WW II games

[nexor]

Nope I haven't played COD 2, but have played World At War and I agree with you, I wasn't very impressed.
Another old one I have is Deadly Dozen from Infogrames developed by nFusion in 2001, a much better game than a lot that came out after it.

[PZ]

I too have played World at War; when the game was over I thought to myself "is that it? ... I must be missing something..."

I've not played CoD2, but will look for it in the bargain bins.

One relatively recent WWII game I liked despite it's linear nature was Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway

[Fiach]

I dont play WWII games cos I never know which damn weapon to pick up, usually get stuck with some single shot pos.

CoD WaW was a cool game iirc, it also ties in storywise/characters with some of the newer releases I seem to remember.

[fragger]

Here's a clip someone posted of some CoD 2 mayhem some years ago (clip quality isn't the best, so please make allowances):

Call of Duty 2 PC Gameplay

What you see and hear is very typical of the game: it's noisy, immersive, no-nonsense combat that doesn't stop for a moment (did I mention there's a lot of yelling? :-()), with the emphasis on individual mission completion as opposed to the unfolding scripted storyline approach that is characteristic of later CoD titles. There's little or no stealth in this game! You always play the part of a common footslogging dogface in the lines, not some Special Forces übermensch, and you always have a bunch of comrades with you (if any of them die - and they do - replacements will come and join you, spawning from somewhere out of your line of sight then running up to the action, so that you never end up alone. And no, you don't have to command them, they'll look after themselves). What it lacks in graphics brilliance it makes up for in sheer playability. Having said that, the graphics are actually excellent for a seven-year-old game, even by today's standards.

The music is terrific, like major movie soundtrack quality and is in fact recorded by a real live orchestra, not sampled or synthesized. No head-banging rock or anything either - that bit you hear at the end of the clip has been dubbed in by whoever posted it. There's none of that in the game.

Regarding length, it's more generous than any of the other CoD games that have been made since, IMO. WaW seemed only about half as long.

If I'm waxing a bit lyrical about this game it's because it's one that I've always dug. You've probably gathered that :-()

[nexor]

Looks very good for an oldish game, thanks fragger, will lookout for it  :-X

[PZ]

That's exactly my kind of game; reminds me of Brothers in Arms:HH.  Will definitely look out for it - thanks for posting the video fragger  :-X

[Art Blade]

I played it when it was new, I think it was my first CoD game. I remember the thrill and even fear (wanting to simply stay alive) and all the non-stop action. I still remember a few situations that can rightfully be called "close-quarters combat" and man, victory really was satisfying.  :)

[fragger]

It was my first CoD too, after getting hooked on the Medal Of Honor series. Once I got into CoD 2 I thought, "Yeah, this is more like it!" I liked it so much I went out and got the original CoD which was surprisingly long but not as immersive or as slickly action-packed as #2. You didn't have as many comrades with you either and a number of missions had you on your own. Two missions that stood out in CoD 1: An American one which was a fair recreation of the fight at Brecourt Manor (also covered in episode #2 of Band Of Brothers) and the first Russian mission set in Stalingrad which was lifted straight out of Enemy At The Gates. You start with yourself and a crowd of scared and as yet unarmed raw recruits being transported by barge across the Volga towards the blazing city while dive-bombing Stukas and your own commanders harass you. You get ashore and end up in a queue where there's a guy alternately handing out a rifle to one guy in line and then a handful of bullets to the next. He even repeats the same mantra as in the movie "The man with the rifle shoots, the man with the bullets follows him. When the man with the rifle dies, the second man picks up the rifle and keeps shooting!" Naturally you're one of the guys who get the bullets, and you have to persevere until someone else gets the chop and you can pick up their rifle to use. There's even a sequence later where you have to charge across an open area towards the German lines, and if you turn and run back your own commanders will shoot you, just as in the film. Come to think of it, that's where you get the rifle - you have to start that charge with nothing but bullets in your hand ???

I didn't like CoD 1 as much as CoD 2, but it was still very playable and was groundbreaking at the time for WWII games. 1's British campaign also introduced the venerable Captain Price who keeps popping up throughout the CoD series, although I think the Captain Price in the Modern Warfare games is supposed to be the son of the WWII-era guy. He'd be like over 90 years old otherwise ;D

[PZ]

 :-X I even like reading about the WWII games  :-()

[Art Blade]

fragger, I remember that bit of being in a boat about to get off it with nothing but ammo and the mantra guy, too. So I probably did the same thing, played 2 before 1 

[fragger]

 ;)