Call of Duty 3 (Xbox360)
- Publisher:
- Activision
- Developer:
- Infinity Ward
- Release Date:
- 10.11.2006
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Action
- Reality Factor:
- Realistic
- Perspective:
- First-Person
- Extra:
- Militaristic
- Blood Level:
- Medium Blood
- Age:
- Historic
3 movies
We play Call of Duty 3...
Many game critics have questioned how long a certain genre can stay alive and well for. One prime example is the World War II genre. Typically first person, and almost always based on actual battles. Using the weapons that they used, the tactics they used, and making it the most realistic experience based on what actually happened, the original idea was genius.
However, if there is anything that COD3 can be faulted for, it’s simply being part of the wrong, outdated genre. COD3 relays a decent storyline and intense set of missions, but after playing more than 20 different FPS WWII games in the last five years, most of which were ranked quite highly, one must ask how long it can go on.
All of the great battles have been done and played. All the major campaigns have been achieved and dealt with. All this leaves us left with are the crappy, never heard of missions of COD3. Not that anything could really be done in this respect, and credit must be given to Treyarch and Activision for successfully keeping a dying genre alive for just a little longer. But there’s only so much you can make out of it.
COD3 takes place in France, basing the story off of four different tales. Playing as American, British, Canadian and Polish soldiers, you traverse France after the Normandy attack to push the Germans out of the country and liberate it. The separate stories interweave very well, showing a prowess in plot originality and storyline.
Another great plus is the ability to select certain functions, or deselect them, to make gameplay more realistic. Turning off crosshairs, friendly signatures, and a few other things really brought the experience home to the player. I found myself wondering whether making the game more realistic would make it more enjoyable, and found that it didn’t. But that’s personal preference. The choice given, however, was an excellent addition.
Loading times were also fairly quick, something that is becoming a very bad nuisance with recent games. The saving system is the standard checkpoint system and wasn’t flawed in any way, though was nothing special. However, turning on the game after any save brings about the cinematic from the level’s beginning, which can become tiresome to watch over and over again, especially if you find yourself switching games quite often. They made no way to skip it either.
The cinematics were probably the biggest improvement from COD2. Although most people won’t be able to tell the graphical difference between the two games, COD3 is improved, and it can be seen through the cinematics. Movements are realistic, and the element of one character touching another (or an object) are better than most games around.
Also was the priority of making the game as realistic as possible. Some things worked well, and others didn’t so much. The in-game dialogue was exquisite, with soldiers telling you where the enemy was, what the orders were, and anything else that was important enough to save your life.
Then there were some of the downsides. Melee attacks are too powerful, and in one instance I beat down four Germans in a row while almost dead. Really now. The reliance on your own soldiers was also a big letdown. Getting to certain parts of the level are impossible unless someone kicks down a door or opens a gate, and there’s no way you can do it yourself.
In several instances, German troops even seemed to magically spawn from out of nowhere, just far enough away for me not to notice. Though when I saw that they were coming from behind a building but not visible from the opposite side, it was pretty evident. And in the event that three or four of them run at you, they won’t start firing until they’re in a certain position or stance. I know that when I see the baddies running around, I fire ASAP. The AI doesn’t think that way, though, and lets me shoot until it’s too late for them.
The AI also suffers on your side. In several instances, I saw a firefight between Germans and my troops, just standing point blank, and unloading rounds. I don’t remember the civil war even being that bad.
The scenery and objects on maps worked well in most cases, except when blown up. If something exploded, it would fly off in whatever direction and bounce a few times, then disappear. On top of that, at least one map had the level boundary where I found myself stuck on, which was based on mission parameters. Poor placement of such things really screws up the gameplay.
The addition of minigames was a nice touch, but possibly used too much. The struggle between you and a German soldier for a gun was the best, and it really did bring about the tension expected from such an experience. Slamming my fingers on the right and left triggers as fast as possible became a serious issue for me when I didn’t want to get shot in the face. The bomb-setting was not so exciting, and was used enough for two games.
One of the biggest problems I had with the campaign mode though was it just got boring after awhile. Although it remained intense throughout the game, there’s only so much one can take. With a campaign that’s about 20 hours long, it’s pretty hard to really enjoy that intensity for that duration.
Everything turns around as soon as you get into multiplayer though. Gameplay is much more dramatic, and the realism only furthers every encounter. Six different gametypes and nine different maps may seem like a limited amount, but with the average match taking around 30 minutes to play and the maximum number of players at 24, it gets anything but boring.
War is currently the most prevalent. A typical slayer match, it is much more fun than would initially be expected. Running through burning streets, inside broken buildings, and getting into tanks makes you feel that this is war. One shot can kill. That tank is much more powerful than you and you should stay the hell away for it and wait for artillery.
Capture the flag was not the typical flag stealing, but rather a territorial gametype. To win, one side must successfully take each flag on the map. And because each team has one home-base flag, it really requires one team to dominate and play intelligently to succeed.
The controls also change in multiplayer. Holding down the left thumbstick will let you sprint, giving you a chance to escape from any enemies in the area. Holding down the right bumper gives you binoculars and in certain gametypes, and you can call an artillery strike.
If anything, my only concern with the multiplayer was that not enough people are on it. The first few times I tried to grab a game, nobody was on. At all. Sure, it was late at night, but usually there’s a game or two going on that you can join. Nothing. It’s unfortunate, but people really underestimated the fun of this game.
As good as can be expected campaign from the dying genre. Intensity did not last as long as the gameplay. Phenomenal multiplayer that’s unfortunately underrated. A great game…but please. Please! No more. It was great while it lasted. This game, however, will hopefully outlive its genre for a long time.
