Chandler
New member
When Wolfenstein 3-D came out, I was immediately in love. It was the first game that allowed players to walk around in a first-person view while shooting Nazi hordes. This was groundbreaking in its time but since its release, first-person games where you shoot Nazis have become a cliché in the gaming industry. The most recent form of this cliché has come in the form of the World War II shooter. Over the past few years, the video game market has been flooded with one World War II shooter after another with no end in sight. While the first couple may have been fairly epic and enjoyable, perhaps it is now time to stop kicking this dead horse’s decayed corpse.
Call of Duty 3 continues milking WWII for every battle it has by having players trying to close the Falaise Gap. This is the battle that liberated Paris from German occupation. To complete this task, you will play on the side of the Allies as members of the American, British, Polish, and Canadian forces. Unfortunately, Call of Duty 3’s interweaving storyline isn’t very compelling and doesn’t really endear any of the game’s characters to you. This results in the game feeling like fourteen disconnected levels where you are just trying to kill the people who are trying to kill you. While this can still be satisfying, I just wish the game had a little more to offer in the story department.
Although the game’s story is somewhat of a letdown, the gameplay is what will really drive you through this title. Call of Duty 3 plays fairly well with only a few minor exceptions. The game has some instances of poor hit detection. There were several times that I had an enemy’s head in my sights when I pulled the trigger and they didn’t seem to take any damage at all. Also, while hiding behind cover, I also took damage from some bullets that could never have hit me unless they could teleport through solid matter (a boulder). Ally characters also tend to be more of a liability than an asset. Too often you find that you can’t move because an ally blocks your path. They also have a tendency to get in the way of your perfectly lined up shots at just the moment you want to shoot.
Every so often, the game will require you to operate a vehicle to achieve your mission. While driving a tank is pretty sweet, the jeep racing segments are fairly lame and often times more difficult than they have to be. Finding your way to the next checkpoint is often reduced to guessing which road you think could possibly lead you in the right direction and then backtracking when you guess wrong. This could have easily been avoided with an arrow at the top of the screen that points you in the correct direction. The last issue I have with this game is in its new melee attack. While it is a good addition to the game, it is horribly unbalanced. Nine times out of ten, it only takes one melee attack to kill your enemy while it can take several bullets to do the same trick. This was actually one of the most entertaining parts of the game for me. Often I played through levels trying to see if I could kill more Germans with the butt of my gun than with the barrel. My kamikaze-like melee attack antics usually paid off and made playing through the game far too easy. While these problems (besides melee combat) do detract from the fun of this game, none are bad enough to ruin its overall experience.
Players will still be able to enjoy the hectic WWII shooter action that is present in Call of Duty 3. As you would expect, the game is full of historically accurate weaponry, vehicles, and backdrops. Each of the game’s levels are broken down into various missions that you will need to complete to proceed to the next. There are a good variety of tasks to complete with some even offering you different choices in how to complete them. One example of this is in a level where you can either storm a trench or you can position yourself on a hill and give the siege team some sniper cover. While this does add some depth to the game, it doesn’t change the rest of the mission after the event. The standard cover and gun gameplay is broken up from time to time by some driving and cinematic button pressing mini-games. As I mentioned, some of the driving missions are fairly lame but the occasional tank assaults are very fun. These cinematic mini-games function much like in Resident Evil 4. They pop up when planting bombs and when some hidden enemies attack you. In both instances, you will need to complete some minimal button presses to achieve your goal.
Where this game really shines is in the sound department. Call of Duty 3’s soundtrack is full of orchestral scores that really get you into the combat and help to convey the mood of each situation. The voice acting is also well done, accentuating the wide variety of different personalities present in the game’s many characters. Each gun in the game also has a unique sound, as well as feel, to help showcase the differences in your choices of weaponry. Every sound effect from the noise created by wine spilling out of a bullet-riddled barrel to the ringing in your ears after a large explosion is very crisp and really draws you into the experience.
While the game is not incredibly original or terribly compelling, Call of Duty 3 isn’t a bad game. There is definitely fun to be had playing through this title as long as you aren’t turned off by yet another WWII shooter. The only major problem I have with this game is that it has all been done before. If you’ve played several WWII shooters, you won’t find anything really new here. If you are a fan of the genre, you should definitely play this game. If not, Call of Duty 3 is just more of the same and should probably not rank high on your list of titles to seek out and play.
Game Features:
Call of Duty 3 continues milking WWII for every battle it has by having players trying to close the Falaise Gap. This is the battle that liberated Paris from German occupation. To complete this task, you will play on the side of the Allies as members of the American, British, Polish, and Canadian forces. Unfortunately, Call of Duty 3’s interweaving storyline isn’t very compelling and doesn’t really endear any of the game’s characters to you. This results in the game feeling like fourteen disconnected levels where you are just trying to kill the people who are trying to kill you. While this can still be satisfying, I just wish the game had a little more to offer in the story department.
