Call of Duty 3 Review (Xbox 360) By Seanchen

8 / 10
25 Jan 2007 at 08:50

Review by: Seanchen

Playing with 23 other players online in a seamless, zero lag environment with story mode graphics, increased weaponry, the ability to heal team mates, drive tanks, shoot rocket launchers and pick up grenades and throw them back to the enemy may sound like a hell of an advert for COD3… and it is!!! I thought the multiplayer game of COD2 was without comparison, and I hold true to the statement until the launch of COD3. It is without a doubt the best MM FPS on the market today. It is incredible moving through enemy territory with 11 mates, swarming a stronghold, annihilating everything in your path with no quarter or mercy given. The maps are huge, movement more fluid both with or without weapons, and for the first time you can actually make your soldier run, giving him an increased ability to dodge Nazi bullets at the height of warfare. Without a doubt COD3 is my vote for Game Night Multiplayer game of the year! Now it’s true that it’s difficult to find any real flaws in a game that has taken my favourite 360 title one step further in terms of graphics, cut scenes, storyline, multiplayer and control. But if I had to find one it would be the mini game elements within the solo missions. It’s clearly a move to provide a marked difference between COD 2 and 3, and while it achieves this, it’s more of a button smashing exercise than it is a true show of any skill whatsoever. In fact it’s rather annoying when it happens as it takes you away from your true purpose within the game, and that’s kill or be killed! That said there is a more enhanced story line, more cut scenes, less visible difference between cut scenes and game play and a huge improvement in enemy AI. This game is tough! Completing the game on normal first is essential as to be honest, the expert level was just too blooming hard without knowing where the enemy are likely to pop out from and shoot you.

My major gripe with this game has to be the same Developer v Microsoft rubbish regarding ranked matches. By this I mean the difficulty experienced every time I go online and try to hook up with friends, clan members (or just as likely people I need vengeance against). Random people popping in and out of the game at whim doesn't add any kind of consistency to the multiplayer game - at least you know that when you have friends or rivals in a head to head match they are likely to stay the course no matter the outcome. True war veterans dedicated to the cause. Perhaps I'm sliding my blanket of Microsoft cynicism over the Developer unfairly here, but online achievements add a measure of fun, intensity and indeed jealousy to a game and the simple premise of playing friends and earning achievements at the same time seems to be broken with no thought to the emotional toil it then causes the gamer as they wrestle with the decision to move over to another game. And yes that's right, you all know whic game your going to move over to. GOW! Nuff said about that anyway.

Still, even with the bitter taste in my mouth at my own rant I chose to solely blame Microsoft for this injustice and rate this game it deserves to be rated. The only reason this game gets a 8 is because we all already have COD 2! If it had never been released, I’d be pulling a sicky right now and shooting Germans in the face with my sniper rifle but because I’ve played my fair share of the series already, I can wait till I get home to ignore my girlfriend and the outside world and immerse myself in what is a brilliant 360 title. Definitely deserves 8/10

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