Call of Duty: Finest 40 hours....

I could tell from the commercials that I would like this video game.

To say that this video game is above average would be a bit of a stretch, but it is certainly a very solid and well-playing video game. I'll go over it throughly, and then discuss it's only cons.

STORY

The game takes place in WWII, but unlike other WWII games, you get to play many different characters in this one. You essentially get to "meet" the character that you are about to play inbetween levels, which puts an interesting spin on things. Not to mention that you get to be every nationality that was against Germany in the war: Russians, Americans, Austrians, Europeans...I'm not much on history, but I'm pretty sure that there's one of every kind in this game.

The game is deep. There are parts that make you just sort of go, "whoa"...like in the very beginning when you're russian and you're on a lifeboat heading towards shore, your commander is yelling at you, I guess trying to get you pumped up for the war, and half way through his speech one of the other guys on the boat jumps off because he's scared, and the commander starts firing shots at him, screaming, "cowards will be shot! defend our country! do not count minutes, do not count days, county only the number of german soldiers that you kill! This is the wish of your mother! fight fight fight!" I mean...this guy is serious, the voice acting is good, and quite frankly, parts of the game like this gave me chills.

There are parts of the game that require you to actually read the things that come up on the screen, because it is usually some type of directions (i.e. protect the tank, escort so-and-so, etc.). If you're not paying attention and miss these cues, you're screwed because you might not know what you're supposed to be doing.

GAMEPLAY

The game is a FPS (first person shooter), which is my favorite type of game to play. But there's more to it than that: it's a first person shooter that is REALLY in the first person. What I mean by this is: I like games like Max Payne, but in my opinion, since you can see his body or at least his head through most of the game, it's a third person shooter...NOT a first. I like FIRST person shooters, where the only part of your character that you see is the rifle and maybe a hand or two. Nothing else. Well, that's the way that Call of Duty is, which is why I loved it right off the bat. All you see is the muzzle of the gun...pure and simple, true first person.

It plays well. The controls are easy enough, but they break the "typical" FPS control regiment. But, the controls do make sense and therefore don't cause much of a problem. They didn't even really take that long to get used to, which is great. They make good use of the controller, and get used to that black button, you'll use it quite a bit.

The game looks good. The graphics are very "medal of honor"ish, and gameplay is also similar. Chances are if you liked Medal of Honor (one or two), you'll love this game. There are subtle differences, however. Like the fact that you can only carry two guns. The gun system is Halo-style, meaning that if you see a gun on the ground, you can trade it for the gun that you have in your hand....or choose not to. This is both a good and a bad thing. It's a good thing because if you run out of ammo for one thing, just run around and find another gun and you're good to go. It's a bad thing because if you have three guns that you really really like, well, you have to put one down. :(

Let's talk a bit about on-screen displays. The health system in this game is a bit different, but I like it. There's two types of health: a pack, which you can grab and carry around with you until you need it (you can carry up to four packs), and a little round tin, which you can only use immediately. This is pretty interesting, because it means that if you're smart and you stack up on health packs, you can use them later in the heat of battle. Then you have your compass, which includes a bright golden star that represents your goal, or where you need to be. If you always follow the gold star on your compass, you'll never be lost.

Also on the screen is your stance display (ghost recon style, you can stand, crouch or lie down), your weapon information, any grenades you've got, and last but not least, your aiming recticle. After all, the crosshairs are the most important part of a FPS, right? The crosshairs in this game are also Ghost Recon style, meaning that the crosshairs are very large (scattered shots) when you're moving, but narrow down to a smaller area when you're being still. This basically means that you have better aim when you're not moving (makes sense). On all sides of the crosshairs are little red areas that will pop up when you're being shot, to let you know which direction the fire is coming from.

The guns are pretty neat in the game. You've got your basic bolt action rifles, some machine guns and a sniper. Pretty solid selection, and you won't run out of ammo if you pick a gun that your current enemy uses (so after you kill them you can take their ammo). Most machine guns have no zoom at all, but most every thing else has at least a small zoom, with the sniper rifle having a pretty good zoom (obviously).

The game is a little more difficult than medal of honor. This is because, like the previews boasted, Call of Duty is very realistic. There are times where you will be overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation that you are in, and sometimes there so many bullets flying around that you're not sure where they're coming from. This makes the game interesting though, and my suggestion if you find yourself in this situation is to just lie down and crawl around until you find some cover.

You do have quite a bit of help in the game; out of all the missions in the game I can't remember any where I didn't have a team of some sort. You won't have to worry about controlling them, though. This isn't squad-based; they will do their own thing. If they get in your way, just beat them in the back until they move, you won't hurt 'em.

Along with your teammates in the game, you'll also have quite a bit of mechanical help. Tanks, jeeps, and a plane or two will grace the game, and whether they make the mission easier or more difficult, they always make it fun. Not to mention that you get to drive these beasts...meaning you can run over germans instead of shooting them (which always makes for tons of fun)!

MUSIC & GRAPHICS

The music in the game is worth taking note of. It doesn't quite compare to some of the music heard in games like Medal of Honor, but it's far better than most video-game music. It doesn't interfere with gameplay though, which is my favorite part of any music. I hate music that's going to ruin the game. I already said the graphics are good. They're not RPG amazing, but for an FPS, I think they're pretty good. Especially during the cut-scenes.

MULTIPLAYER

The game says multiplayer, but don't get all excited. You can't play multiplayer unless you have Xbox Live or work off of a system link. While I haven't played it on Xbox live yet, (my subscription expired) I'm sure that it's amazing online. But now that I've reviewed the whole game, I should probably go back over and give you some parts that aren't so great.

NOT SO GREAT

First of all, the game does have quite a few bugs in it. There are parts where the screen and music will freeze for a few seconds, but then it will fix itself and all is well. At least it doesn't completely freeze.

Also there are times that men will get hung up on things. While I personally haven't gotten hung yet, I have seen other soldiers (enemy and good-guys) get stuck on scenery pieces. This isn't good, but it's not detrimental to gameplay and it can be kind of funny to watch.

One of the things that makes the game so hard is that there are times that I feel like I am shooting somebody DEAD ON, but not hitting them. I don't necessarily think that this is a bug, but maybe certain guns aren't great at long distances, maybe some guns are more accurate than others. Either way, that can be a pain sometimes, but it doesn't happen enough to make you want to go into "throw the controller" mode.

OVERALL

Overall, I'd say that this is a great game. Other than the few bugs I mentioned, gameplay is solid and the game itself isn't cheesy or cheap-looking. It has a good feel to it, and it's pretty addicting, which I credit partially to the fact that it is a difficult game. It's neat, accurate, and exciting. If you like first person shooters, go ahead and get it. If not, at least rent it, it will be worth it.

I know that with this being christmas time and all, I might get a few parents on here that may want to buy this game for their kids. And to them I say: Sure, why not? This game is violent (you shoot people, of course it's violent), but it's not gory (AT ALL). It's also educational...this sounds stupid, but I learned more about WWII in this game than I ever did in High School (part of the problem these days). And the troops don't curse too much. You won't hear the really bad words, but an occasional "bloody hell" or "I don't give a da**" is to be expected. That's my view on it, anyway!

Thanks for reading and let me know if I missed anything...it's been a while since I wrote a video game review! :)