Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360)

Call of Duty 2 takes place more than half a century in the past during World War II. It is about as close as you can come to being there using today's commonly available technology. I played on a crappy 19" color TV provided by the military, so I didn't get the full experience.

I plan to play through the single player campaigns again when I get home. The game is that engrossing.

You start off the single player campaign as a Russian private and you're thrown into battle almost immediately after a very short shooting and grenade tossing lesson.

Everything about Call of Duty 2 is scripted. It's so well scripted though, that I often felt as if the soldiers around me were actually thinking and breathing. Part of this effect is created by the game's amazing graphics engine; which allows you to see the frost rising as men breathe in and out in the cold Russian winter. The sounds of battle are ultrarealistic as well. The troops around you talk and you hear radio chatter that give you hints about what is going on as well as explicit instructions.

Back to the scripting though. At one point in the game, I found myself out of the action, because I'd wandered backwards through the scripted sequences into an area where the action was already over. The game's sense of "aliveness" had completely died. Everything felt static and two-dimensional. As soon as I hit an invisible map line, the chatter and living war environment picked right back up.

As you play through Call of Duty 2, you'll find yourself playing the role of sniper, machine gunner, grenade lobber, tank driver and explosives expert in a variety of stunningly rendered environments.

Overall, the environments and the storyline are superb. From the beginning campaign in the dead of Russian winter to the final climatic scenes storming German fortified positions in France, you'll die many times and watch those around you dying too. Until we have a Star Trek holodeck to play with, this is about as close as you can get to real war without losing the reset button. Trust me, the reset button in a good thing. War is a sobering experience.

If you're a World War II history buff and action shooter junkie, or either one, this game is for you.

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I'm not a "gamer" folks and hopefully will never claim to be, but this game, in my book anyway, has to go down as simply one of the best that I've ever played.

The story is pure (true to the subject) and when showing it to a history buff Major of mine in the U.S. Army he was amazed at the ability to almost relive some of the most brutal and amazing battles that have ever takin place.

From a young Russian sharpshooter to a tank-commander to a british line-man to a U.S. Infantry Cpl., this game and its' story takes you through the War.

The graphics are exceptional and I'm saying this even though being stationed in Korea I am unable to play on my high def plasma screen. I honestly can't wait to see this thing on that coupled with my surround sound speakers. It's actually the ONLY game that I would recommend so far (I own Ridge Racer6, Madden 2006 and NBA Live 2006) that I would say warrants the 60 dollar price tag.

The online play may be a bit suspect right now (but keep in mind that only like 100 other people in the world own the system right now) but that's bound to be fixed in the near future.

I CAN say that one of my measures of ANY game at this point (keep in mind, that I'm NOT a "gamer") is that if I actually am able to "beat" a game that I should feel somewhat disappointed. With that in mind, I can assure you that if/when you complete everything in this game you will wish that the story would JUST KEEP GOING...

If you're looking for a fun shooter, with some real-life attributes, mixed with a lot of "WoW moments" - this is the game you're looking for.

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Don't listen to the first 2 comments. They're dumb and have never played this game. I on the other hand HAVE played it and it's great!

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