Every so often, the game will require you to operate a vehicle to achieve your mission. While driving a tank is pretty sweet, the jeep racing segments are fairly lame and often times more difficult than they have to be. Finding your way to the next checkpoint is often reduced to guessing which road you think could possibly lead you in the right direction and then backtracking when you guess wrong. This could have easily been avoided with an arrow at the top of the screen that points you in the correct direction. The last issue I have with this game is in its new melee attack. While it is a good addition to the game, it is horribly unbalanced. Nine times out of ten, it only takes one melee attack to kill your enemy while it can take several bullets to do the same trick. This was actually one of the most entertaining parts of the game for me. Often I played through levels trying to see if I could kill more Germans with the butt of my gun than with the barrel. My kamikaze-like melee attack antics usually paid off and made playing through the game far too easy. While these problems (besides melee combat) do detract from the fun of this game, none are bad enough to ruin its overall experience.

Players will still be able to enjoy the hectic WWII shooter action that is present in Call of Duty 3. As you would expect, the game is full of historically accurate weaponry, vehicles, and backdrops. Each of the game’s levels are broken down into various missions that you will need to complete to proceed to the next. There are a good variety of tasks to complete with some even offering you different choices in how to complete them. One example of this is in a level where you can either storm a trench or you can position yourself on a hill and give the siege team some sniper cover. While this does add some depth to the game, it doesn’t change the rest of the mission after the event. The standard cover and gun gameplay is broken up from time to time by some driving and cinematic button pressing mini-games. As I mentioned, some of the driving missions are fairly lame but the occasional tank assaults are very fun. These cinematic mini-games function much like in Resident Evil 4. They pop up when planting bombs and when some hidden enemies attack you. In both instances, you will need to complete some minimal button presses to achieve your goal.

Graphically, this game does a more than admirable job. Character, vehicle, and weapon models all look fairly realistic with a decent amount of detail. There is a small amount of slowdown while in huge battles but it is hardly noticeable. Semi-destructible cover and environments also add a deeper level of realism and strategy to Call of Duty 3. Decent smoke and particle effects also help bring many of Call of Duty 3’s battles to life.

Where this game really shines is in the sound department. Call of Duty 3’s soundtrack is full of orchestral scores that really get you into the combat and help to convey the mood of each situation. The voice acting is also well done, accentuating the wide variety of different personalities present in the game’s many characters. Each gun in the game also has a unique sound, as well as feel, to help showcase the differences in your choices of weaponry. Every sound effect from the noise created by wine spilling out of a bullet-riddled barrel to the ringing in your ears after a large explosion is very crisp and really draws you into the experience.

While not incredibly original or terribly compelling, Call of Duty 3 isn’t a bad game. There is definitely fun to be had playing through this title as long as you aren’t turned off by yet another WWII shooter. The only major problem I have with this game is that it has all been done before. If you’ve played several WWII shooters, you won’t find anything really new here. If you are a fan of the genre, you should definitely play this game. If not, Call of Duty 3 is just more of the same and should probably not rank high on your list of titles to seek out and play. Adam's overall score is located below the Second Opinion.

Features:

The Power of Next-Gen – Built from the ground-up for next-gen consoles, Call of Duty 3 brings the battle to life with advanced graphics, a new physics engine, a procedural environment and detailed ensemble animations that deliver the most cinematic war experience ever.

Battle Actions – An all-new close-quarters battle mechanic allows players to fight hand-to-hand, improvise explosive devices, disarm traps and execute a host of other battlefield situations that require cunning and rapid reflexes to survive.

Branching Mission Paths – Next-generation level design provides multiple attack routes that let players decide how to confront the enemy – flank an opponent, or hit him head-on. Each unique mission path requires special tactics, from sniping and demolition to all-out head-on clashes.

Nowhere to Hide – Environmental physics allow players to destroy enemy soft cover hideouts, forcing foes out in the open. But be wary, opponents can eliminate your protective cover as well.

Team-based Multiplayer with Vehicles – Combined arms and team-based combat provides unprecedented depth and variety by allowing up to 24-players to battle it out online with the option of single or split-screen Internet play. Gamers have the choice to play as infantry or commandeer multiple-occupancy vehicles, including tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles with side-cars, leading to unique mobile combat roles for all-out, multiplayer mayhem. Call of Duty 3 also offers soldier classes, each with class specific abilities, and a ranking system for truly diversified squad combat.