Although the game’s story is somewhat of a letdown, the gameplay is what will really drive you through this title. Call of Duty 3 plays fairly well with only a few minor exceptions. The game has some instances of poor hit detection. There were several times that I had an enemy’s head in my sights when I pulled the trigger and they didn’t seem to take any damage at all. Also, while hiding behind cover, I also took damage from some bullets that could never have hit me unless they could teleport through solid matter (a boulder). Ally characters also tend to be more of a liability than an asset. Too often you find that you can’t move because an ally blocks your path. They also have a tendency to get in the way of your perfectly lined up shots at just the moment you want to shoot.
Every so often, the game will require you to operate a vehicle to achieve your mission. While driving a tank is pretty sweet, the jeep racing segments are fairly lame and often times more difficult than they have to be. Finding your way to the next checkpoint is often reduced to guessing which road you think could possibly lead you in the right direction and then backtracking when you guess wrong. This could have easily been avoided with an arrow at the top of the screen that points you in the correct direction. The last issue I have with this game is in its new melee attack. While it is a good addition to the game, it is horribly unbalanced. Nine times out of ten, it only takes one melee attack to kill your enemy while it can take several bullets to do the same trick. This was actually one of the most entertaining parts of the game for me. Often I played through levels trying to see if I could kill more Germans with the butt of my gun than with the barrel. My kamikaze-like melee attack antics usually paid off and made playing through the game far too easy. While these problems (besides melee combat) do detract from the fun of this game, none are bad enough to ruin its overall experience.
Players will still be able to enjoy the hectic WWII shooter action that is present in Call of Duty 3. As you would expect, the game is full of historically accurate weaponry, vehicles, and backdrops. Each of the game’s levels are broken down into various missions that you will need to complete to proceed to the next. There are a good variety of tasks to complete with some even offering you different choices in how to complete them. One example of this is in a level where you can either storm a trench or you can position yourself on a hill and give the siege team some sniper cover. While this does add some depth to the game, it doesn’t change the rest of the mission after the event. The standard cover and gun gameplay is broken up from time to time by some driving and cinematic button pressing mini-games. As I mentioned, some of the driving missions are fairly lame but the occasional tank assaults are very fun. These cinematic mini-games function much like in Resident Evil 4. They pop up when planting bombs and when some hidden enemies attack you. In both instances, you will need to complete some minimal button presses to achieve your goal.
Where this game really shines is in the sound department. Call of Duty 3’s soundtrack is full of orchestral scores that really get you into the combat and help to convey the mood of each situation. The voice acting is also well done, accentuating the wide variety of different personalities present in the game’s many characters. Each gun in the game also has a unique sound, as well as feel, to help showcase the differences in your choices of weaponry. Every sound effect from the noise created by wine spilling out of a bullet-riddled barrel to the ringing in your ears after a large explosion is very crisp and really draws you into the experience.
While the game is not incredibly original or terribly compelling, Call of Duty 3 isn’t a bad game. There is definitely fun to be had playing through this title as long as you aren’t turned off by yet another WWII shooter. The only major problem I have with this game is that it has all been done before. If you’ve played several WWII shooters, you won’t find anything really new here. If you are a fan of the genre, you should definitely play this game. If not, Call of Duty 3 is just more of the same and should probably not rank high on your list of titles to seek out and play.
Game Features:
- The Power of Next-Gen – Built from the ground-up for next-gen consoles, Call of Duty 3 brings the battle to life with advanced graphics, a new physics engine, a procedural environment and detailed ensemble animations that deliver the most cinematic war experience ever.
- Battle Actions – An all-new close-quarters battle mechanic allows players to fight hand-to-hand, improvise explosive devices, disarm traps and execute a host of other battlefield situations that require cunning and rapid reflexes to survive.
- Branching Mission Paths – Next-generation level design provides multiple attack routes that let players decide how to confront the enemy – flank an opponent, or hit him head-on. Each unique mission path requires special tactics, from sniping and demolition to all-out head-on clashes.
- Nowhere to Hide – Environmental physics allow players to destroy enemy soft cover hideouts, forcing foes out in the open. But be wary, opponents can eliminate your protective cover as well.
- Team-based Multiplayer with Vehicles – Combined arms and team-based combat provides unprecedented depth and variety by allowing up to 24-players to battle it out online with the option of single or split-screen Internet play. Gamers have the choice to play as infantry or commandeer multiple-occupancy vehicles, including tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles with side-cars, leading to unique mobile combat roles for all-out, multiplayer mayhem. Call of Duty 3 also offers soldier classes, each with class specific abilities, and a ranking system for truly diversified squad combat.