Top Game Moment: Using the tank to single-handedly dispose of the entire opposing team. Twice.
 |
 |
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| Sniping is the best way to take out a far target…and get the enemy’s attention | Stunning visuals and particle effects bring to life the cemetery. Almost |
However, if there is anything that COD3 can be faulted for, it’s simply being part of the wrong, outdated genre. COD3 relays a decent storyline and intense set of missions, but after playing more than 20 different FPS WWII games in the last five years, most of which were ranked quite highly, one must ask how long it can go on.
All of the great battles have been done and played. All the major campaigns have been achieved and dealt with. All this leaves us left with are the crappy, never heard of missions of COD3. Not that anything could really be done in this respect, and credit must be given to Treyarch and Activision for successfully keeping a dying genre alive for just a little longer. But there’s only so much you can make out of it.
COD3 takes place in France, basing the story off of four different tales. Playing as American, British, Canadian and Polish soldiers, you traverse France after the Normandy attack to push the Germans out of the country and liberate it. The separate stories interweave very well, showing a prowess in plot originality and storyline.
Another great plus is the ability to select certain functions, or deselect them, to make gameplay more realistic. Turning off crosshairs, friendly signatures, and a few other things really brought the experience home to the player. I found myself wondering whether making the game more realistic would make it more enjoyable, and found that it didn’t. But that’s personal preference. The choice given, however, was an excellent addition.
Loading times were also fairly quick, something that is becoming a very bad nuisance with recent games. The saving system is the standard checkpoint system and wasn’t flawed in any way, though was nothing special. However, turning on the game after any save brings about the cinematic from the level’s beginning, which can become tiresome to watch over and over again, especially if you find yourself switching games quite often. They made no way to skip it either.
The cinematics were probably the biggest improvement from COD2. Although most people won’t be able to tell the graphical difference between the two games, COD3 is improved, and it can be seen through the cinematics. Movements are realistic, and the element of one character touching another (or an object) are better than most games around.
Also was the priority of making the game as realistic as possible. Some things worked well, and others didn’t so much. The in-game dialogue was exquisite, with soldiers telling you where the enemy was, what the orders were, and anything else that was important enough to save your life.
Then there were some of the downsides. Melee attacks are too powerful, and in one instance I beat down four Germans in a row while almost dead. Really now. The reliance on your own soldiers was also a big letdown. Getting to certain parts of the level are impossible unless someone kicks down a door or opens a gate, and there’s no way you can do it yourself.
 |
 |
|
| Shooting down Nazi’s is almost as easy as beating them down | Face to face minigames such as the gun struggle force a frantic flurry of button pushing |
In several instances, German troops even seemed to magically spawn from out of nowhere, just far enough away for me not to notice. Though when I saw that they were coming from behind a building but not visible from the opposite side, it was pretty evident. And in the event that three or four of them run at you, they won’t start firing until they’re in a certain position or stance. I know that when I see the baddies running around, I fire ASAP. The AI doesn’t think that way, though, and lets me shoot until it’s too late for them.
The AI also suffers on your side. In several instances, I saw a firefight between Germans and my troops, just standing point blank, and unloading rounds. I don’t remember the civil war even being that bad.
The scenery and objects on maps worked well in most cases, except when blown up. If something exploded, it would fly off in whatever direction and bounce a few times, then disappear. On top of that, at least one map had the level boundary where I found myself stuck on, which was based on mission parameters. Poor placement of such things really screws up the gameplay.
The addition of minigames was a nice touch, but possibly used too much. The struggle between you and a German soldier for a gun was the best, and it really did bring about the tension expected from such an experience. Slamming my fingers on the right and left triggers as fast as possible became a serious issue for me when I didn’t want to get shot in the face. The bomb-setting was not so exciting, and was used enough for two games.
One of the biggest problems I had with the campaign mode though was it just got boring after awhile. Although it remained intense throughout the game, there’s only so much one can take. With a campaign that’s about 20 hours long, it’s pretty hard to really enjoy that intensity for that duration.
Everything turns around as soon as you get into multiplayer though. Gameplay is much more dramatic, and the realism only furthers every encounter. Six different gametypes and nine different maps may seem like a limited amount, but with the average match taking around 30 minutes to play and the maximum number of players at 24, it gets anything but boring.
War is currently the most prevalent. A typical slayer match, it is much more fun than would initially be expected. Running through burning streets, inside broken buildings, and getting into tanks makes you feel that this is war. One shot can kill. That tank is much more powerful than you and you should stay the hell away for it and wait for artillery.
Capture the flag was not the typical flag stealing, but rather a territorial gametype. To win, one side must successfully take each flag on the map. And because each team has one home-base flag, it really requires one team to dominate and play intelligently to succeed.
The controls also change in multiplayer. Holding down the left thumbstick will let you sprint, giving you a chance to escape from any enemies in the area. Holding down the right bumper gives you binoculars and in certain gametypes, and you can call an artillery strike.
If anything, my only concern with the multiplayer was that not enough people are on it. The first few times I tried to grab a game, nobody was on. At all. Sure, it was late at night, but usually there’s a game or two going on that you can join. Nothing. It’s unfortunate, but people really underestimated the fun of this game.
 |
 |
|
| Good thing that tank exploded. It was coming after me | Graphic improvements are seen best through cinematics |
As good as can be expected campaign from the dying genre. Intensity did not last as long as the gameplay. Phenomenal multiplayer that’s unfortunately underrated. A great game…but please. Please! No more. It was great while it lasted. This game, however, will hopefully outlive its genre for a long time.
Top Game Moment: Using the tank to single-handedly dispose of the entire opposing team. Twice.
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