| Call of Duty 3 | |
|---|---|
 Packaging artwork released for all territories | |
| Developer | Treyarch[a] |
| Publisher | Activision |
| Director | Richard Farrelly |
| Producers |
|
| Artists |
|
| Writer | Marc Guggenheim |
| Composer | Joel Goldsmith |
| Series | Call of Duty |
| Engine | Treyarch NGL |
| Platforms | |
| Release | PlayStation 2,Xbox &Xbox 360 Wii &PlayStation 3 |
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Modes | |
Call of Duty 3 is a 2006first-person shooter game developed byTreyarch and published byActivision. It is the third major installment in theCall of Duty series. It was released forPlayStation 2,Xbox,Xbox 360,PlayStation 3 andWii. It was a launch title for the PlayStation 3 and Wii in North America, Europe and Australia. It is also the only major installment to not release on PC.
The game received positive reviews on release and received several awards and nominations. Retrospective assessments have been more negative, with critics criticizing the game for lacking in innovation following its predecessors, although some noted the game featured elements that would be incorporated into later games in the series.Call of Duty 3 has placed low in lists ranking the series' games.
As of 2025,Call of Duty 3 remains the only title with officially active multiplayer servers on the PlayStation 2. Although connecting requires the use of custom DNS settings, the servers are still maintained and functional. On the original Xbox,Call of Duty 3 is playable online onInsignia, a revival server restoring online functionality to original Xbox Live capable games.
Call of Duty 3 is a historical first-person shooter game that has asingle-player campaign mode andmultiplayer mode.[2] It is open-ended, giving the player multiple paths to complete objectives, but plays similarly to the series'previous installment.[3] Players fight alongsideAI-controlled teammates against enemies who use various attack patterns, hide behind cover, and regroup to improved defensive positions.[3]
A character can be positioned in one of three stances: standing, crouching, or prone, each affecting the player's rate of movement and accuracy. Two firearms can be carried, and bothfragmentation andsmoke grenades can also be equipped; unlike previous installments in the series, players have the ability to toss live grenades back at the enemy.[3][4] Weapons and ammo from fallen foes or friendlies can be picked up to replace weapons in a player's inventory. A player may fire from the hip or aim down the gun'siron sights for increased accuracy.[4] The compass on theheads-up display (HUD) helps the player navigate to the location of each objective.[5]
Using cover helps the player avoid enemy fire or recover health after taking significant damage. Similar toCall of Duty 2, the edges of the screen turn red and the character's heartbeat will increase in volume, indicating that the player's health is low; it can be replenished through an automatic recovery system when the character is not taking fire.[4][6]
The player takes the perspective of either an American, British, Canadian, or Polish soldier during the single-player campaign, for a total of 14 missions. Set in theWestern Front ofWorld War II,Call of Duty 3 takes place in the year 1944 and contains missions specific to four majorAllied campaigns in theBattle of Normandy.[3][7] The player takes part in a series of objectives marked by their HUD; these include having the character arrive at a checkpoint, eliminate enemies in a specified location, manning a tank, and marking targets for air strikes.[5]Call of Duty 3 introduces to the series scripted close-combat sequences and multiple actions to arming explosives, both of which require the player to press buttons in sequences to progress.[5]
In addition to the single-player campaign,Call of Duty 3 features a wide range of multiplayer modes for players to participate in – each team allowing up to 24 on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, and 16 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in a single match. This is only in the online mode. All team game modes feature the soldiers of theAllied nations versus those of theAxis. Multiplayer features are absent from the Wii edition.
It is the first game in theCall of Duty series to introduce two different game modes. The "Normalized" mode was added to allow console players a way to adjust to the smaller kill box ofCall of Duty, its expansionUnited Offensive, andCall of Duty 2.
On the Xbox 360,Call of Duty 3 divides its multiplayer aspect into Player and Ranked matches. Player matches allow players to invite other players into their games, but do not contribute points toward the leader board or unlockAchievements. Ranked matches put the player with and against teams of random players, and contribute towards player points and allow players to unlock Achievements.