By Adam Brown
CCC FreelanceWriter

Second Opinion by Vaughn Smith Last year at this time there weren't many killer apps appearing on the new Xbox 360, but it's safe to say that from the drooling I witnessed at those kiosks, many proud X360 owners went home with a shiny copy of Call of Duty 2. A year does make a difference and now many of these same gamers have just experienced this year's killer app, Gears of War. While it's easy to be oohed and awwed by Marcus Fenix and company, Treyarch's Call of Duty 3 is no slouch in the action department either. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Treyarch has taken the "war as usual" approach to CoD3 and provided gamers with the same intense action, while allowing them a little more depth by dividing up the action between the Yankees, Brits, Canucks and Poland. I have to agree with Adam in his observation that the gameplay is beginning to feel a little dated, as the locales have changed but the feeling of deja vu is ever present. Clearing out waves of enemy soldiers (with some frustrating moments of magically respawning enemies) just to reach another checkpoint, does tend to feel a little old by the third game already. But that's not to suggest CoD3 is boring, as 5 minutes has enough pulse-rattling action to physically stop your freakin' heart, but perhaps it's safe to say that the formula isn't as fresh as it once was. I wouldn't argue if the next game featured more wide-open areas. The level design is just feeling a little too linear and forced. The only way to evolve this war during this next generation is to reduce the limitations by giving gamers wide-open areas, multiple paths and while we're at it, let's kick the graphic violence up a notch and make it ultra-realistic. No blood and gore makes this feel like the Medal of Honor series and that harkens back to the PSone. Even though the gibs aren't flying, CoD3's presentation is top-notch, both visually and aurally. War-torn Europe comes to life once again, but you'll have little time to sightsee, what with all the bombs, fire, shrapnel and bullets whizzing by your skull courtesy of the axis of evil. I found CoD3 to be even more impressive visually than it was last year, although some of the building textures look a little current gen. The sound is dynamite (excuse the lame pun), although I find it annoying that voices drop off suddenly if I'm not looking in the speaker's direction. Some of the accents in the game are a little oddball, but unless you're Canadian or Polish, you probably wouldn't notice. The multiplayer is a far sight more advanced than last year's online model. The action is more intense, the emphasis is more on teamwork than individual squirmishes and the level design is far more condusive to all-out war. The only fly in the ointment, much like last year's lagfest, is that there seems to be a big problem joining matches. Let's hope for a patch for this ASAP. You can fiddle with your router to open some ports if you're so inclined, but this may or may not solve the problem. If you're more of a fan of multiplayer than the single player campaign, CoD3 won't disappoint. The series is starting to show its age a little bit, and in my opinion needs to really take it up a notch in terms of level design and graphic realism. CoD3 is still an impressive title and if you can't get enough of that WWII, it will satisfy on most counts, especially if you're pleased as punch that it follows the same rules as CoD2. Vaughn's Overall Score - 4.0 - Great

Rating out of 5 Rating Description 3.8 Graphics Detailed characters are wrapped in somewhat bland backdrops. 3.7 Control Allies who constantly get in your way and some poor hit detection can make combat a little frustrating. 4.2 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting Heart pounding music, realistic sound effects, and decent voice acting really pull you into the experience. 3.5 Play Value This game is fairly short and doesn't really offer anything new. 3.8 Overall Rating - Good Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

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CCC storms the offices at Activision to get hands-on time with Call of Duty 3. by Patrick Evans

When the beloved WWII franchise Call of Duty changed hands from Infinity Ward to Treyarch, many people scoffed. How would this changing of the guard affect the established gameplay that gamers had come to know and love? After all, Call of Duty 2 on Xbox 360 was a smash hit that jumped off store shelves at the system’s launch.

I must admit that I was one of the skeptics going into the recent Activision press event. Many beloved franchises have seen developer changes in the past, and not all of them were better for it. Well, after spending plenty of quality hands-on time with all three versions of Call of Duty 3 (Wii, PS3, Xbox 360), I think that it’s safe to say all the doubts can be put to rest, at least until we see the final builds come out. Treyarch has handled the project with plenty of care, and our play time with it is proof.

The presentation that we, the gaming press invited to the Activision event, were given opened with an interview of a WWII veteran on the battlefields of the Falaise-Chambois pocket. His account of the battlefield was gritty, describing an injury he suffered from the concussions of enemy shells during the fight. From there, we were introduced to the story of Call of Duty 3 – players will play as soldiers from the British and American armies, as well as the newly added Polish and Canadian forces. Each country will have their own perspective on the war overall and it will be reflected in the cut scenes and dialog of its soldiers.

