Call of Duty

John Gillooly finds his camos for one more beach landing.

Another revolution of the game bad guy wheel is complete and Nazis have now officially snatched the reins back from aliens as the cannon fodder of choice for the discerning gamer. There have been a hell of a lot of WWII-based first person shooters over the past few years, and Call of Duty continues this tradition by letting you take Nazis on from both sides as you play through American, British and Russian missions over the course of the Allied forces’ spread over Europe.

Call of Duty is not without its faults, but it is one of the most enjoyable examples of this sub-genre so far. Dispensing with any notion of coherent narrative, the game consists of missions that take place over the breadth of Europe, in which you play low ranking grunts taking part in everything from SAS raids to the forced re-taking of Stalingrad (it wouldn’t be a WWII game without a beach landing of some-sort).

The experience is intense, thanks to generally good AI and spectacular use of sound and visuals. Infinity Ward has taken the ancient Quake 3 engine and polished it into something unrecognisable, with amazing lighting and particle effects giving the game a carefully measured dose of moodiness. The sound is crisp and boomy; this is one of those games that deserves a good volume cranking to get the most out of it. As artillery rains down, snow falls and bullets zip by overhead in the heat of battle, it all adds up to an incredibly immersive experience.

At heart this is still an incredibly linear corridor shooter, and it’s quite a short game, but it is a damn good title. As far as immersion and action goes, this is one of the finest releases of recent years. It may be lacking in depth, but for a visceral, immediate experience, there is little that comes close.