Call Of Duty 3

The year is 1944. Paris is in the hands of Nazi Germany. But you’ll have something to say about that, right?

Call of Duty 3 smacks of effort. Clearly, a lot of trouble has been taken to give it, not a truly historical feel, but rather a truly Hollywood-war-film feel. I think, more than anything else, Call of Duty 3 wishes it was Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, it isn’t; and, often as not, the game’s attempts to be overly cinematic turn out to be a chore for the player.

That’s not to say that Call of Duty 3 isn’t good. As far as WWII shooters go (and these days, they’re basically a genre unto themselves), it’s pretty impressive. But the failure to pull off that movie quality which it so obviously aims for is not just a disappointment – it’s a distraction. It’s a pity, because what I see in this game is a lot of unrealised potential: as it stands, it’s a solid upgrade for the Call of Duty model, with pretty graphics, a brand new campaign focus, and an overbearing story that never quite hooks you; but it’s so close to having that filmic quality – so close to telling its story in an effective and powerful way that most video games dream of.

The game begins, predictably enough, with some training. Nothing exciting, of course – but it is mercifully short: you shoot at some helmets on sticks, lob a couple of misappropriated grenades, and then you’re pretty much good to go. It seems like they’ve got this part very right. There is just enough time in which to realise you’ve already got most of the controls under …uhh, control (because they’re the same as every other console FPS, more or less), and to learn about grenades. In Call of Duty 3 you can ‘cook’ your grenades, meaning you hold onto them before throwing so that there isn’t time for them to be thrown back; it’s a fine art though, because if you hold on too long you end with a grenade exploding in your hand (not a good look).

Even at this early stage, the graphics impress. The level of detail is amazing. Plus, there are some beautiful shots of the French landscape. The sound, too, is very high quality – but has some issues as well. Gunfire, heavy shelling, and even the voices are all top notch. However, I noticed that the voices can be very difficult to hear if you’re more than a couple of metres away from the person speaking, or facing the wrong way; the volume adjustment for voice is just too damned sensitive! I don’t know why this is – perhaps Call of Duty 3 is set up for surround sound (however, this would only be a good excuse if there were some clear way to change the settings for those of us with more modest home entertainment systems). At any rate: it makes staying with the story and following orders a challenge at times, and not in a good way.

Once training is done, the real action begins. The action itself is enjoyable; however, it gets bogged down quite frequently with too much ‘lights, camera’. While some of the cinematic set pieces are effective, most just seem to be trying too hard. So generally it just feels like they’re cutting into valuable game time. The bottom line: I’ve barely been introduced to these characters, so when they get killed, it’s a tough job to try and make me care too much.

In addition to this, each new mission is introduced by an informative and epic-seeming, but at heart rather dull, documentary-style clip. And, unfortunately, if you die and have to restart the level, or if you save and then load in the wrong place, you’ll be forced to watch it all over again. Seriously: would it have been that hard to make the movie skippable?!

Underneath its efforts to win an Oscar, though, Call of Duty 3 plays out pretty much as you’d expect. The missions are various, but nothing out of the ordinary. And it’s a good balance between gung-ho run-and-gun and slow strategic stealth and sniping (however, to be honest I think using a controller rather than a mouse and keyboard is more effective for run-and-gun games).

Although the campaign is split into four parts, where you fight first as an American, and then as British, Canadian and Polish soldiers (the latter two being particularly interesting inclusions), everything revolves around the liberation of Nazi-occupied Paris. This means the campaign is more focused than the previous titles in the series, but otherwise not much has changed. The types of missions and locations feel pretty similar (although they obviously look much prettier this time around). But that’s fine: it’s a good formula, and I doubt anyone wants it messed with too much.

Unfortunately, there isn’t that much game there to play. The first portion is over in what seems a ridiculously short space of time, and you can probably knock the whole single player campaign out in about eight hours. But then, of course, there’s the multiplayer. It is a testament to the popularity of Call of Duty multiplayer that it featured prominently in the American TV series The Office. Number 3 really brings out the big guns, allowing up to 24 players at once, on 9 different maps, with 6 different modes of play. And, Call of Duty 3 allows for a combination of internet and split-screen play: your game over Xbox Live! could consist of 24 players on only 6 Xboxes.

There are always things that grate about a game. Some titles have sloppy controls; others, terrible soundtracks (not this one, though: Call of Duty 3 has a smashing orchestral score). Call of Duty 3 has its share of bugs. People get stuck every now and again; the sound is problematic for non surround-sound users. And it bugs me that you can’t climb on rubble – even the sort that a child could safely play on. I want to criticize the over-the-top Hollywood air the game tries to produce as well. But, even though I don’t think it worked out as planned, I do like what the developers were trying to achieve; so I can’t be too hard on them. It’s still a great game, in spite of its flaws. And it’s out now!