Call Of Duty 2 is a fine example of the sole reason which makes games popular in the first place - Gameplay !!!
Call Of Duty 2 is primarily a World War II shooter which means that we all know what to expect in terms of plot. The game rehashes most of its campaign and story-telling elements from the first game - we have players assuming the role of multiple protagonists from multiple nationalities (Russian, British and American), there are the familiar letters written by the protagonists that serve as an introduction to each mission and there's the familiar complete this objective and move on to the next gameplay system. Also present are image slide-shows before the beginning of each mission (which I'm not sure are actual war images or include snapshots taken from war films) and also a video documentary at the beginning of each country's campaign. While the stories told are not particularly touching or engaging since most of the time you'll barely be keeping track of the actual plot and be more focused on your "objectives" instead, Call Of Duty was never meant to be about story. It is and always was about gameplay.
This brings us to the area where Call Of Duty scores and despite so many similarities to its predecessor, still manages to feel fresh and hold your attention. The shooting is damn fluid, the zoom-in-zoom-out of iron sights feels silky smooth and at regular difficulty, the game will make most novices feel like predators (it did make me feel like one). Weapons include the usual assortment of a pistol-like, rifle-like, machine-gun-like and rocket-launcher like weapons with different names and slightly different handling depending on the campaign being played. Grenades are there too and this time, there are smoke grenades as well. And instead of merely being add-ons, grenades, especially smoke grenades play an important role in the game. Now this might sound a silly statement to make but what I mean here is that there are specific instances wherein your squad (yes, like the previous one, this one has you playing as a member of a squad instead of going all out in a one man showdown) will order you to specifically throw smoke grenades to cover the field and advance ahead.
Then there is the revamped regenerated health system. Instead of picking up health packs, your health will now regenerate should you take a hit. There's no health meter to indicate your health but red blood will start appear on your screen the more you take hits. Further signs include your heart beats raising and panting sounds increasing. That's an indication for you to take rest / cover and wait which if you do, all these symptoms will disappear and your health will be back to normal in a few seconds. Although this makes the game a bit unrealistic and less challenging, the health pack system was by no means realistic in itself. As for challenge, the traditional health pack system made the game more frustrating and challenging so I'm all for this approach.
Although this was the first Call Of Duty to hit next-gen consoles, I personally didn't find the character models all that polished for the next-gen. The graphics were good although were more reminiscent of upscaled textures from the first game instead of next-gen designs. Nevertheless, in scenes of war and total chaos, the game does look fabulous and all those little complaints that one might have disappear. At parts in the game, I struggled to get a smooth 60 FPS frame rate due to the newly introduced and immense smoke and particle effects. Of course, it doesn't help that I was playing it on a Geforce 9600 GT 512 MB at a resolution of 1600 x 900. Technical details aside, the game does run smooth for the most part even with all settings on high (provided shadows and anti-aliasing are turned off).
While the game doesn't have much of a soundtrack or orchestral score (except for brief pieces that play during the end of the missions - which by the way are quite soul stirring), the game does boast of amazing sound effects. Guns firing in all directions, squad-mates shouting out cries and orders, explosions, vehicles, they all mix seamlessly to produce the effect of being in the actual field. And be prepared to hear cries of Potato-Mashers quite frequently.
The single-player campaign is over quickly and even more so on Regular Difficulty. The last Call Of Duty I tried, which was the first one, I played it on the highest difficulty setting and ended up just about frustrating myself (although I did complete it). I therefore decided to stick to the Regular Difficulty this time around which resulted in a less frustrating and less challenging experience although one I was adequately suited for. Although nothing can come even close to recreating the actual experience of World War II and how it must have felt like, I believe the game at least in some way managed to convince me of the horrors of war. A lot of times, I was left stuck in areas with incoming fire from all sides like crazy; only makes me wonder how bad it must have been in the real thing. Despite seeming a bit too similar to the first game in the series,
Despite being oddly similar to its first predecessor, Call Of Duty 2 is a fine example of the sole reason which makes games popular in the first place - Gameplay. This one comes recommended for playing, at least once !!!