During the presentation the development and studio heads at Treyarch gave us, they made it abundantly clear to us that there would be a seamless storyline presented without loading bars. Instead of a loading screen, players will instead watch cut scenes introducing them to the next level. In the first single-player mission we played through on the 360, players were briefed on what the mission objectives were. Our orders were to suppress the Germans on the other side of the field, using our tanks for cover. The use of story cut scenes as “loading screens” will be a welcome addition to the overall package if it is used consistently as a way to inform us of mission objectives or other such pertinent information, and the fact that we won’t have to wait for these scenes either is just another bonus.

Going back to the single-player action on the 360; it was, in a word, intense. The firefight that broke out between the allies and Germans on the field was nothing short of extreme. The trick, as I learned after dying a couple times, was the use of the ally tanks for cover as you fired at Germans across the field. After wiping out the couple-dozen enemies, players moved along a road behind another tank as it approached a farm house and a barn. German soldiers fired from just about every vantage of both buildings; one in the windows of the house, one in the top floor of the barn, and one from behind the barn’s first-floor doors. “Rambo-style” gameplay, as one developer put it, is not advisable this time around. The enemy AI is simply too smart for a light-footed soldier. Even at times when the AI isn’t as bright, which was seen early in the first stage as enemies would run in a line directly across my line-of-fire, the sheer numbers alone will dictate how limited your options will be.

Players that thought Call of Duty 2 looked good will be floored by the visuals in the upcoming sequel. When playing, and dying, through the two demonstration stages, most of my thoughts were “Where in the f&#* are they shooting me from!?” When I wasn’t stuck on that thought, however, I was able to notice some of the smaller visual nuisances that Treyarch had captured. When you move the gun up to aim along the sight, there is a blurring to the depth perception that you would experience in real life. Things near you get blurred in your peripherals while your target a hundred feet away is focused. The battlefield itself felt alive from beginning to end, which is impressive to say itself.

After I had gotten my fill of playing, or dying as it was, on the Xbox 360 I was ushered to another boardroom setup with PS3s. If the Xbox 360 version looked impressive, the PS3 was downright gorgeous. After murmuring under my breath about how much nicer the game looked on PS3 than on Xbox 360, the producer on hand mentioned that the televisions upstairs for the 360s weren’t running in the full 720p mode and that the visuals may have looked a little less impressive than they would have on these particular televisions. That aside, the PS3 version was very fun to look at, and even more fun to play.

The name of the level we played was simply Forest, and the objective was to move through a forested area with our allies, eventually making our way to a series of German bunkers. Equipped with a Springfield sniper rifle, the most efficient way to move along this forested area was by creeping up behind your friendlies and popping off enemy soldiers from afar. As you move along, one of the most impressive sights is the interactive foliage found throughout the level. You will find soldiers motioning to others through the trees, using bushes for cover, and hiding behind dead tree trunks laid across the ground. One journalist even took the time to notice during the firefight that you could track where soldiers had been by looking at the interactive grass and seeing where they walked. Tossing smoke grenades was an excellent way to cover your advance if you wanted to ambush an enemy position, either with your standard M1 or from afar with the Springfield. The smoke itself looked spot on as well; if you ran through it, you literally could not see three feet past your face until you reached the other side. Everything in this level looked fantastic, right down to the rifle you were holding in your hands. The scope on the sniper rifle reflected light from behind you. It wasn’t a real-time reflection, but it could very easily pass off as such to an untrained eye.

Pushing through the forest and picking off the soldiers with a sniper rifle was fun, but the game got really intense when you reached the bunker area towards the end of the mission. Enemies and allies are shooting at each other at near point-blank range while you scramble for cover, trying not to get killed in a wall of bullets coming your way. One of the objectives you can complete in this area was planting a charge in a weapons cache or staging area of some sort. When planting the charge, up pops the Battle Action mode, which is essentially a little mini-game in which you have to follow the on-screen commands to successfully complete the action. For this mission, it’s a simple explosive plant, but in other places players will have to fight for their lives in hand-to-hand combat (which I’ll get to a little later in this preview). After blowing a couple Nazis to bits with an over-powered shotgun/canon, an attendant tapped me to pass the game along to another writer, but the precious time I had was plenty to put my fears to rest. The intricate work that went into constructing this level alone was impressive and should prove fairly indicative of the rest of the game.

But lest we forget that Nintendo hopefuls are also getting their own version of Call of Duty 3 to call their own. While I have gone on record as saying I think 3rd party developers will have a hard time grasping the Wii’s functions as many have with the DS, Treyarch has again impressed me thus far. The two Wii’s were set up with yet another stage named Crossroads, and it began with the player narrowly escaping friendly artillery fire in a small house. After rejoining the rest of the unit, players have to clear a courtyard of enemy forces and move through the small war-torn community, plugging Nazis along the way.

