Tech Olive

As a long-time fan of the Call of Duty (CoD) series, I know of the abominations known as the Treyarch-developed CoD games. However, I have been looking forward to this one, hoping that they had learned their lesson. Many people are opposed to the choice of returning to WWII, but I see it as a good thing. I enjoyed CoD2 so much that I would love another tour of duty through the second world war. It’s kind of a nice farewell and it can’t go too horribly wrong considering the fact that it’s been built on the CoD4 graphics engine. Because of that fact, I’ll be comparing this game to its predecessor, CoD4 quite a bit.

First I’ll start with the graphics and the art style. The graphics are much the same as the previous CoD, as would be expected, with small updates. The lighting looks much better, especially on the night maps. The reflection mapping is pretty good too. The weapons however, seem to only be slightly updated models from CoD2. Granted, it is still a beta, but the weapons do not look as well as I think they should. The player models are very detailed, even more so then CoD4. They are much more vocal on the battlefield, which adds to the immersion. You can even hear the enemy troops yelling when they throw a grenade or reload.

The Beta includes three playable maps; Castle, Makin, and Roundhouse.

Castle- As the name implies, this map is based in a large Imperial castle. It’s a great all around map for sniping, assault, and close-combat.

Makin- This is a map based on a small village on the shoreline, set at night, and with mostly close-quarters combat because of all the huts located within the map.

Roundhouse- A large and open map set in a wrecked train yard. Plenty of cover and places to hide inside and around all the broken train cars. Not to mention the use of the tanks found on the map.

This game also features two new game types, along with familiar ones from previous CoD games.

Capture the Flag – Much as you would expect, this game type consists of stealing the opposing team’s flag and bringing it back to your flag to score a point. The team with the most points at the end of the round wins.

War – In this game type, you and your team fight for control of five different points, marked with flags. The first team to capture all five is the victor, or the team holding the most flags at the end of the time limit.

This is also the first Call of Duty game in a long time to offer the use of vehicles in online play. These actually add a nice change of pace to the game. When used properly, they can be very effective offensively. The only vehicle available in the beta is a light tank. It can be found on the Roundhouse map. It seats two people; one at the controls and main cannon, another at the mounted machine gun on the top.

This game has a lot going for it. It features all kinds of new things for the series including dismemberment, much better sounds and textures, and better level design. However, I do not think that this game will be better than CoD4. As far as online goes, the movements seem much less fluid and natural. Everything seems to work, but not work as well as it did in CoD4. Maybe I’m being too critical. Maybe I’m holding too tightly to CoD4, wishing that this would be more of the same, but no matter how you put it, I feel that it has turned out to be less fun to play then it’s predecessor. While the dogs and vehicles do add to the fun, it’s just not enough to make it better. I’m hoping that the final release of the game shows quite a bit of change and polishing because kept as it is, I’m not sure how much I will enjoy it upon release. I guess time will tell.

Score: 7 Olives