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Call of Duty 2

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For the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox game, see Call of Duty 2: Big Red One.
Call of Duty 2
Windows version cover
Developer(s)Infinity Ward
Publisher(s)Activision, Aspyr Media, Konami
SeriesCall of Duty
EngineIn-house engine by Infinity Ward.[1]
Platform(s)Windows, Xbox 360, Mac OS X, Mobile phone, Pocket PC/Smartphone
ReleaseWindows


Xbox 360




Mac OS X

Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer, Xbox Live

Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter video game and sequel to the critically acclaimed game Call of Duty. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It was released on October 25, 2005 for PC and November 15, 2005 for the Xbox 360. The game takes place during World War II and features three campaigns, where the player takes the role of a soldier in either the Red Army, the British Army, or the United States Army. Other versions of the game have been released for mobile phones and Pocket PC.

The game was met with a positive public reception, receiving largely positive reviews from critics.[2][3] It sold a large number of copies within weeks of its release with the Xbox 360 version, available at the console's launch, selling in large numbers.[4][5]

The console-only sequel to Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, was released in November 2006. This will be followed by Call of Duty 4, due for release on October 30 2007 for both consoles and the PC.[6]

Gameplay

Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter.[7] The player takes on the role of several Allied protagonists in specific missions during World War II. The player is limited to two different choices of weapons which can be swapped with those left on the battlefield, and also carries both fragmentation and smoke grenades. The player can use the battlefields tactically by taking a kneeling or prone stance in addition to standing, and using cover for both protection and stealth.[8] A compass on the heads-up display (HUD) shows both friends and foes, and objective markers to indicate locations the player must reach, areas to defend, or enemy cannons or tanks that the player must plant explosives on to disable. The player may also use stationary machine guns, mortar cannons, and flak cannons to take out enemy forces, in addition to specific missions where the player takes control of a tank to disable the enemies' tank force.[9]

Should the player take damage, the screen will turn red and the sound of the character's heartbeat will become loud; the player must find a way to stay out of fire to recover before entering battle again or else will die and have to restart at the last checkpoint. Some attacks, like grenade explosions or tank blasts, will kill the player instantly if the player is too close to the center of the explosion.[10]

Multiplayer

Each PC multiplayer server can hold a maximum of 64 players, while the limit is eight players on the Xbox 360. There are a total of 13 official maps, and three of these are remakes from the original Call of Duty.

The maps vary from Normandy, Africa, and Russia during the winter. Each team can choose a variety of weapons, depending on the map and which teams are playing. Depending on the map, players can choose between American soldiers, Soviet soldiers, and British soldiers for the Allied forces, while the Axis forces must play as German soldiers.[11]

Call of Duty 2 features several game types: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, and Headquarters.[12] Many of these game types are retained from the original Call of Duty and its expansion, United Offensive.

In April 2006, Infinity Ward released the Call of Duty 2 Radiant, which allows a player to create their own multiplayer or single player maps.[13] Along with Radiant, the mapmaker includes Maya plug-in support, an effects editor, and an asset manager which allows custom models to be made and imported into the game, as well as custom effects.[13]

Campaign

The Pointe du Hoc mission in the singleplayer campaign.

Call of Duty 2 contains four individual stories, split into three campaigns.[14] Each story concerns a World War II soldier overcoming insurmountable odds in the war.[15]

Battle of Stalingrad
The player takes the role of Private Vasili Ivanovich Koslov, a Red Army soldier on the Russian front;[8] The first Russian mission is a training mission during the Battle of Moscow. Simulating the poor economy and training of the Russians at the time, the player is forced to use potatoes as practice grenades. After finishing 'training' by beating back a German assault, the player takes part in house-to-house fighting across Stalingrad. Battles rage from December 1942 through 1943, at a train yard, and ultimately, pushing back a heavy German counterattack on city hall.[16]
African Campaign
The player plays a British soldier, Sergeant John Davis of the 7th Armoured Division. During the advance from El Alamein to Tunisia, and the fighting at Caen in Normandy, the character must take over buildings, towns, and facilities and defend against counterattacks each time.[17] An addendum to the second set of missions has the player taking on the role of a British Tank commander, David Welsh. It is only two levels long, but the player takes part in the 7th Armoured Division's advance across Libya, harrying the retreating Germans.
Battle of Normandy
As Corporal Bill Taylor of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the player starts off by playing a part in D-Day, at the assault of Pointe du Hoc, which was located four miles west of Omaha Beach. The campaign sees the player taking part in the brutal fighting in Normandy and on Hill 400 under fire of German machine gun bunkers, artillery and Tiger tanks.
Crossing the Rhine
The final mission is set amongst the Americans in Crossing the Rhine crossing into Germany. In the last scene, Sgt. Randall receives a field promotion to Lieutenant and suggests to the Colonel that he should promote Corporal Taylor to replace the now empty Sergeant position.[18]

