Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
Big Rad One
Published: November 17, 2005
I've been saying I've been done with World War II first-person shooters for a while now, but invariably something comes along and rekindles my interest in the genre. After yawning and laughing my way through the first console Call of Duty game a sure as hell didn't think it would be one of them - and definitely not after witnessing the sheer impact that was Call of Duty 2 running on the Xbox 360.
But, once again, I'm eating my words. It's a smaller serving of humble pie, but it serves the same purpose: I once again think I can get into WWII FPSes. Thank you, Big Red One, and especially you, developers Treyarch and Grey Matter, for cutting through my cynicism. It may not have the looks or the smoothness of even other CoD games, but BRO is certainly game enough to hang with them.
Chalk it up an equal-parts ratio of source material. You have the Big Red One, the most highly decorated unit to come out of WWII and who you play as through the whole game. You have the presentation, which sacrifices some of the whiz-band technology of the PC and Xbox360 big brothers for spectacular acoustics and solid scripted sequences. Finally, you have attention to detail in reproducing individual, historically acurate missions, a voice cast largely lifted from HBO's amazing Band of Brothers mini-series and a dedication to getting you to know members of the unit - mainly because they'll be killed as you make your way through the game.
All of those things add up to an experience that's greater than the sum of their parts, and though the game rests heavily on clichés from previous WWII shooters - there's a rail shooting section, a capture-and-hold section, a vehicle driving section, a crawl through the backstreets of Italy - it's the style and intensity that keeps the whole thing interesting.
It's important to note, though, that as good as all these things are, the game still falters a bit in a couple of small things, and when those are stacked against the already familiar territory in the locales (a lot of what's here -- Central Europe, Northern Africa, Italy -- is lifted set and setting from the first game), it creates a pretty sizeable chasm to cross in order to just get into the meat of the experience. It's still a hell of a lot of fun to digest, scripted chaos and all, but there's a nagging feeling at the back of your mind that it's not quite as alive as it all seems.
This will invariably leap to the fore the first couple of times you try to go through a door, then backtrack a bit to catch up with your AI squadmates, only to have them kick through the exact same door to move on. Sure, it keeps things tight and decidedly less Rambo-like, but the feeling that all the action is funneled down one channel so that all the neato explosions and things falling from the sky and tanks marching towards you whether or not you want them there is inescapable.
For all the times when you're forced to walk that line that the development team so meticulously set forth for you, though, there's at least twice as many moments where all the scripting and the little motion-captured bits fall into place in just the right manner as to give a glimpse into the first real hints that an interactive version of Saving Private Ryan is in the works. The controls are wonderfully tight and responsive and the interaction between the rest of your squad as entertaining as it is canned.
But, once again, I'm eating my words. It's a smaller serving of humble pie, but it serves the same purpose: I once again think I can get into WWII FPSes. Thank you, Big Red One, and especially you, developers Treyarch and Grey Matter, for cutting through my cynicism. It may not have the looks or the smoothness of even other CoD games, but BRO is certainly game enough to hang with them.
Chalk it up an equal-parts ratio of source material. You have the Big Red One, the most highly decorated unit to come out of WWII and who you play as through the whole game. You have the presentation, which sacrifices some of the whiz-band technology of the PC and Xbox360 big brothers for spectacular acoustics and solid scripted sequences. Finally, you have attention to detail in reproducing individual, historically acurate missions, a voice cast largely lifted from HBO's amazing Band of Brothers mini-series and a dedication to getting you to know members of the unit - mainly because they'll be killed as you make your way through the game.
All of those things add up to an experience that's greater than the sum of their parts, and though the game rests heavily on clichés from previous WWII shooters - there's a rail shooting section, a capture-and-hold section, a vehicle driving section, a crawl through the backstreets of Italy - it's the style and intensity that keeps the whole thing interesting.
It's important to note, though, that as good as all these things are, the game still falters a bit in a couple of small things, and when those are stacked against the already familiar territory in the locales (a lot of what's here -- Central Europe, Northern Africa, Italy -- is lifted set and setting from the first game), it creates a pretty sizeable chasm to cross in order to just get into the meat of the experience. It's still a hell of a lot of fun to digest, scripted chaos and all, but there's a nagging feeling at the back of your mind that it's not quite as alive as it all seems.
This will invariably leap to the fore the first couple of times you try to go through a door, then backtrack a bit to catch up with your AI squadmates, only to have them kick through the exact same door to move on. Sure, it keeps things tight and decidedly less Rambo-like, but the feeling that all the action is funneled down one channel so that all the neato explosions and things falling from the sky and tanks marching towards you whether or not you want them there is inescapable.
For all the times when you're forced to walk that line that the development team so meticulously set forth for you, though, there's at least twice as many moments where all the scripting and the little motion-captured bits fall into place in just the right manner as to give a glimpse into the first real hints that an interactive version of Saving Private Ryan is in the works. The controls are wonderfully tight and responsive and the interaction between the rest of your squad as entertaining as it is canned.
