Having received my copy this morning, and spending a few hours playing it, I thought I would (as most gamers do) post my opinions on it. Btw, this is the PS3 version.
Let’s start with
graphics:
A mixed bag so far, at times they seem to be on par with those found in 4, but at other times they seem to have more in common with those found in 2 and 3, some of the textures appear very low res and as such look very out of place, others go for the Serious Sam approach and have a grainy appearance over them, as if it boost realism.
The character models are as good as 4, and have very nice textures, uniforms look suitably battered and faces look pretty good.
The fire looks, well, a but pants if I’m honest – there’s always plenty of it going off, and for such a prominent item, it could have done with a little more work on the looks; to make it a bit more realistic.
The game features dismemberment, now I’m not a psycho, but it is a welcome addition to the game – lobbing a ‘nade often results in bodies and legs parting company, and letting loose the shotgun at close range also has similar affects – one time I took someone’s arm of and they staggered around dazed.
Sound:
The musical score is a bit intrusive and at least one piece played during a raid, seemed a bit out of place for the setting – rather than using a nice orchestral piece, it stuck me as being more rock like – a bit of a miss to me.
Weapons sound a bit too gutless, you get used to how the weapons from this era apparently sounded, and as such, those found in 5 just seem a bit lower quality, as if this were a mod made on a budget, but are not totally worthless – just ‘different’.
Battles sound as manic as ever, with nice explosion effects and distant sounds of war.
Gameplay:
Same old really, I didn’t expect anything different, but I have had a couple of occasions where an enemy jumped on me, only for my view to end up getting stuck in the level, with no way to reload the last checkpoint – requiring that I restart the entire level (I may have been able to quit and reload, but didn’t try that as I wasn’t too far from the start).
Another problem is that the maps are very sticky – what I mean by that is you often get stuck on invisible objects, which in the heat of battle, prevents you from legging it, resulting in death and a few choice cuss words.
There are real problems with the hit detection at times, I have had perfectly lined up headshots, with no obstacles in my way, only for Mr Enemy to get away without a scratch; case one was a sniper in a tree, I took shots at him with a US rifle, a scoped Jap rifle, and he was finally felled by a few rounds of shotgun!
Now, a
BIG problem – even with auto aim/aim assist (whatever it’s called) off, the game still thinks you require assistance and will often happily move your sights onto someone else, just as you are lining up a nice distance shot. Memory fails me at this point, as I seem to recall CoD 4 also did this, and I ****ing hate it!
Value?
People will, no matter what, draw comparisons between this and Call of Duty 4. Personally I don’t mind the WW2 setting; I prefer using the bolt action rifles than an M16 (just more pleasing when you land a hit I guess), it is also a good setting for some massive scale battle carnage, which is always good fun for a bit of game-based excitement
Does it match number 4 though? Hmmmm, I think I’ll have to finish it before I can say, but so far it just seems to be more of CoD 3 – something that feels not as polished as an Infinity Ward release, but more like a fan made mod or short expansion. I’m not one for jumping on this “bash Treyarch wagon”, but of the two developers I think they are certainly the least skilled.
Worth £40? Not what I’ve seen so far, but I’m only on the third campaign at the moment (of how many?), so may change my opinion on that soon, I’ve also got Coop to play; the main reason for getting the game – but I would imagine it will go the way of Army of Two; me and a mate finish it then trade it in.
Anyway, that’s my feedback so far folks, feel free to agree or disagree, we’re all different after all
Scort.
