Scully ON THE GAME

Call Of Duty 2: Big Red One

Ever since 'Medal of Honour' first graced the PSone, developers have been striving to deliver ever more accurate accounts of the events of the Second World War and 'Big Red One' is no exception, as it follows the exploits of the Fighting First though North Africa, Sicily, Normandy and on across Europe into Germany. Big Red One is the nickname given to the US Army's 1 st Infantry Division from the large crimson '1' on the shoulder of their uniform.

It's been a while since we had a decent WWII first person shooter. 'Medal of Honour' set the standard, and for sometime had virtually no competition, but the series derailed with 'Rising Sun' and the latest, 'European Assault', is a bit of a mess. I know that the 'Brothers in Arms' games get good press but they left me cold and the first Call Of Duty game, Finest Hour, only made me want play MOH again. So let's take a look at the sequel.

Big Red One has you playing as part of a squad of troopers who stay with you throughout the game. Here I started to worry that I was going to have to start guiding the squad, issuing commands and protecting members. In short, was my first-person shooter going to turn into a strategy game? Thankfully not. Sgt Hawkins will guide you and your men through each mission, the other soldiers adding to the gameplay rather than becoming a distraction. It's worth mentioning at this point the quality of the voice acting here, as this is often overlooked or seen as unimportant. The banter between your comrades is a big plus and adds to the feel of the game, giving extra continuity to individual campaigns and missions. This makes it a feel more of a complete game rather than just a series of gunfights. They're also there to dispense advice and guidance while playing, "take cover" being a useful safety tip.

Each level is broken down into a series of objectives that appear as the level progresses. Assault a hill or a bunker, take out three anti-aircraft guns, defend a location, all familiar types of objectives but thrown up in a way that never becomes tedious. Any level can have you clearing out a building, treading carefully from room to room at one moment, then sitting in a field looking for cover while a mass of Stormtroopers descends on you in the next.

The first thing that hits you is the sound (actually the second thing for me, I should have ducked sooner). The thump of the howitzers really makes the room shake and there is an almost constant staccato of gunfire. It's unrelenting and very cool. My poor neighbours.

The variety of locations is also a plus. Taking on Rommel in the desert, the fields and villages in France, in the trenches, night missions in Sicily and bright snow filled towns in Germany all provide different backdrops. One level sees you driving a tank against the Panzers which is great fun, and in several others you use anti-aircraft emplacements and mounted machineguns, but being a gunner on a Liberator bomber sticks out like a sore thumb. It feels tacked on and is a bit of a waste of space. Considering the quality of the rest, the bombing section looks like it was created in playschool. My niece is 5 and she can draw better than that.

I want to touch on historical accuracy for a moment as this is always something I'm in two minds about and something that this genre of game always strives to achieve. Anything that adds to the memory and educates people about the heroic efforts and sacrifices made during the war is a good thing, if for no other reason than to stop it happening again. But this is a video game, and the aim is to have fun killing as many pixelated Nazis as possible. Not exactly the best way to educate, nor an attempt to show that war is bad, but it does add to the realism of the game which is, after all, what the developers are after. All the weaponry and armour is from the war. Your M1 Garand rifle has 8 rounds. Use them, then get your head down fast. The MG34 machine gun has a 75 round clip but takes forever to set up on the bipod and you're a sitting duck while you reload. You get the idea. There's no collecting endless rounds and a dozen guns here, you can only carry two at any time, so you need to know your weapon. You can also swap whatever you are carrying for anything you find lying on the ground, so when you do run out of ammo, just pick up a new gun.

The enemy AI is also very good. Waving your gun around generally always invites enemy fire, but when you look down the sights to try a bit of sniping, the enemy solders all take cover. Spoil sports. It's the AI of your own squad that becomes a pain. In tight spaces they sometimes block your path of retreat and often wander into your field of fire, obscuring the target.

Another slight annoyance is the occasional spike in difficulty. In general the curve is just right, the game getting gradually harder as it progresses, but there are moments of frustration when it becomes near impossible.

On the other hand the graphics are superb, easily some of the best I've seen, coping well with unending action, gunfire and explosions. Together with the top notch sound, they make this a very atmospheric game.

Conclusion

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is the best game WWII action game I've played. It's intense and involving and flows incredibly well. The level of difficulty is spot on (bar the odd spike) and the sound and vision are easily amongst the best I've seen. A highly recommended addition to any collection.

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Call Of Duty 2: Big Red One
A bloody and violent adventure. Excellent graphics, sound and gameplay make this the best in its class.
Overall Rating:	9 out of 10
ESRB Rating:	Teen (13+)
Publisher:	Activision
Available for:	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube