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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After playing the PC version of the first call of duty, and the expansion pack, I didn't quite know what to expect from the xbox 360 version. On the PC the game is smooth, precise, exciting, and overall a great deal of fun.

This game does not disappoint on the xbox 360. The battles are unbelievable. They are epic, fierce, and make you really feel like you're there at times. The pace is fairly adjustable since you can play to your play style for the most part. On most difficulty levels you can run and gun or sit back and play the sniper or let your boys do some of the work, etc. The easiest difficulty level is really, really easy. However, the veteran difficulty is really, really hard (but not unplayable, it's actually very fun because of the realism).

The online component is equally enjoyable. You can play with up to eight players in a few different kinds of matches. The levels are great (some are from older versions), and the competition online is good. I do notice major lag issues in about 25% of the games I play. When it does lag it's basically unplayable. However, I just jump out of that game, into another room and it's fine. Without lag, it's probably the best online game I've ever played.

They definitely need to do some work on the online ranking system (it doesn't work at all) and the online "lobby" (there isn't one). But the actual gameplay online is crisp and exciting.

I purchased most of the launch titles for the Xbox 360. This one is definitely my favorite so far. Some of the other games are solid, but this one is the most fun both online and off.

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... for me. Let me explain, oh my friends!

Little history. Started playing shooters on PC when I was a youngin'. Quake was the first. Quake II followed. III. Unreal. Unreal Tournament. A few lesser titles in between. All multiplayer, mind you. Since I was a kid, there was always something so (divinely) mind boggling about being able to link up different machines (at that time computers) and not only participate, but kill your friends, with ultra cool weapons and the like, in -- literally -- a universe outside our own. And, truly -- is there anything cooler? It's like psychically connecting with your friends in a lucid dream, only peppered with a concrete universe filled with its own physics and laws. The point of divuldging into this intimate joy of mine on paper(?)? Ever since I've been introduced to this experience of 'multiplayer', I have pretty much neglected single player in all games like a deformed foster child with epilepsy.

So why is 'Call of Duty 2' for Xbox 360 revolutionary for a gamer such as myself? It converted me. From what, you ask? From PC, to console. I defiantly backed my beliefs -- console could not (and hadn't -- objective fact I'd say!) come close to the PC in regards to multiplayer gaming. First person shooters only solidified the argument. For one, you've got a mouse, which undeniably offers a more precise degree of control. I played Mario Brothers on a controller, but after playing 'Goldeneye' on Nintendo 64 whenever I attended a friends house way back when, I shuddered with disgust. A controller couldn't touch what I was used to, not to mention the fact that you're playing on a full screen with a computer, at a very accomplished speed, opposed to split screen on the console, which, had one dared play four player, reached framerates of dire levels, not unlike viewing screenshots on the 'net (and I exaggerate only slightly).

So here comes 'Call of Duty 2' for the Xbox 360. For starters I only bought the system because a friend convinced me and I was actually impulsive about it, which I'm usually not. Had 'Project Gotham Racing' for a while which was actually pretty fun online, if a bit hard, and I was never into racing games. Few weeks later I bought the Duty, and I was impressed. Let me just say off the bat that as many know, the first many months of the game's existence the online play would become unplayable when a certain amount of people clogged a server. Sometime back now, however, the guys FINALLY released a patch and the game now works as well as it possibly could. Now, this is why the game refuses to let me abandon it:

- The graphics are very good, and perhaps more importantly, the framerate is excellent. A reoccuring problem among past console shooters (Halo and Halo 2 prayed it could touch 60 frames per second like CoD2) that had yet to be overcome, we now finally have a game that runs silky smooth 95% of the time, practically unaffected by the number of players on the screen or the viewing distance on larger levels. It's gloriously smooth, and I am completely obsessive about this sort of thing. Add to this the graphical prowess (which too is stunning despite an overall -- but in my opinion inconsequential -- semi-lack of detail in textures), and you've got a gaming universe that is good to go for even the most demanding lowlife.

- The control -- with great help from the consistent framerate -- is good. Once you've gotten used to it, it radiates. Best I've used on a console, beating out even the Halo's (which I dabbed in for a bit via friends) due again to the huge improvement in the rendering speed of the graphics. It becomes intuitive but with the constant ability to probe deeper into skill level. I personally play on the 'high' sensitivity setting and while I'm still not as good as I would be with a mouse (theorhetically), I am good -- far better than I could have ever imagined with a controller.

