundry list of objectives in a linear fashion. Your partners fight alongside you, shout out commands, and relay battle conditions to you on the fly, which on the whole creates a convincing illusion of real fighting.
It's worth mentioning that Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is not the same game as the PC and Xbox 360 game similarly named Call of Duty 2. In fact, they are entirely different from each other. The exploits of the Fighting First are also playable on Playstation 2 and GameCube (though this review is reflective of only the Xbox version). With that out of the way, let's get to the action.
Enemies assault your position by the dozen, so you must think and act quickly to cut them down before they waste you and your men. All the standard period-specific weaponry is available, and you have the ability to pick up guns and ammo off of the fallen along with the usual items like health packs. In addition to the on-foot missions, Call of Duty 2 throws you into the gunner seat of tanks, bombers, and trucks in the occasional "on rails" scenario. While these diversions break up the normally rigid pace of the fighting, they don't last for too long.
The game does a good job of recreating hectic battle sequences. At any given moment you are dodging gunfire from all angles, sidestepping grenades, and avoiding the deadly blasts of a roving tank while keeping your gun fixed in the general direction of your foes. It's a lot to handle, though luckily the game's difficulty is balanced pretty well so FPS vets will have no problem adjusting. Newbies should opt to play on the easiest skill level.
The sights and sounds of Call of Duty 2 are what you'd expect—every battlefield looks like it was bombed to hell and it sounds like there is a war raging in your living room. The smoke and particle effects are especially convincing, as is the voice acting from your fellow troops.
As you plow through the single-player campaign, you unlock bonuses and developer commentary. Diehard WWII fanatics will want to spring the extra 10 bucks for the Collector's Edition to watch some of the developer documentary, though the rest of us will be content with the game itself.
Big Red One also has an online multiplayer component, so when you're done tearing up the European countryside in the story mode you can blast your buddies on Xbox Live. Again, the game does nothing revolutionary but multiplayer is fun nonetheless.
The only complaints I have with Call of Duty 2: Big Red One are that the levels, while excellently rendered and designed, have a claustrophobic and linear feel to them. You don't have many options available to you other than to complete your set objectives and follow your men around, so there's not much incentive to play through the game again once you've beaten it. Contrast that with Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360 and its sprawling environments and you'll notice a big difference. But for a current generation WWII fix, Big Red One is a fine shooter.
If you've got a gap in your game collection that needs a first person shooter to fill it, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is a decent choice. It doesn't do anything revolutionary, but it does provide an action-packed and historically-inspired experience you won't find in similar titles.
(originally published at Console Game World)