In line with other online-enabled games on the original Xbox, multiplayer forCall of Duty 3 onXbox Live was available to players until April 15, 2010. The game is now playable online on the replacement Xbox Live servers calledInsignia.[8][9]
In the American campaign, the player controls Private Nichols, a replacement for the29th Infantry Division. The squad participates in the final offensive in thecapture of Saint-Lô, where they meet Pfc. Salvadore Guzzo, a radio operator who becomes a part of the squad.. Afterwards, the squad got transferred to the90th Infantry Division as reinforcements to help secureSaint-Germain-sur-Sèves.
The squad assaultsMayenne to capture its bridge before the Germans could destroy it. Private Huxley is wounded in the fighting, forcingSergeant Frank McCullin to disarm the German bombs rigged to the bridge in his place, but is mortally wounded.Corporal Mike Dixon is promoted to Sergeant and assumes command. Shortly after, the squad is sent to clear outForêt d'Écouves and to locate a company ofcombat engineers; a surviving engineer reveals that their supply depot was overrun. The squad recaptures the depot and destroys a German roadblock. They then aid in the liberation of a crossroads atLe Bourg-Saint-Léonard, trapping the remaining German forces by closing theFalaise Pocket, before being ordered to defendChambois against those retreating.
At Chambois, the American units hold off against the Germans. Guzzo attempts to call forair support, but is wounded. Nichols and Dixon rescue him as air support arrives, but Dixon is shot and killed. Guzzo takes command and the squad fights through the rest of the town and hold off against the final attack as American reinforcements force the Germans to surrender. Two days later, Guzzo is promoted to Sergeant as the new squad later with Nichols and Huxley also promoted to Corporal. Four days later, Allied forcesliberate Paris.
In the British/French campaign, the player controls Sergeant James Doyle, a returning character fromCall of Duty: United Offensive and a member of the BritishSAS, who are to besent to France to assist the localMaquis Resistance. He is reunited withMajor Tiberius Ingram (also returning fromCall of Duty: United Offensive) and joined by Corporal Duncan Keith.
Parachuting in nearToucy after theirHandley Page Halifax is shot down, Doyle is rescued by Pierre LaRoche, the Maquis leader, and later recover one of their jeeps to regroup with resistance member Isabelle DuFontaine. The group assaults a manor house to free a captured Maquis member, Marcel as well as destroying theFlaK 88s before escaping on the jeeps.
The SAS and Maquis launch a raid on a German-held fuel plant atAutun and succeed in destroying its fuel and facilities. Doyle, Keith, Isabelle and Marcel escape in a German vehicle, but Ingram's vehicle is blown away and he is presumed killed. The group later receives information that Ingram is alive and being held captive in a nearby village. The SAS and the Maquis fighters rescue Ingram and several captured Maquis, before fending off a German counterattack, during which Isabelle is killed attempting to destroy a German armored car.
In the Canadian campaign, the player controls Private Joseph Cole ofThe Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, who is in an infantry platoon led byWW1 veteranLieutenant Jean-Guy Robichaud and his second-in-command, Sergeant Jonathan Callard. The platoon is part of the4th Canadian (Armoured) Division.
NearTilly-la-Campagne, as part ofOperation Totalize, the platoon attacks South along the Falaise road. They destroy a German artillery battery, before moving to capture a German-held industrial complex, holding off an enemy counterattack. The platoon later clears a forested area near the Laison River of several anti-tank positions and amotor pool for Allied convoys to move through. While advancing with other units to relievePolish forces defendingHill 262, Private Leslie Baron is assigned to the Polish1st Armored Division to replace their radio operator.
Cole's platoon frees a captured Canadian tank crew in thebattle for St. Lambert-sur-Dives, and with their help captures the town. The platoon is attacked by aKing Tiger tank, and the platoon flanks around it to detonate an underground German ammunition stockpile to destroy the tank. But it is discovered one of the fuses is a dud, forcing Sergeant Callard to manually detonate the charges and destroy the tank, sacrificing himself. Robichaud recommends Callard for a posthumousVictoria Cross and promotes Cole to the rank of Corporal. The unit rejoins the Canadian reinforcements to aid the Poles on Hill 262.
The Polish campaign revolves aroundCorporal "Bohater" Wojciech, aSherman Firefly driver in the Polish1st Armored Division. While aiding Canadian and British forces in the French countryside, the crew engages German armored units to capture and occupySaint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil. During the battle, Bohater's crew hunts down and destroys aKing Tiger commanded by thetank ace nicknamed "Black Baron". In the following weeks, Polish forces take up defensive positions at Mont Ormel off-screen.
