| Call of Duty 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Infinity Ward[a] |
| Publisher | Activision[b] |
| Director | Jason West |
| Producer | Vince Zampella |
| Designers |
|
| Programmer | Eric Pierce |
| Artists |
|
| Writer | Michael Schiffer |
| Composer | Graeme Revell |
| Series | Call of Duty |
| Engine | IW engine |
| Platforms | |
| Release | |
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Call of Duty 2 is a 2005first-person shooter game developed byInfinity Ward and published byActivision in most regions of the world. It is the second installment of theCall of Duty series. Announced by Activision on April 7, 2005, the game was released forMicrosoft Windows on October 25, 2005, and as alaunch title for theXbox 360 on November 22, 2005.[4] Other versions were eventually released forOS X,mobile phones, andPocket PCs.
The game is set duringWorld War II and the campaign mode is experienced through the perspectives of four soldiers: one in theRed Army, one in theUnited States Army, and two in theBritish Army. It contains four individual campaigns, split into three stories, with a total of 27 missions. Many features were added and changed from the originalCall of Duty, notablyregenerating health and an icon that indicates a nearbygrenade about to explode.
The game drew critical praise, particularly for the graphics, sound, and the regenerating health system. The Xbox 360 version sold more than 250,000 copies in its first week, more than two million copies by January 2008, and nearly six million copies by November 2013.[9] Retrospective reviews have been positive, with critics praising the game's improvements over its predecessor and innovations that become the series' mainstays, although some have found it dated. It is considered to be one of the Xbox 360's best games andone of the best video games of all time.
Call of Duty 2is a first-person shooter that has a single-player story mode and a multiplayer mode. The player takes on the roles of severalAllied protagonists in specific missions duringWorld War II. The player can crouch and lie prone, and is able to scale low walls and other obstacles.[10]
The player can carry twofirearms, and may swap them for others found on the battlefield. A gun'siron sights can be used to aim more accurately.Fragmentation andsmoke grenades can be carried. Emplaced weapons such asmachine guns andflak cannons are available in some locations. Some missions place the player in control of a tank.[11]
Acompass on theheads-up display (HUD) shows allies, enemies, and markers that indicate locations the player must reach, areas to defend, or enemyartillery pieces ortanks that the player must plantexplosives on to disable.
The player hasbinoculars. Generally ignored duringinfantry-centric missions, they are useful for scouting and vital to the long-range use of theCrusader tanks and a mission in which the player must directartillery fire to defend a town.[12]
Should the player take severe damage, the screen will turn red and the sound of the character's heartbeat will increase in volume; these indicate that the player'shealth is low. Health is only restored through automatic recharging when the player is not taking fire. Some attacks will kill the player instantly, such as nearby explosions bygrenades orshells.[13] A player who dies restarts from the last checkpoint.
In April 2006, Infinity Ward releasedCall of Duty 2 Radiant, which allows a player to create their own multiplayer or single-player maps. The mapmaker includes Maya plug-in support, an effects editor, and an asset manager that allows custom models to be made and imported into the game, as well as custom effects.[14]
Call of Duty 2 contains three individual campaigns, fought in the roles of four World War II soldiers, for a total of 27 missions.[15][16] The game has four difficulty levels: Easy, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran.
Call of Duty 2 features several game types: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Capture the Flag and Headquarters.[17] The maps includeNormandy,Africa, andRussia. Each team can choose a variety of weapons, depending on the map. Players can choose between American soldiers, Soviet soldiers, and British soldiers for the Allied forces, while theAxis forces must play as German soldiers.[18]
Each PC multiplayer server can hold a maximum of 64 players, while the limit is eight players on Xbox.[19] In the Xbox 360 version, players can play onXbox Live and get new map packs. There are 13 official maps, including three remakes from the originalCall of Duty. There are three extra map packs (Bonus Pack, Skirmish Pack, and Invasion Pack) that add a total of eight maps.[20]
The player controlsPrivate Vasili Koslov of the13th Guards Rifle Division in December 1941, initially involved in thedefense of Moscow from the advancing German troops. The next level involves the destruction of a German stronghold inStalingrad during early December 1942. The next objective involves battling for strongholds throughout Stalingrad throughout the middle of December 1942, including re-connecting cut telephone wires and re-capturing the rail-yard and train-station. The final mission takes place during thefinal Soviet offensive in Stalingrad in January 1943, which involves the re-capture and defense of city blocks and Stalingrad city hall.