Before I could even get my hands on the Wii-mote and begin tearing through German soldiers, I was given an extensive walk-through on how the game controls. Though the list of actions wasn’t short by any stretch of the imagination, everything felt appropriate and responsive. Aiming was done by pointing at the screen with the wand, and movement was on the nunchuk’s analog stick. Firing your equipped weapon was on the B button tucked right where your index finger would grip the controller. Firing, pulling the pin on a grenade, and crouching were pretty much all that was done by pressing buttons; the rest of the action was all done with gestures. Reloading your gun, for instance, is done by jerking wand upward, switching weapons is as simple as sliding the nunchuk to the right, and melee attacks is a simple jab towards the screen. Tossing grenades was the only action that gave me trouble after ten or fifteen minutes of steady play of the game, which is a “fishing” flick on the nunchuk after selecting it on the controller. The problem I had was that while I was flicking the nunchuk I was jerking the analog stick and moving the wand at the same time, which I could probably correct with more time.

Coming down to see the Wii version after having laid eyes on the other two versions in the HD glory was tough, but the control scheme here could sell me where other games perhaps couldn’t. Playing Call of Duty 3 on Wii felt like a completely new gameplay experience from the other two. Sure, in both you are killing Nazis, but when the enemy soldier tries to stab you with his knife on Wii, you are physically fighting for your life by flailing the controller according to the onscreen prompts. On the 360, this element would be simple button presses. The PS3 guys told us that they were working on getting the motion sensor feature on the new controller integrated, though all we saw was a melee attack with a quick jerk on the controller thus far.

As fun as chucking grenades at my feet or dying at the hands of a knife-wielding Nazi because I didn’t turn the controller horizontally is, the most fun I had all day was during the Xbox 360 multiplayer session. The room was divided between Axis and Ally soldiers in a Capture the Flag match. After slinking into the room and getting auto-assigned to the Allies, I was immediately gunned down by a German heavy assault on his way to the flag. After getting my balance and learning the layout, I was instantly reminded of Team Fortress on PC. The stage layout was such that there were four or five obvious routes to the opposing flag; one on either the left or right of the spawning points, and two or three up the middle across a shot-up bridge. Players that took the obvious path across the exposed top of the bridge were easy kills for snipers lurking, while firefights in the bridges lower walkways were frequent. I being an inexperienced Call of Duty multiplayer gamer had a hard time sniping or defending the flag, so I instead chose to support flag-runners by choosing the heavy weapons layout and laying tons of fire. When I accompanied the flag runner, we nearly always were successful since either one would survive an encounter to finish the flag capture. And the vehicles…oh, they were a blast. Let’s just say that jeeps jumping the gap on the bridge with gunners in the back were an all-too-common sight that saw tons of vehicular casualties.

So, taking a look at three different versions, we are starting to see where the different so-called “advantages” and “weaknesses” are manifesting themselves in the gameplay. Wii’s unorthodox control scheme was something that I wish I had much more time to tinker with but felt intuitive and responsive. Along with those fancy controls were visuals that looked no better than what you would expect from the original Xbox. The PS3 gave the best visuals of the show, but I had the best time blasting, or getting blasted as it were, developers and other journalists on the Xbox 360. From what we can tell after getting some quality time playing and talking to the developers, no matter which version you choose you are almost guaranteed tons of fun. Call of Duty 3 stole the show for me at the press event for these reasons and it looks like it will pick up where Call of Duty 2 left off; pumping Nazi SOBs full of lead compliments of Uncle Sam and his allies.

Features:

The Power of Next-Gen – Built from the ground-up for next-gen consoles, Call of Duty 3 brings the battle to life with advanced graphics, a new physics engine, a procedural environment and detailed ensemble animations that deliver the most cinematic war experience ever.

Battle Actions – An all-new close-quarters battle mechanic allows players to fight hand-to-hand, improvise explosive devices, disarm traps and execute a host of other battlefield situations that require cunning and rapid reflexes to survive.

Branching Mission Paths – Next-generation level design provides multiple attack routes that let players decide how to confront the enemy – flank an opponent, or hit him head-on. Each unique mission path requires special tactics, from sniping and demolition to all-out head-on clashes.

Nowhere to Hide – Environmental physics allow players to destroy enemy soft cover hideouts, forcing foes out in the open. But be wary, opponents can eliminate your protective coveras well.