- Net code is delicious. Even with pings of up to 2-300 (KIND of stretching it), you have -- very -- little disadvantage over even the host. Because of the way it works, you aren't shooting and having it shoot .2 seconds later. However it does it, it does, but it compensates for the latency and there is practically no unfair play as a result. This whole point is of immense value because along with the awesome graphics and speed the netcode offers essentially no determent of any kind. Overall, this all adds up to a near-perfect online gaming experience that is as good as any I've played on PC... just stunning. Oh yeah, and Xbox Live's interface with the whole friend's dealie? Brilliant. Get with friends in seconds at any point in time. The microphone of course adds to the greatness of an already great experience.

- The game. It's fun as anything. The weapons are awesome. Sound effects blast and make for totally satisfying kills. Everything is well balanced, despite the fact that lesser skilled players will say snipers outweigh all other weapons. Maps overall are wonderfully designed and dynamic. Personally I'm still into the standard modes of play (there are five) -- deathmatch and team deathmatch -- and they are a riot. It all works, beautifully. It's FUN, so fun, and consequently can become like a powerful drug.

Hmmm. So yeah, five stars without any hesitation whatsoever, based simply on multiplayer. It is the one game that has never, for a second, made me regret the purchase of a 360.

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I gotta say I loved Perfect Dark AND Call of Duty 2. Both have good game play and graphics. I'm logging more game time on this one with my friends so definitely good points there.

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This game is simply justifies the purchase of the xbox 360!! it has intelligent enemies, great backgrounds and jaw dropping graphics. i feel if you are going to purchase the 360 this is a must own. i am not even a fan of the cod series or even the the moh series but this game has made me open my mind to this genre.

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I just got the 360 and Call of Duty 2 was the first game I launched with. If you ever enjoyed the Medal of Honor series....forget all you know. THIS is what WWII fighting is all about. Beware of those grenades and the bullets whizzing in from all sides. Intense first person shooter! You get to play Russians, British, and Americans against the world's greatest villians - the Nazis! Great weapons, graphics and gameplay. Non-stop too. If you die...just catch a breath and jump back out of the foxhole. It was a great time.

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This game is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the only problem is that in order to get some achievments, you have to play it on veteran mode. Sometimes you will be near the end of a level and the checkpoint will occur right in the middle of a battle. One time I was getting shot at by a tank and it saved the game. Only three shots will kill you. I HAD TO restart the whole level and it took me another hour to complete it.

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I really love this game. I'm not much of a gamer but I really enjoying playing this one, both by myself or in multi-player mode.

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I was a huge fan of the frist Call Of Duty, but this one brings war to a whole new level. This is the kind of game once you start playing it, you nver want to put it down. This is a turely breakthrough game for the Xbox 360. Some people will say that the 360 sucks, well when you get this game you will know that they are full of crap. ENJOY THIS AMAZING WAR GAME EXSPERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I returned Perfect Dark after playing it for 30 minutes in disbelief. It played clunky, and felt cheesy. This game however runs smooth, loads fast, and feels Next Gen. I'm sure its just a taste of what the 360 can do. It really puts the fear into you like no other war game I've seen. For once you don't feel like your springing traps and triggering the action. If you have HD and Surround, this is really your only luanch title worth getting.

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This game is definitely worth every dollar, just and all around great first shooter WW2 game. the gameplay is amazing it really does feel like ur in the very scene of the battle... the battle missions were very well selected for this game. Highly recommend it to anyone with a core or premium 360 console. great game.

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I was expecting a lot from this game as an owner of Ghost Recon 2. The third edition failed to impress, yea graphics got better and loading times are blazing fast, but the game itself just isn't as fun as the previous. It is actually alot easier to master than the previous, a little more game like than real world. It's good, just not great. Wait a couple of months and I'd expect it to get pretty cheap, not something I intend to keep in my premenant game collection.

Online play is just as expected. Not much say here, it's fails to impress in this regard as well. Ghost Recon 2 is definatly superior and more challenging.

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Excellent 1st shooter game, graphics are awesome, & you learn a little bit of history behind one of the most devasting wars in world history. It makes you realize, war is made to be played on a game console, not in real life...our world leaders have yet to understand this...

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