Gorgeous offspring of COD Big Red One seeks mother of all patches to fix its inside issues, Beauty is skin-deep.
Firstly, Im not going to trash this game for being on the rails, you buy a call of duty game and you know you're going to be stuck on a path to some extent. COD2, which i also have, i loved and i was expecting more of the same. i would have been perfectly happy with more of the same. Unfortunatly it seems that Activision have 2 different teams working on these games, one of these created the fantastic COD2 while one threw up the xbox's COD Big Red One. If you've played Big Red One then you cant help but notice that COD3 ISNT a suquel to COD2. IT IS A SEQUEL TO COD BIG RED ONE. The sound effects are very similar throughout, considering the limited variation possible in an on the rails WW2 shooter this game feels completely different to COD2 and this is not a good thing. It seems to be to do with the feel of the weapons and the storylines.
The Weapons then, in COD2 when u fired a Thompson you knew you were firing a Thompson. that distinctive clatter mixed with the superb vibration effect made everyweapon feel different. u could almost judge the caliber of the bullet leaving the barrel from it. In COD3 the weapons look identical to those in Big Red One, right down to the appearence of the aim function. the vibration is badly implemented too and all this leads to weapons which just dont live up to COD2s.
On to the story lines, now theres nothing wrong with a storyline in a WW2 shooter. but COD3 tries to tell 4 at once and jumps between them randomly so you never really feel connected to any of them. cheesy more than authentic somehow.
The game mechanics. OOhhhh dear. This game is full of bugs. Ranging from simple oversights to frankly bizzare acts of gravity defiance. Dont get me wrong, its almost funny when a nazi soldier takes to the air and FLIES across the screen. But it gets old when this kind of thing happens this much. Added to that the animation which occasionally slides your character across the ground to slot in with the storyline ( sometimes sliding you THROUGH a wall or the side of your jeep ) There are numerous other glitches, too many to list entirely. Granted they never truly halt the game but they r so obvious that they completely destroy the games atmosphere.
I'll end on a good note. The Graphics. COD3 looks really really good. It's the first game i've seen that truly looks like an interactive movie in places. Its that good. Character models, scenery, weapons skins, water, all presented in startling detail. the explosions are perhaps alittle blurry looking but over all a great looking game. Unfortunatly this doesnt quite make up for the buggy gameplay or the fact that this game seems to be a last generation shooter ( Big Red One ) massively made over. If you liked Big Red One you will probably see through the bugs and love this. If you loved COD2 then dont count on loving this cos it doesnt feel like a sequel.
Oh and every single time you load a new checkpoint, from anywhere in a level, you'll have to watch the cutscene you saw at the very beginning of that level. these cant be skipped and oh dear god does it get boring.