Call of Duty Classic

[silverback]

since this is a 2003 game I reckon is getting towards a retro game.

I got this as a free download with MW2 hardened Edition on the Xbox 360.

I wasn't sure what to expect as I was a late comer to the COD series (Nov 2010) but don't worry I am catching up fast and love the games.

Played MW2 through for the first time in a few hours awesome game, then went onto this.

Playing as an American, British and Soviet soldier you get a nice variety. It covers the drop to behind the beaches at Normandy, securing a bridge, dam and ship as a British soldier and as a Soviet basically the battle of Stalingrad.

First thing you notice is theres a health bar. Yes you need health packs in this game, unlike the later games where you just stay out of trouble for a few minutes and you heal in this you have to get health packs so you can't be as reckless as the later games.

Checkpoints, these are relatively far apart, some say this is a bad thing, I thought it was a good move as it meant you had to play smart.

Difficulty, this is where many say the game suffers as its too hard. On veteran yeah you won't beat it easily, no chance, I haven't even beaten veteran.

the story, excellent, as per the other COD's the story is solid and captivating. At no point was there a question of "why am I doing this stupid mission?" there was a purpose to each mission.

Voice acting was very good even Jason Statham was in it.

The American missions are the first missions and are rather easy. The Last missions are the Soviet missions and again quite easy.

However the middle British missions are the hardest of the game. In particular the escape from the damm on the back of the truck and the ship mission. However once you realise the tricks its easy.

The ship mission was the most frustrating, as after you went back up on deck you had to go up to the bridge destroy things and head back out to the awaiting boat. Once I realised theres no point in hanging around picking enemies off the key was to just leg it up to the bridge dealing with whoever came up then again legging it out to the boat it was easy. However when in the other boat duck so you don't get killed right at the end of the mission!

Having got this free with MW2 was the best surprise I have had in a long time. I would have happily paid extra for it off of live.

Graphics. The main issue was the darkness, there was no brightness option in the menu so as a result I had to mess about with the tv's settings in order to see anything. A lot of missions are set at night and I couldn't see a thing. Are the graphics good? They are ok, but its an old game and more than acceptable, in fact yes they are good when you keep that in mind.

I would recommend this game, I am a recent recruit to the COD series and I'm glad I got to see where it started. I am buying up the series and sadly not playing them in order but I have not really found that an issue yet.

A few issues for some but I thoroughly enjoyed the game

I would rate at 7/10

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Okay, I did read your review and think you have some valid points but I can't agree with how you began your article. All all due respect, it's nitpicking time! Feel free to agree or disagree, but hear me out.

A 2003 game is...retro? Yikes.

How do you define what is retro? Simply determined by a fixed period of time elapsing? If that's the case then is a 1987 Honda Accord a classic car? Are CRT Televisions retro? What about McDonolds Quarter-pounder or the movie Star Wars? Are all these things that are old automatically retro?

Think of furniture. Once something is one hundred or more years older, its usually called an antique, such as an antique table and chairs. But what about particle board tables from China you can buy at department stores? In a hundred years, will they really be antiques?

Personally, when it comes to gaming, I divide retro from modern along the push from 2D to 3D after 1993 or so when Virtua Fighter appeared in arcades and then 3D consoles and computers began to emerge.

Any system between then and current hardware such sas the N64 or Playstation 1 to me isn't retro, but it isn't current either. I'd say it falls into a middle ground of non current but still modern. Not quite sure if there's a word for it. In any case, Call of Duty 1 is not a retro game by any stretch of the word in my view.

Even still. I think time does play an important role and eventually I may have to reevaluate where I stand on systems like the PS1 or N64. They aren't retro now, but perhaps when consoles stop being designed to accept swappable physical media, don't use controllers as we know them or other major change...maybe then the Call of Duty Classic will be considered retro.

[Curlypaul]

To most people an 8 year old game is ancient, and although in this case we are talking about an FPS which are obviously still very popular atm, I think the genre has evolved enough for Cod1 to be considered retro.

Nice review

[nickfil]

To most people an 8 year old game is ancient, and although in this case we are talking about an FPS which are obviously still very popular atm, I think the genre has evolved enough for Cod1 to be considered retro.

Nice review

yeah- a COD game with a heathbar is retro for sure.

[Curlypaul]

Thats what I like about it, a healthbar and non-respawning nazis so I can play the way I choose too

[Spike77]

Trully one of the last FPSers that I trully enjoyed. I just can't make myself play FPS now a days

Thanks for the review!

[Flake]

A 2003 game is...retro? Yikes.

I had the same reaction.