Call of Duty: United Offensive - Your time to join!
Written: Sep 19 '04 (Updated Dec 06 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: most worthy expansion for 2003's Game of the Year, refined graphics and controls
Cons: slightly more expensive than usual expansions, original game required
The Bottom Line: One more time, step up to those 'Germans' and show them that united efforts are unstoppable. ;-)
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| theuerkorn's Full Review: Call of Duty: United Offensive for Windows |
If 2003's Call Of Duty left you with an unsatiable need for more, then this is for you - the official expansion pack: United Offensive.
Note: The original game is required to play the expansion.
AN EXPANSION ONLY!
Since this is basically a few refinements and a total of 13 more missions (add to the 24 in the original game), most of the facts regarding the original game Call Of Duty are still valid. Please refer to the respective review for in-depth details. I am going to cover mostly the changes of the expansion in this review.
Note: "Call of Duty" first was release for PC unter that name only. The slightly revised version of that very game will be released this fall for consoles like PS2 and XBox. There it will carry the name "Call of Duty: Finest Hour". The 15 levels are a little different and re-arranged compared to the PC. (A few more playable characters have been added as well.) However, the expansion pack for the PC is called "Call of Duty: United Offensive". I know it's a little confusing but I hope that clears it up.
MAIN FEATURES
The expansion adds basically the following things:
1. Thirteen all new singleplayer campaigns
2.a. Added three new multi-player modes
2.b. Eleven all new multi-player maps
3. Added eleven new weapons
4. Added special effects (particle)
5. Slightly revised controls (allows sprinting)
The developer changed as well and while developer Infinity Ward signs responsible for the original Call of Duty, Gray Matter Interactive follows up with the United Defensive expansion.
Most of the game is unchanged and you'll still take the role of American, British, and Russian soldiers and get a chance to win some of the most climactic battles of World War II. Especially interesting are the Battle of the Bulge, the invasion of Sicily, and very much so the (tank) Battle of Kursk. The latter turned out to be one of the key battles in the defeat of Germany due to destruction of the main part of the German tanks.
While still a first person shooter, the mobile portion (not spent by foot) has been slightly increased and allows now to fight in tanks, jeeps, motorcycles (new), a speed boat (new), and even a bomber (new). Nevertheless it's still streamlined. But that's really no issue since the events develop like a good novel.
Multiplayer has been extended not only by 11 new maps but also three new game modes. Domination, Capture the Flag, and Base Assault are new and add to the fun. However, I am not much of a multiplayer and for those modes rather refer to Unreal Tournament 2004.
HOW DOES IT PLAY?
Graphics: Realism has been the greatest feature of Call of Duty. Graphics being one of them have been improved as well and weather effects (i.e. volumetric fog) as well as improved explosions. With all that, the game remains amazingly fast on mid-range computers.
Controls: Relying on the same standard PC controls (keyboard and mouse) allows everybody familiar with COD to get a hang of the expansion very quickly. That's necessary since there is no training camp. The 2 new controls (sprinting via ALT) and cocking a grenade are easy to learn and a welcome addition.
Sound: Still Amazing! Just like the original game the expansion conveys the sheer mind numbing threat of flying bullets and death around every corner very well. Voice acting is still great.
Animation: It seems that slight improvements were made regarding animation, and most characters are smooth and life-like.
Cut scenes: Still distinctively lo-res, but cut scenes are well done in order to carry on the story on (which is not too deep). The whole game follows the same scheme with game levels and story related cut scenes inbetween.
Weapons: The whole weapon arsenal of the first version is still avaialbale and a few new types can be found and used on your way. The number of major weapons to be carried is of course limited to 2 (pretty much same concept as in Halo). There are a total of 25 different 'old' weapons and 11 'new' ones available, depending on which side you're on. There are basically 2 new different types (flame thrower & rocket launcher).
Progress: No changes here and that's good since the save function is one of the best in the gaming world. Not only does it allow to save at any time, it also does so automatically when reaching a check point. Never change a winning team and the developer did good to leave everything the way it was.
Navigation: No changes here either, the player is still provided with instructions on what to do by his virtual commander. A compass allows to easily find your next objective by showing direction and distance as well as allies and enemies.
Enemy AI: No obvious changes here. Enemies still adopt to your actions. I have yet to encounter situations where my own troops have trouble to stay out of my bullet's way as seen in the first part. 'Friendly' fire will fail a mission. Nothing to complain about here.
WORTHY EXPANSION OR JUST EXPENSIVE?
If you liked the original game, you did good not to get rid of it yet and here is your chance to feel the excitement one more time, or 15 more times to be exact.
Call of Duty: United Offensive does good to bring us epic battles of WWII and with it the intense experience of fire exchanges between the allied troops and the Germans - all in the safety of your room. Avoiding attempts to rewrite history or win lost battles (Vietnam) or ideological justification of existing conflicts (Iraq) make this game especially interesting since it puts you in the shoes of Americans as well as the British or Russians.
Anyway, if an expansion could win Game of the Year, I would vote for 'Call of Duty: United Offensive' this year. It's intense fun, realistic, educational (to some degree) and did I mention fun?
The expansion manages to extend the best of the original game, refine it and deliver a fresh game that - despite its close ties to the original - still can claim fame for itself.
If you got fascinated by Call Of Duty in 2003, go and get the expansion today. You will not regret it, I am sure. If you never heared of COD before, the original game is currently available for $29 and for roughly $60 in total you get 39 exciting levels of WWII gameplay. Compare that to $54 for a graphically stunning but otherwise average shooter like DOOM 3.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Demo - http://www.3dgamers.com/games/callofdutyuo/ [220MB]
Game - http://www.callofduty.com/unitedoffensive/main.html
Community - http://www.planetcallofduty.com/
Recommended:
Yes
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