The player controls a British soldier,Sergeant John Davis of the7th Armoured Division inNorth Africa, led byCaptain Price. The first level in early November 1942, has the player taking part in a sneak attack on GermanAfrika Korps troops, ending with the destruction of a German supply station. The next level has the player defending a town from overwhelming numbers of Germans sending counter attacks from North, West, South and East; finally achieving victory by destroying much of the Germantank force using artillery. This is followed by theSecond Battle of El Alamein, during which the player has to fight through severaltrenches,machine gun nests, 88mmFlak 36 guns and finally taking the German field headquarters. The assault onEl Dabaa to intercept the remaining Germans inEgypt and destroy several 88mm guns soon follows, ending the first British campaign.[21] Anaddendum to the second set of missions has the player taking on the role of a British tank commander, David Welsh, while engaging German forces inLibya. The first mission of the third campaign inToujane,Tunisia, has the player immediately under fire, holding a house until they break out and rendezvous with the second squad. They then retake Toujane with reinforcements the next day all before assaultingMatmata. The final British campaign takes place during theBattle for Caen as part ofOperation Overlord.
AsCorporal Bill Taylor of the2nd Ranger Battalion, the player starts off by playing a part inD-Day, at the assault ofPointe du Hoc, to destroy a German artillery battery, and hold it against a massive Germancounter-offensive in the following mission. Soon after,the player captures a nearby town and serves as a sniper againstmortar crews until reinforcements arrive. The second objective is focused onHill 400, involving the capture of Bergstein, a disastrous charge at Hill 400's bunkers and the defense against the German counterattack, with the player again performing sniper work against German mortar teams, destroying enemy armor, and generally holding the hill against a massive counter-attack, all the while burdened by artillery and overwhelming numbers of German soldiers. The final mission is set amongst the Americans in theRhine River crossing intoGermany. It begins as one of the few missions with the player immediately under fire, providing cover fire against the Germans until reaching the riverbanks and then fighting through most of the town. The final fight has the player defeat two GermanTiger I tanks.
The end credits depict the dramatic rescue of Captain Price from the Germans by a group of American soldiers. After the credits end, the words "No cows were harmed in the making of this game" appear, as in the originalCall of Duty. This is a reference to the dead cattle visible in the Normandy missions.[10]
On April 7, 2005, Activision announced that Infinity Ward was developingCall of Duty 2, set for release in fall 2005 for PC. It had been speculated that Infinity Ward was developing the sequel at the same time asGray Matter Studios developedCall of Duty: United Offensive. Infinity Ward president Grant Collier said:
"Our team at Infinity Ward is committed to thrusting gamers into the heat of battle like no other, taking players on a thrill-ride of adrenaline that leaves everyone gasping for air. InCall of Duty 2, we are creating the most intense and realistic action game imaginable with a stunning visual atmosphere and an advanced technology that delivers an unprecedented level of authenticity".[22]
The press release said players would engage enemies in a less linear battlefield, tackle the major battles chronologically, and use squad tactics not available in previousCall of Duty games. Infinity Ward also confirmed making a "Battle Chatter System", similar toMedal of Honor: Pacific Assault, where squad members converse to create situational awareness.[22]
Thegame engine—proprietaryIW engine—is a modified version ofid Tech 3, which was used in the firstCall of Duty game. With the new game engine, Infinity Ward expanded the scope of combat to deliver a realistic battlefield experience and improved the visuals. The developers were able to cloud visibility with smoke from smoke grenades and create weather effects like dustysandstorms and whiteoutblizzard.[23]
The game was known to "let players experience four individual soldier stories as they overcome insurmountable odds in multiple campaigns. Players have the freedom to follow each of the four storylines through for the ultimate character-driven experience, or they can engage in the historic battles chronologically for quick hitting action. Squads now have the freedom to take on a variety of mission objectives, on expansive battlefields that allow for multiple paths and the ability to utilize actual combat tactics like outflanking and fire and maneuver capabilities".[24]
Call of Duty 2 was going to be more immersive than the originalCall of Duty. Vince Zampella, creative director of Infinity Ward, said, "We didn't want to take any of the parts out that madeCall of Duty so good. But there were a couple of things that we admit could have been done better". A demo of the game showed a more open gameplay style and a better AI for the enemies, who would actively go after the player. There are a set number of enemies set on the map that will begin reacting to the player's presence once the first shot has been fired. Groups of enemies farther away send units up to see what is happening and add to the combat while enemies directly in front of the player will join in and take cover quickly.[25]
Infinity Ward spent a lot of time on WWII battlefields, which led them to scrap whole levels for parts of the game that took place in France, since they found the location very different from what they imagined.