Team-based Multiplayer with Vehicles – Combined arms and team-based combat provides unprecedented depth and variety by allowing up to 24-players to battle it out online with the option of single or split-screen Internet play. Gamers have the choice to play as infantry or commandeer multiple-occupancy vehicles, including tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles with side-cars, leading to unique mobile combat roles for all-out, multiplayer mayhem. Call of Duty 3 also offers soldier classes, each with class specific abilities, and a ranking system for truly diversified squad combat.

By Patrick Evans
CCC Staff Writer

World War II is still the war of choice on the next generation consoles. by Vaughn Smith

Think about it for just a sec. A war that was fought over 50 years ago requires 21st century technology to do it justice. Built from the ground up for the next consoles while simultaneously delivering a snub to PC gamers who helped make the series such a hit in the first place, Call Of Duty 3 promises to be one of the most sought after titles this Fall.

Call Of Duty 3 X360 Screenshot

Following the events of the Normandy Breakout, which resulted in the liberation of Paris and brought the Allies closer to Berlin (that would have been a spoiler alert but I'm sure most of you fell asleep during history class and missed this info anyway) CoD3 breaks away slightly from the regular formula and introduces 4 different country campaigns: American, British, Canadian and Polish (the Russians are going to sit this one out). I wonder if they'll have some poor Canuck in the recording studio saying "After we shoot these hosers, let's go for a beer, eh?" As a Canadian it's nice to see the efforts of my fellow countrymen recognized in games such as this. I've spoken with countless WWII vets over the years and their stories scared me silly. It's a wonder any of them came back alive.

Other advances to the core gameplay include hand to hand combat, improvisational explosive devices, branching mission paths, destruction of environmental cover (ala Black) and more options for online multiplayer battles.

Call Of Duty 3 PS3 Screenshot

One of the areas we'd love to see addressed in the next gen iterations of FPS war games are the linear paths which often hinder the exploration and experimentation within the game. Often times you'll want to flank the enemy only to realize the game designers made it impossible for you to do so, as your path may be blocked with a high fence or some other obstruction. Other games warn you not to leave the battle area when you attempt to "think outside the sandbox".

Since Call Of Duty 2 was one of the most impressive X360 titles released at launch (and responsible for selling an army warehouse of X360 systems to boot) we can say that the screenshots of the third installment look mighty good on the next consoles. Even the Wii which doesn't have quite the horsepower of the PS3 or the 360 looks darn good, and it supports the funky Wii-Mote gun which will be mighty cool. We haven't seen screens of the current gen versions for the PS2 and Xbox, but we'd expect them to look downgraded from the Wii shots.

Call Of Duty 3 Wii Screenshot

In terms of multiplayer, expect up to 24 players to battle it out in cyberspace in either infantry positions or commandeer vehicles such as tanks, jeeps and motorcycles complete with side-cars. The online play of CoD2 was a little less than seamless when the game debuted on XBL last November, so let's hope Treyarch can ship the game with the online play in tip top shop - or at the very least, release a patch toots sweet.

If you're a CoD fan, no doubt you're in 7th heaven waiting for this one to come down the chimney. We'll have more info when we can. For now, grab your rifle, dig a foxhole in your living room and wait...

Features:

• The Power of Next-Gen - Built from the ground-up for next-gen consoles, Call of Duty 3 brings the battle to life with advanced graphics, a new physics engine, a procedural environment and detailed ensemble animations that deliver the most cinematic war experience ever.
• Battle Actions - An all-new close-quarters battle mechanic allows players to fight hand-to-hand, improvise explosive devices, disarm traps and execute a host of other battlefield situations that require cunning and rapid reflexes to survive.
• Branching Mission Paths - Next-generation level design provides multiple attack routes that let players decide how to confront the enemy - flank an opponent, or hit him head-on. Each unique mission path requires special tactics, from sniping and demolition to all-out head-on clashes.
• Nowhere to Hide - Environmental physics allow players to destroy enemy soft cover hideouts, forcing foes out in the open. But be wary, opponents can eliminate your protective cover as well.
• Team-based Multiplayer with Vehicles - Combined arms and team-based combat provides unprecedented depth and variety by allowing up to 24-players to battle it out online with the option of single or split-screen Internet play. Gamers have the choice to play as infantry or commandeer multiple-occupancy vehicles, including tanks, jeeps, and motorcycles with side-cars, leading to unique mobile combat roles for all-out, multiplayer mayhem. Call of Duty 3 also offers soldier classes, each with class specific abilities, and a ranking system for truly diversified squad combat.