Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Reader Review

Call Of Duty 2 Big Red One is the second COD title on consoles. Taking a different approach from Finest Hour you won't be chopping and changing as you'll stick with the Big Red One throughout the game. In the game you will use a variety of vehicles including boats, planes, tanks and the like.

It's all well and good throwing in as much vehicles as you want but if they handle like a duff shopping trolley what's the point? The tanks slide all over the place and are a bitch to control. You'll only get one mission in the plane and that's not a bad thing in my opinion as if the plane gets shot down you have to start again. The checkpoint system is farily random as you'll kill a load of goons be low on health looking for a save point and not find one. Then when you're fine and don't really need one it crops up.

One thing Call Of Duty Big Red One has going for it though is the atmosphere it creates. The graphics are also great and some of the better graphics you'll see on your PS2. Dissapointingly the weapons don't have much variety but the aiming system is good which makes up for it. Anyway explosions go off around you, planes fly over your head and it feels like you're not just playing another war game. Then you have a squad around you and this is complete garbage. You have no control over them whatsoever and they will get in your way but on the upside they do actually attempt to take out the enemy. Also two squad members die and when they do this cringeworthy naff music kicks in. It feels like the squad don't give a damn about each other and when one of them gets shot to death they'll just carry on like nothing ever happened. As for the general A.I it's pretty decent as your enemies will hide behind cover and not just run at you and die a.k.a Killzone.

The game is also easy and woefully short and isn't in the same league with the likes of Brothers In Arms in WW2 First Person Shooters.

Overall Call Of Duty Big Red One is a fine if uninspiring experience. Too short, too easy and it feels like an extension more than a full on sequel. It tries to be something it's not and fails miserably. There are plenty better WW2 FPS's on PS2 most notably Brothers In Arms Road To Hill 30.