One of the details the team added are post-war effects that continue on the battlefield throughout the game, where dust and smoke continue to roll through the streets, clouding up vision, and junk anddebris scattered everywhere. The game has sound attenuation, with a 5.1surround sound system, and context sensitive dialog, with a total of twenty-thousand lines of dialog. Each of the soldiers fighting alongside the player will call out the position of enemy soldiers, warn offlank attacks, and help out in ways that were not possible in the first game of the series. Zampella said, "We really wanted realistic battle chatter going that's not only entertaining, but actually adds to the gaming experience. So now you'll hear your guys telling you that there's [sic] two guys hiding behind that rusty car in the street or that there are people on the second floor of a building".[26]
A small grayed-out grenade icon appears in the center of the screen when the player is near a grenade, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the grenade. Enemies can sometimes seem to be dead when they are not, where the enemy can still wield hisside arm and fire at the player, known as Last Stand, which would later become a perk available to players in the multiplayer of subsequent games.[27]
The game was showcased inE3 in 2005 and was announced as a launch title for the upcoming Xbox 360.[28][29]
The game's budget was $14.5 million.[30] Development time was 2 years with 75 people.[30] Despite being first on the new Xbox 360 platform, the game was developed with no mandatory overtime or weekend work.[31]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 86/100[32] (X360) 89/100[33] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| 1Up.com | (X360) A[34] |
| Eurogamer | (X360) 7/10[35] |
| GamePro | (X360) [36](PC)  [37] |
| GameSpot | (X360) 8.8/10[40] (PC) 8.8/10[41] |
| GameSpy | (PC)[38] (X360) [39] |
| IGN | (X360) 9.0/10[42] (PC) 8.5/10[15] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 9.0/10[43] |
| X-Play | (PC)[37] |
Call of Duty 2 received "generally positive" reviews, according toreview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[32][33] The graphics and sound were widely praised and the reactions to the regenerating health system were mostly positive, with reviewers fromGameSpot andGamePro calling it an improvement over the previous health bar system.[44][45]
For the Xbox 360 version,IGN's Douglass C. Perry described the presentation as "classy and well-produced", and said the graphics were some of the best on the Xbox 360 at its launch. He called the sound effects "unbelievable", whilst the gameplay was described as containing an "enormous amount of action".[46]GameSpot reviewer Bob Colayco summarized his review by stating thatCall of Duty 2 has "smooth, detailed graphics and great sound", as well as praising theartificial intelligence, realism, and variety in the campaign.[47]GamePro called the game "breathtaking", and commended the game for its "strikingly realistic detail on weapons and walls, emphasized by normal mapping, exceptional shading and lighting, specular highlights, and some absolutely phenomenal particle effects".[36]GameSpy editor Will Tuttle called it "One of the finest FPSs ever created. Thanks to a combination of sharp visuals, teeth-rattling sound effects, and tricky enemy AI, you'll be on the edge of your seat from the moment you're dropped into combat until your dying breath".[39]
For the PC version,IGN editor Tom McNamara was impressed with the presentation and graphics, describing them as "Excellent" and "smooth" respectively. He also said the graphics did not suffer "from also being developed for the 360". McNamara also praised the sound, describing it as "sad music, encompassing battle noise, and excellent voice work".[48] Bob Colayco ofGameSpot also reviewed the PC version of the game, as he did its Xbox 360 counterpart. Colayco again commended the sound, calling the presentation of the game "excellent", as well as praising the aggression of the artificial intelligence. Unlike in his review of the Xbox 360 version, Colayco felt the multiplayer aspect was "fun". His main critique was forperformance, stating "performance can chug at times".[44]GameSpy's Sal Accardo noted "Instead of feeling like a stale retread [of the originalCall of Duty] or losing steam halfway through, it manages to be a blast from start to finish".[38]GamesRadar' Joshua Latendresse called the single-player campaign "stunning" and cited that the multiplayer was even better.[49]
