Call of Duty! (Call of Duty (PC))

Name: shaneo632

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Product:	Call of Duty (PC)
Date:	24/03/08 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very well-presented, good graphics for the time....

Disadvantages: Fairly short, in no way difficult...

With the recent release of Call of Duty 4, I feel it encumbent to review the first entry into the series.

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Game: Call of Duty
Format: PC
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release Date: October 29th, 2003

Although Call of Duty was released 4 and a half years ago, it can be considered a palpable and valuable influence upon first-person shooters of the present day. For every stellar shooter at the time, such as Medal of Honour, Call of Duty seemed to provide a counter-balance and a comprimise to some of that game's more awkward game mechanics.

Gameplay
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The gameplay mechanics are very basic, and will be familiar to anyone attuned to FPS games; you shoot fleet after fleet of soldiers that run at you, whilst completing a number of adjectives. There are several levels where you will be riding shotgun in a car whilst gunning down enemies, so things are mixed up somewhat. I have heard several people claim that you simply can't "run and gun" in Call of Duty, although in playing the Normal difficulty, I didn't find this to be much of a problem; I could happy tear through hordes of Nazis with a light machine gun. Naturally, higher difficulties will mean that this is not possible, yet I expect that most people will play on the Normal difficulty and therefore it is best to mention this; the game will not give you much of a challenge at all on standard settings. Much of this can also be attributed to the fact that there is a quicksave option, meaning that you will never have to backtrack much if you keep a finger close to the F5 button, although I would rather a game be less frustrating and easy than ridiculously difficult and not fun, so this is not a complaint as such. Note: I actually believe that whilst playing the game (in one sitting), I died about half a dozen times or less.

Call of Duty is not a particularly long game; having picked it up just last night at 6:30pm for another go, I had completed it rather leisurely by 1am. It's a snappy title, but this does little to take away from the fact that it is tight, taught and well-crafted; it never seems too long or boring.

Graphics
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In 2008, CoD's graphics are not up to much, yet in 2003, these were not bad at all. The textures seem rather bland now, yet it is nevertheless interesting to remark how far the series has come visually. The explosion effects, however, still stand up fairly well, and the aesthetics should not irk anyone who is already fairly enamoured with the CoD series.

Sound
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CoD's sound department still holds up far better than its visuals do; as with the Medal of Honour series, the shouts of your comrades, the malevolent laughter of your Nazi scum enemies, and the various gunshots, explosions and allusions to chaos are wonderfully captured. Furthermore, the soundtrack resembles something you might see in a film fairly accurately; it all adds up to create a stellar, inviting, engaging atmosphere.

Value
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The single-player campaign can be beaten in an evening, yet it is likely to have you coming back at least once more, if not several times. The online mode adds hours of fun, although I cannot profess to have tried it much. At this stage, it is likely worth picking up the "United Offensive" expansion (which is considerably more challenging than this game, albeit shorter), which is by now ridiculously cheap (and is often bundled with this title for about £10).

Summary
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Call of Duty was a groundbreaking FPS game upon release, and had led the path for dozens of shooters that have followed it. It is difficult to attest that it is entirely satisfying due to its short length, yet in this respect it is perfect for a night in with a beer and lots of food. The game is economically paced, visually attuned (for its time), and presented slickly throughout. Overall, the game holds up very well almost five years on, and thus, one cannot deem the game to be anything less than a great success. Infinity Ward certainly kept up the good work following this release, and I hope that they continue with this series far into the future.

Summary: A satisfying, if quick and easy FPS game...