Call of Duty 3

Review - Standing on the shoulder of giants...

A year after its initial release on the Xbox 360, and there (still) isn't a World War II first-person shooter that comes anywhere close to Call of Duty 2. Despite it not 'quite' convincing in the next-gen stakes, the gaming critics loved Activision and Infinity Ward's hard-hitting and action-packed foray into the WWII experience, and, more importantly, so did the public. Call of Duty 2 quickly became the top-selling Xbox 360 title during the opening months of the console's life - deservedly so - and today remains a force to be reckoned with as the likes of Medal of Honor: Heroes and Medal of Honor: Airborne vie to wrestle some of the limelight away from Activision's landmark adventure.

One year on, and developer Treyarch (Spider-Man 2, Ultimate Spider-Man, Call of Duty: Big Red One) is the name replacing that of Infinity Ward on Call of Duty 3's packaging, and what a pressing weight of expectation that name now bears. Yet, with incredibly strong series blueprints to follow and an established fan base positively drooling at the prospect of stepping back onto the WWII stage, it certainly appeared that Treyarch could (and would) do no wrong. And initial trailers and gameplay clips indicated Call of Duty 3 was indeed building on Infinity Ward's foundations to deliver a truly next-gen progression to the series.

And that's certainly the case - aesthetically. Graphically, Treyarch's game is staggeringly well detailed, portraying a depth of field and environmental elements that are much more believable than those seen previously. Leaves, tree branches, on trees, tall blades of grass react in the breeze, as do vastly improved drifting smoke effects. Vision blurring and delayed character focusing when staring down a weapon's sight is excellent, as is the trampling and flattening of fields by heavy vehicles. In the action department, vehicle and grenade explosions erupt with a visceral ferocity that blows out windows in surrounding buildings and even destroys furniture and banisters, etc, when inside. The level of texture detailing on walls, floors, clothing, weaponry and vehicles is also amazing, and testament to Treyarch's commitment to ramping up the game's tangible authenticity.

Game sound and music is typically grandiose and dramatic, and the constant fizz of screaming hot lead will inspire an inadvertent tendency to duck and lean while playing. And the aforementioned explosions and weaponry are not just powerful visually; pumped through a decent sound system it's more than likely that concerned neighbours will politely ask for a more considerate noise level - or call the police convinced that gang warfare has broken out at 24b. Faux foreign character performances, which range from outrrraaageous French accents through to oddly muddled Canadian and "Hello, old chap, fancy a cup of tea?" stereotypical English, are par for the FPS course, as are the weak and cliched character narratives. One particular sound-based disappoint arises through some truly awful vocal fluctuations during cut-scenes, which subsequently render orders and explanations almost unintelligible. Overall though, Call of Duty 3 convincingly plugs the small visual and aural gaps left by Call of Duty 2 - though it's not this area where we need to focus.

Call of Duty 3 offers scant little improvement over its predecessor's paced and all-encompassing gameplay; in fact, its strictly linear in-game structure and resultant gameplay restrictions are perhaps a minor step back in the series' ongoing evolution. Plenty of small new features have been added to the general Call of Duty package, but they're throwaway, almost gimmicky aspects that serve no influential purpose, and no real importance. Perhaps the biggest of these new features is the close-quarter fighting that can happen when suddenly face-to-face with an enemy. The concept of struggling for control of a single weapon or battling for purchase atop a deadly drop is, of course, intriguing, but all the player needs to do to guarantee never losing these sporadic bouts of 'strength' is repeatedly hammer the left and right triggers and press controller buttons when prompted. Sadly, the abrupt and superbly unsettling close-quarter moments are never conducted in a manner that approaches fulfilling, and thankfully they only invade the usual run-and-gun proceedings occasionally. Then there's the 'hands-on' execution of setting explosive charges-again via button prompts-and the utterly pointless addition of swinging the right thumbstick to row a boat across a river separating two areas of action.

Of course, no Call of Duty would be complete without vehicular levels, and Call of Duty 3 is no different in that regard. However, where Call of Duty 2 used involving tank missions to create a new section of gamplay, and Treyarch's own Big Red One infused a clever aircraft gunner and bombardier element, Call of Duty 3 relies primarily on incredibly dull jeep levels that merely involve driving from one place to another while (invincible) A.I. team mates man the onboard weaponry. Doling out the track-based armament via the trusty Sherman tank does make an all-too brief appearance, but the game's jeep levels serve as mere shallow padding between bouts of frantic lead exchange.

This review is perhaps nitpicking in terms of minor detractions, but they're detractions nonetheless, and they do ultimately effect the game as a whole. The actual in-game action is relentlessly paced (though far too linear and notably easier than Call of Duty 2) across varying WWII theatres and it almost always manages to create edge-of-the-seat set pieces - yet that often singular pacing can eventually lead to a numbness of play. The constant gameplay beating delivered by Call of Duty 3, despite its obvious entertainment value, may well exist as a more 'accurate' account of actual warfare during the 1940s, but in terms of videogame interaction, it quickly grows a little stale. That's not to say that the single-player campaign isn't thrilling, it clearly is, but the quick thrills pale somewhat beside those conjured up during Infinity Ward's yardstick offering. And, when you factor in some unforgivable graphics and A.I. glitches involving characters physically passing through 'solid' obstacles, and single Allied and Axis troops trading fire across only a matter of feet and hitting nothing - much like those comical instances in Police Squad and The Naked Gun - the game seems somehow lacking.

On the up side, the multiplayer gameplay element of Call of Duty 3 will likely atone for any persistent and lingering sense of disappointment left by the short 6-7 hour single-player campaign, as A.I. stupidity and linear guidance are both removed. Up to 24 players can look forward to the adrenaline surge of Xbox Live shenanigans, while the game also supports 4-player split-screen and system link options for those who wish to keep the killing intimate. New to Call of Duty's multiplayer is the inclusion of vehicle usage (motorcycles with sidecars, tanks, trucks, etc), which means filling the chasm left by the campaign's lack of tank-related death. And all of this can be enjoyed in a new character class-based environment through modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and War.

The bottom line here is that Call of Duty 3 looks superb, its action is flowing, its detailing is immense, and its authenticity unmatched, but conversely it provides worthless gameplay extras where extras are simply not necessary, and it detracts from established and proven foundations through occasionally sloppy delivery - in its core single-player element. Surpassing the success of Call of Duty 2 was never going to be easy, but in order for Treyarch to leave a lasting mark on the series, it needed to rely wholeheartedly on proven structural facets and then build convincingly in its own way. As it is, Treyarch has shot wide of the mark on both of those targets in crafting a piece of heart-pounding but flawed entertainment.

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