Despite this praise, McNamara ofIGN commented that he finds implementing regenerating health to be "a little troublesome", and that it allows players to "experience a kind of combat only a mythical super-soldier could withstand" which, therefore, "propels the game from gritty authenticity toJohn Woo fantasy".[48]GameSpot's Colayco was critical of the game's pricing, stating it had a "higher pricepoint than its PC counterpart". He also complained that themultiplayer aspect could only support eight players.[47] The PC version multiplayer was criticized as being a step back from that ofCall of Duty: United Offensive.[50][51]
Call of Duty 2 was the most popular launch title on the Xbox 360, with 200,000 units sold in its first week of availability.[52] 77% of people who purchased an Xbox 360 also purchased the game, which contributed to its high sales.[53] As of July 2006, 1.4 million copies of the game had been sold on the Xbox 360.[54] By January 2008, the game had sold 2 million copies.[55] By November 2013, the game had sold 5.9 million copies.[56]
The editors ofComputer Games Magazine namedCall of Duty 2 the seventh-best computer game of 2005. They called it "the ultimate WWII shooter".[57]
During the9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, theAcademy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominatedCall of Duty 2 for "Overall Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", "First-Person Action Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay", and "Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering".[58]
Retrospective assessments ofCall of Duty 2 have been mostly positive. Critics have praised the game for its campaign, impressive set pieces, gameplay, multiplayer,[59][60][61][62][63] and innovations over its predecessor that became mainstays in subsequent games in the series, including health regeneration, smoke grenades, and a grenade damage indicator.[64][65][63] Sam Loveridge ofGamesRadar+ argued thatCall of Duty 2 was "the foundation for the series' rapid rise to dominance".[66] It has been called one of the Xbox 360's best games, one that showcased the console's technical achievements.[64][67][66] Others have criticized the game as dated and noted the limitations of the multiplayer on the Xbox 360, which allowed only eight players in matches.[64][62][63] In lists ranking the series' games,Call of Duty 2 has generally placed between ten and fifteen,[59][67][65][68][62] although others have placed it in the top five,[60][63] with the staff ofNME ranking it number two behindCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007).[61]
A television advertisement forCall of Duty 2 was the subject of some controversy in 2006. The commercial, created by aLos Angeles animation studioRhythm and Hues Studios, depicted a first-person view of events that were supposed to transpire during the game, rather than scenes from the game itself. Some consumers felt that the advertisements were misleading, and in February 2006 the United Kingdom'sAdvertising Standards Authority (ASA) demanded that networks remove the advertisements after three consumers filed complaints of false advertising. According to ASA spokesperson Donna Mitchell, "Viewers felt that the ad was misleading because the quality of graphics was superior to that of the game's".[69] Activision denies that the scenes were meant to give an impression of gameplay, stating in a press release shortly after the ASA banning that "The footage was intended purely to communicate the subject matter of the game rather than to represent actual gameplay".[70]
A collector's edition of the game was released for Windows on October 25, 2005 and for the Xbox 360 labeled as the "Special Edition". It features the game and a bonus disc, which includes interviews, a making of the movie and two mission walkthroughs.[71] On May 17, 2006, Activision announced a Game of the Year Edition for the Xbox 360, which includes material from the Special Edition, plus a token to download the Skirmish Map Pack.[72] In January 2006, MFORMA (nowHands-On Mobile) releasedCall of Duty 2 for mobile phones.[73] The mobile version is a2Dtop-down shooter. It received a favorable review from IGN, praising its length and storytelling.[74]
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