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.
Version
 X360, PS3, Wii, PS2, XB		Developer
Treyarch		Publisher
Activision		Genre
FPS



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By Adam Doree

In a crowded market of World War II videogames, Call of Duty has made something of a name for itself with its cinematic storytelling and realistic battlefields. Last year's COD2 was one of the very best titles of Xbox 360's launch portfolio, and less than a year on we have Call of Duty 3 from Treyarch, which represents a small but significant improvement for the series.

Call of Duty 3 tells the story of the Normandy breakout, perhaps the most devastating series of battles in WWII for the liberation of Paris. During the game you'll play as Polish and Canadian soldiers, as well as a British SAS commando and of course U.S. Army infantrymen. The narrative successfully and seamlessly tells the story of how all these armies came together, and drove the Germans out of Paris in August of 1944. Naturally, the French make an appearance too, though they're not playable. Character plot and relationships are also intertwined with the action along the way.

"Smacking you in the face at a near flawless 60fps, it's easily one of the best lookers we've seen on 360 to date."

The first and most striking aspect of Call of Duty 3 is the graphics. Smacking you in the face at a near flawless sixty frames per second throughout, it's easily one of the best looking games we've seen on Xbox 360 to date. The Treyarch guys have outdone themselves with jaw-dropping level of detail; your field of vision contains such a stunning array of soldiers and effects at any one time that you'll definitely need to stop for a moment to take it all in. Soldier animation is particularly impressive to the point that you could show COD3 to your own 'war veteran' grandfather and he wouldn't question this as 'real' with his dodgy old vision.

Weather effects such as torrential rain and lightning look amazing while depth of field optics make the view down the barrel of your gun look especially sexy, with a pull of the trigger also lighting up the impressive weapon detail, right down to serial number carved into the deadly black metal.

The game world presents to you a gritty, night-time wasteland like St Germain sur Sèves, as well as it does a warm, sun-soaked town like St Lo or an open, idyllic area of greenery that looks more like something from Halo, but every environment is full of thoughtful graphical touches including dynamic lighting, fire and heat blur and smoke that looks so natural and convincing you can practically choke on it.

Indoor buildings and houses are wonderful and look like they're structurally weak, even though attempts to actually blown them further apart are often in vain. But authenticity is rife; witness the addresses and stamps on envelopes of scattered, unopened mail, the brickwork of a half-bombed building and even the carpet looks like it's out of WWII. Sure, we weren't there at the time but we bet it all looked like this. Even pieces of discarded bread look suitably French. The point is, suspension of disbelief is rarely broken, and even a close-up examination of blades of grass or barbed wire will keep you immersed.

"It's the new close-up battles that prove scariest as the enemy is right in your face, teeth grit, (possibly) swearing at you in German..."

The progressive, non-linear level design works well for pretty much the duration of things, with branching mission paths and attractively laid out environments on both small and large scales. Thanks to the idiot-proof radar, you'll always know where you should go next, and holding down Back button gives easy access to your mission objectives, however, there are few confusing moments where you need to hunt around for a badly located progress path. While this is common in similar titles, it'd be nice for nearby allies to shout out advice, but in COD3 this only happens when you need to do something - not find something that should be obvious but isn't.

Control is fine, though like with girlfriends, some sensitivity tuning would be welcomed, and it can be a little annoying to accidentally lob a grenade with the RB button which is so close to the natural resting position of your finger, particularly if you're in a small space at the time. Move about and your crosshair is less accurate which is a fair and realistic touch. Generally, control is as tight as you'd expect from a high profile Xbox 360 FPS.

Gameplay strategy sends you mixed messages. Rushing into a group of solders guns-a-blazin' can pay off well if you know what you're doing, as the enemy often reacts slowly thanks to sub-par AI (throw a grenade or take out a soldier and his nearby pals barely react), but typically, it's a well thought-out, crafty approach that will find your best way to progress; edging around the sidelines before clearing out a dangerous stronghold with grenades is recommended.

Meanwhile, melee attacks at close quarters with a click of the right thumbstick is an effective tool in itself, although it's a new feature - set-piece close-quarter battles - that prove scariest; although these involve relatively mundane trigger mashing to win, the enemy is right in your face as he grapples to get your weapon (easy tiger), his teeth grit and (possibly) swearing at you in German too.

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Video Coverage
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PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO ANY MEDIA FILE ON KIKIZO
DescriptionDur.SizeDetails

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