Later, while defendingHill 262, the crew endure an assault by the remnants of the German7th Army in their attempt to escape theFalaise Pocket. Bohater's tank is knocked out, forcing the crew to fight on foot alongside the Polish infantry; in which Sergeant Łukasz Kowalski is killed. With their position overrun, the crew and Polish soldiers retreat towards the summit of Hill 262. Baron joins them and helps provide artillery support to destroy German tanks, but is killed by German fire when he refuses to flee further. Private Marek Ulan scavenges his radio, which is used again to call in artillery strikes. At the summit, a large counterattacking German force arrive, and Corporal Joakim Rudinski is killed. After desperate resistance, theRoyal Canadian Air Force andCanadian reinforcements appear and repel the Germans, leaving Hill 262 in Allied hands.
Three map packs were released for the Xbox 360 multiplayer game on theXbox Live Marketplace.[10] The first, "Champs", was released as a free download on January 11, 2007, and contained a single self-titled map.[11] The "Valor" map pack contained five new maps: Crossing, Ironclad, La Bourgade, Stalag 23, and Wildwood. The pack was released on January 27, 2007, for 800 MP ($10).[12] The final map pack, "Bravo", contained five new maps of which two were remade fromCall of Duty: United Offensive: Gare Centrale, Marseilles, Aller Haut, Seine River, and Rimling. The pack was released on May 31, 2007, for 800 MP.[13] The price of the map packs was later reduced to 400 MP ($5) each.[14]
Call of Duty 3 was unveiled by Activision shortly beforeE3 2006. It was revealed that Treyarch would be developing the title (their second in the series afterCall of Duty 2: Big Red One) which was set to release later that year.[15] The game would be running on Treyarch's own internal engine, NGL.[16] This game served as a launch title for the PlayStation 3 and Wii in North America, Europe and Australia. It was also the only majorCall of Duty installment not to be released forpersonal computer platforms and the only numerical sequel to date to have been a console-exclusive game alongsideBig Red One andCall of Duty: Finest Hour.
In an interview with Video Gamer,Call of Duty: World at War senior producer, Noah Heller, revealed the team had eight months to developCall of Duty 3.[17]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PS2) 82/100[18] (PS3) 80/100[19] (Wii) 69/100[20] (XBOX) 83/100[21] (X360) 82/100[22] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | C+[23] |
| Eurogamer | 7/10[25] |
| G4 | 3/5[24] |
| GameSpot | 8.2/10[26] |
| IGN | 8.8/10[27] |
Call of Duty 3 received "generally positive" reviews on all platforms except for the Wii, where it received "mixed or average" reviews, according toreview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[18][19][20][21][22]IGN gave a score of 8.8,[27] whileGameSpot gave an 8.2.[26] The game won various awards from publications for best shooter and sound design. TheAcademy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awardedCall of Duty 3 with "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design" during the10th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, along with nominations for outstanding achievement in "Art Direction", "Online Gameplay", "Original Music Composition", and "Visual Engineering".[28][29]
Retrospective assessments ofCall of Duty 3 have been mostly negative; it has placed low in lists ranking the series' games.[30][31][32][33][34] Critics have criticized the game for lacking in innovation following its predecessors,[30][31] although some noted the game featured elements that would be incorporated into later games in the series, such as vehicles, larger multiplayer maps, andquick-time melee events in the campaign.[32][35][36][34] Due to its short development time, several agreed it was Treyarch's worstCall of Duty game but acted as a "first draft" to their superior later games.[30][31][32][33]
Upon release,Call of Duty 3 was one of the best selling titles of November 2006 in the United States.[37] The game debuted at #3 on UK charts and dropped off the top 10 list by February 2007.[38][39] By the end of 2006, the game had sold approximately 1.1 million units in the US according toNPD Group.[40] By February 3, 2007, total sales in the United States were 2 million units.[41] The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 releases ofCall of Duty 3 each received a "Platinum" sales award from theEntertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[42] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies per version in the United Kingdom.[43] By November 2013, the game had sold 7.2 million copies worldwide.[44]
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