Release Date: October 25, 2005
Developers: Infinity Ward, Aspyr
Awards: VGX Award for Best Military Game
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, macOS Windows Mobile, Classic Mac OS
Mode: Multiplayer video game
Nominations: VGX Award for Game of the Year, VGX Award for Best Original Score, Satellite Award for Outstanding Platform Action/Adventure Game, VGX Award for Best Military Game, VGX Award for Best PC Game, VGX Award for Best First-Person Action, VGX Award for Best Graphics
This article is about the second instalment in the Call of Duty series.
Call of Duty 2 is a 2005 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in most regions of the world. It is the second instalment of the Call of Duty series. Announced by Activision on April 7, 2005, the game was released for Microsoft Windows on October 25, 2005, and as a launch title for the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005. Other versions were eventually released for OS X, mobile phones, and Pocket PCs.
The game is set during World War II and the campaign mode is experienced through the perspectives of four soldiers: one in the Red Army, one in the United States Army, and two in the British Army. It contains four individual campaigns, split into three stories, with a total of 27 missions. Many features were added and changed from the original Call of Duty, notably regenerating health and an icon that indicates a nearby grenade about to explode.
The game drew critical praise, particularly for the graphics, sound, and the regenerating health system. The Xbox 360 version sold more than 250,000 copies in its first week, more than 2 million copies by January 2008, and nearly 6 million copies by November 2013.
Gameplay
Call of Duty 2 is a first-person shooter that has a single-player story mode and a multiplayer mode. The player takes on the roles of several Allied protagonists in specific missions during World War II. The player can crouch and lie prone, and is able to scale low walls and other obstacles.
The player can carry two firearms, and may swap them for others found on the battlefield. A gun’s iron sights can be used to aim more accurately. Fragmentation and smoke grenades can be carried. Emplaced weapons such as machine guns and flak cannons are available in some locations. Some missions place the player in control of a tank.
A compass on the heads-up display (HUD) shows allies, enemies, and markers that indicate locations the player must reach, areas to defend, or enemy cannons or tanks that the player must plant explosives on to disable.
The player has binoculars. Generally ignored during infantry-centric missions, they are useful for scouting and vital to the long-range use of the Crusader tanks and a mission in which the player must direct artillery fire to defend a town.
Should the player take severe damage, the screen will turn red and the sound of the character’s heartbeat will increase in volume; these indicate that the player’s health is low. Health is only restored through automatic recharging when the player is not taking fire. Some attacks will kill the player instantly, such as nearby explosions by grenades or shells. A player who dies restarts from the last checkpoint.
In April 2006, Infinity Ward released Call of Duty 2 Radiant, which allows a player to create their own multiplayer or single-player maps. The mapmaker includes Maya plug-in support, an effects editor, and an asset manager that allows custom models to be made and imported into the game, as well as custom effects.
Trailer
Campaign
Call of Duty 2Â contains three individual campaigns, fought in the roles of four World War II soldiers, for a total of 27 missions. The game has four difficulty levels: Easy, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran.
Multiplayer
Call of Duty 2 features several game types: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Capture the Flag and Headquarters. The maps include Normandy, Africa, and Russia. Each team can choose a variety of weapons, depending on the map. Players can choose between American soldiers, Soviet soldiers, and British soldiers for the Allied forces, while the Axis forces must play as German soldiers.
Each PC multiplayer server can hold a maximum of 64 players, while the limit is eight players on Xbox. In the Xbox 360 version, players can play on Xbox Live and get new map packs. There are 13 official maps, including three remakes from the original Call of Duty. There are three extra map packs (Bonus Pack, Skirmish Pack, and Invasion Pack) that add a total of eight maps.
Plot
Soviet Campaign:
The player controls Private Vasili Koslov of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, initially involved in the defense of Moscow from the advancing German forces. The next level involves the destruction of a German stronghold in Stalingrad during September 1942. The next objective involves battling for strongholds throughout Stalingrad throughout December 1942, including re-connecting cut telephone wires and re-capturing the rail-yard and train-station. The final mission takes place during the final Soviet offensive in Stalingrad in January 1943, which involves the re-capture and defense of city blocks and Stalingrad city hall.
British Campaign:
The player controls a British soldier, Sergeant John Davis of the 7th Armoured Division in North Africa, led by Captain Price. The first level has the player taking part in a sneak attack on German Afrika Korps troops, ending with the destruction of a German supply station. The next level has the player defending a town from overwhelming numbers of Germans sending counter attacks from North, West, South and East; finally achieving victory by destroying much of the German tank force using artillery. This is followed by the Second Battle of El Alamein, during which the player has to fight through several trenches, machine gun nests, 88mm Flak 36 guns and finally taking the German field headquarters. The assault on El Dabaa to intercept the remaining Germans in Egypt and destroy several 88mm guns soon follows, ending the first British campaign. An addendum to the second set of missions has the player taking on the role of a British tank commander, David Welsh, while engaging German forces in Libya. The first mission of the third campaign in Toujane, Tunisia, has the player immediately under fire, holding a house until they break out and rendezvous with the second squad. They then retake Toujane with reinforcements the next day all before assaulting Matmata. The final British campaign takes place during the Battle for Caen as part of Operation Overlord.
American Campaign:
As Corporal Bill Taylor of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the player starts off by playing a part in D-Day, at the assault of Pointe du Hoc, to destroy a German artillery battery, and hold it against a massive German counter-offensive in the following mission. Soon after, the player captures a nearby town and serves as a sniper against mortar crews until reinforcements arrive. The second objective is focused on Hill 400, involving the capture of Bergstein, a disastrous charge at Hill 400’s bunkers and the defense against the German counterattack, with the player again performing sniper work against German mortar teams, destroying enemy armor, and generally holding the hill against a massive counter-attack, all the while burdened by artillery and overwhelming numbers of German Blue Division soldiers. The final mission is set amongst the Americans in the Rhine River crossing into Germany. It begins as one of the few missions with the player immediately under fire, providing cover fire against the Germans until reaching the river banks and then fighting through most of the town. The final fight has the player defeat two German Tiger Is.
Ending
The end credits depict the dramatic rescue of Captain Price from the Germans by a group of American soldiers. After the credits end, the words “No cows were harmed in the making of this game” appear, as in the original Call of Duty. This is a reference to the dead cattle visible in the Normandy missions.
Newer Call of Duty
Call of Duty 2 is a gem in the gaming world and will forever be one of the greatest experiences for many avid gamers but the gameplay and graphics are definitely aged and do not look and feel as good as the latest games from the series with another banger of a Call of Duty game in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 released in 2022. Check out our review on it here: https://thegamerzden.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-ii-the-gamerz-den/
