Call of Duty 3

It's contender for best looking game on next-gen to date, but does Treyarch's new effort stand a chance otherwise? Lovely HD gameplay videos included.

G A M E   D E T A I L S
Format X360, PS3, Wii, PS2, XB	Developer Treyarch	Publisher Activision	Genre FPS	Players 1-24

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Often, it feels like it's random trial and error strategy that gets through sections of levels to next waypoint, rather than experience or skill, and the effect of this is a slightly more staggered Campaign experience than that of a seamless Half-Life affair.

Generally the game is fairly tuned, with decently tiered difficulty settings and a reasonable damage and recovery system. The balance of realism and overkill is well handled; you die if you take too many successive hits but quickly recover just by taking cover. Severe damage, meanwhile, lasts a few seconds and sees the screen turn black and white as you crawl back into action with your own heartbeat and slow-motion vision and sound, teaching you that next time it would be wise to lob that grenade back to where it came from (another new feature for the series, that one).

"Severe damage lasts a few seconds and sees the screen turn black and white as you crawl back into action in slow motion."

Another example of the right balance is the weaponry reload - slow enough to be something you need to consider timing for, while weapon changing is, by convention, impossibly fast, particularly for cumbersome WWII machinery. Die, and you restart at the last checkpoint, but apparently you can't skip cut-scenes that precede checkpoints, even if you've seen them before.

A nice physics system adds a more tangible feel to the world, and grenades bounce as you would expect while tasty-looking explosions and ragdoll soldiers are present and correct. There are, however, a couple of embarrassing clipping bugs here and there, leaving a dead guy resting on a block of nothing, and sometimes you'll get 'stuck' in between a set of invisible restrictions which any FSP player knows is frustrating and a unrealistic for a few moments until you eventually waggle and jump out of the position.

Invisible walls made out of fire are acceptable but sometimes an invisible wall is entirely 'invisible', and there to force you where the game wants you to go, which we can't really decide is a good or bad thing. Environments and buildings are not as widely destructible or dynamic as we'd like, although when it is destructible it's as dangerous as it is enthralling, sometimes leaving you no cover, although this is only surprising on the first play through each area.

Call of Duty 3 helps makes up for some minor disappointments with a slew of highly impressive set-piece events; witness a plane hurtle into a church tower and explode spectacularly, before the bell drops down the interior and spews dust from the windows. Gameplay is also mixed up with different tasks and vehicles; at one stage early in the game you simply need to use binoculars to find hidden enemies for your squaddies to take out with a missile. You can't kill your members of your squad, or answer them back for that matter, but generally the team based play works simply and properly, and at least as well as other recent FPS games that aim to do the same.

P L E A S E   V I S I T   O U R   S P O N S O R :

The game's learning curve is good, and as soon as you're into the heat of things, professional shots feel like they are well earned, even though your strategy never really needs to mature in a significant way.

"You can often hear scripted yelling or footsteps on repeat, in an area where you know for sure there's nobody around."

Audio is a mixed bag. While the production quality is solid, there are some gripes. Music is basically top-notch, with the right balance of heavy orchestral and exciting, racy themes supported by a dose of atmospheric 'silence'. The silence is often welcome and shows of the game's sound effects, which is a good and bad thing. Sometimes you can hear scripted yelling voices or footsteps on regular repeat, in an area where you know for sure there's nobody around, which can be off-putting and takes from the atmosphere rather than enhancing it. Although sounds fade in and out depending on their supposed point of origin, it's not as effective overall as the sound programming of a Half-Life 2, where the sound feels as real as the graphics and the physics.

Multiplayer, thankfully and perhaps unsurprisingly, is a lot of fun. From eight players previously, you can now play 24 players via Xbox Live or System Link (and 24-player is also set for the PS3 version), and you can play as different classes like a medic, scout, sniper or anti-armour, all with different strong points. Team matches are a blast, with some half-decent vehicle action thrown in and enjoyable, beautiful maps proving a long-term point of interest in the playtime we've had so far. As expected you also have the option to match yourself up with players of a similar skill level, in theory at least. It's a more robust multiplayer game than before with a lot of stuff included that the COD community has been asking for.

In conclusion: It's certainly one of the best looking Xbox 360 titles to date, but FPS gamers have more choice than they did when Call of Duty 2 wiped the floor with its rivals this time last year, and if you like a bit of sci-fi with your shooter then COD3 won't stand up to its Holiday rivals this time. It's difficult not to recommend COD3 though, for its instantly impressive action and many memorable moments, that form a large part of a compelling overall package.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo

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T H E   S C O R E S

Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation Overall 10 7.2 7.6 6.8 7.0 7.8

The Final Word:  First-person shooters need to be stunning to be highly recommended in a crowded market these days, and while Call of Duty 3 is stunning at first, it's unremarkable on the whole. Nonetheless, it's an impressive shooter and essential for all WWII game fans, including owners of COD2.

Video Coverage (See Latest Videos & Video FAQ Here)
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Description	Dur.	Size	Details
Newly Added HD Videos (6 Nov)
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Church HD	0:36	27MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Close Combat HD	0:43	21MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Island HD	1:52	64MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Ruins HD	1:59	83MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - St. Lo HD	1:40	62MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Tank HD	0:49	22MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
SD Versions
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Church SD	0:36	4MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p60 1.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Close Combat SD	0:43	5MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p60 1.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Island SD	1:52	13MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p60 1.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Ruins SD	1:59	14MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p60 1.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - St. Lo SD	1:40	11MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p60 1.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed gameplay - Tank SD	0:49	5MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p60 1.0Mbps
HD Trailer
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed trailer   (Multi - Activision)	01:59	118MB	DF, HD, 16:9 1280x720p60 8.0Mbps
Call of Duty 3 Direct feed trailer (regular)   (Multi - Activision)	01:59	27MB	DF, SD, 16:9 640x360p30 2.3Mbps