The end credits depict the dramatic rescue of Captain Price from German hands by American soldiers. After the credits end, the words "No cows were harmed in the making of this game" appear, as in the original Call of Duty. This is in reference to the dead cattle visible in the Normandy missions.[8]

Reception

Call of Duty 2 received numerous perfect and near-perfect reviews from the media upon its release, as well as praise from many others. However, some reviews had minor criticisms. In general, some complained that the new health system, which allows players to regenerate health if they go under cover, makes the game less realistic than the original.[19] Others say that while the remakes of the original game's maps were interesting, the game could have had more original maps.[20] For the Windows version, some said that the game's performance is occasionally slow.[21]

The PC version scores 88% on Game Rankings based on 77 reviews.[2] The Xbox 360 version scores 90% on Game Rankings based on 87 reviews.[3]

Call of Duty 2 was the most popular launch title on the Xbox 360, with 250,000 units sold in its first week of availability.[4] 77% of people who purchased an Xbox 360 also purchased the game, which contributed to its high sales.[22] As of July 2006, 1.4 million copies of the game had been sold on the Xbox 360.[5]

A television advertisement for Call of Duty 2 was the subject of some controversy in early 2006. The commercial, created by Los Angeles animation studio Rhythm and Hues, depicted a first-person view of events that were supposed to transpire during the game, rather than scenes from the game itself. Some consumers felt that the advertisements were misleading, and in February 2006 the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority demanded that networks remove the advertisements after three consumers filed complaints of false advertising. According to ASA spokesperson Donna Mitchell, "Viewers felt that the ad was misleading because the quality of graphics was superior to that of the game's".[23] Activision denies that the scenes were meant to give an impression of gameplay, stating in a press release shortly after the ASA banning that "The footage was intended purely to communicate the subject matter of the game rather than to represent actual gameplay."[23]

References

  1. ^ Call of Duty 2 Preview at Firing Squad - accessed 20 May 2007
  2. ^ a b "Call of Duty 2 (PC) on Game Rankings". Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  3. ^ a b "Call of Duty 2 (XBOX 360) on Game Rankings". Retrieved 2007-07-20.
  4. ^ a b "Duty 2 Tops Xbox 360 Launch Sales". Retrieved December 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b WWII shows no battle fatigue, USA Today
  6. ^ Call of Duty 2 on Gamespot, accessed 19 July 2007
  7. ^ Call of Duty 2 info page on Aspyr, accessed 19 July 2007
  8. ^ a b c Gamespot Call of Duty 2 Q&A, accessed 19 July 2007
  9. ^ Gamespot Weapons Guide, accessed 19 July 2007
  10. ^ IGN: Call of Duty 2 PC Review, accessed 19 July 2007
  11. ^ IGN: Call of Duty 2 PC Review, accessed 19 July 2007
  12. ^ Planet Call of Duty - Multiplayer Accessed 11 May 2007
  13. ^ a b Call of Duty Patch Information Accessed 10 May 2007
  14. ^ IGN: Call of Duty 2 PC Review, accessed 19 July 2007
  15. ^ IGN: Call of Duty 2 Introduction, accessed 19 July 2007
  16. ^ Gamespot Call of Duty 2 Russian Campaign Walkthrough, accessed 19 July 2007
  17. ^ Gamespot Call of Duty 2 British Campaign Walkthrough, accessed 19 July 2007
  18. ^ Gamespot Call of Duty 2 American Campaign Walkthrough, accessed 19 July 2007
  19. ^ "IGN: Call of Duty 2 Review". Retrieved April 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "Gamespy: Call of Duty 2 Review". Retrieved April 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Gamespot: Call of Duty 2 for PC Review". Retrieved April 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ The Live Chronicles, Ch. 4, IGN
  23. ^ a b TV ad 'lies' face ban Accessed 10 May, 2007
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