Once More Into the Breech: Call of Duty

By Jonathan Berohn

World War II has long been the favorite subject of traditional board war games. Lately it's also been the subject of a flood of video game titles, too. I'm sure its no coincidence that this surge coincides with the popularity of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers," for the video gamer, though, all that means is good news and more options. One of the better of these options to come along in a while is Activision's Call of Duty.

Execution and Ingenuity

Call of Duty is a classic first person shooter (FPS) game. For the uninitiated, what that means is that you assume the role of a soldier. You see through his eyes, move him around, and shoot stuff-Germans in this case. Call of Duty is more than your typical FPS, though. Its combination of great visuals and innovative missions make this an FPS that grabs your attention at the beginning and doesn't let go. Yes, there is the bread and butter maneuver and fire tactical level action ever FPS is based around, but there are other missions you don't find other places. Try driving through the countryside while blasting the enemy from car-or better yet (in a blatant, yet still effectively pulled off rip-off of "Enemy at the Gates") how about charging German positions with nothing but-well, nothing as you play the role of Russian cannon-fodder at Stalingrad?

The Limits of Political Correctness

Once you've mastered the single player campaigns, Call of Duty also offers online arena style play where you can battle other players. This is the only time you actually can opt to play Germans, which is what I think is the only real weakness of Call of Duty. WWII games have always had the problem of what to do about the Nazis. Games like Microsoft's Close Combat have opted to ignore Hitler and offer a sanitized version of German combatants. Call of Duty, on the other hand simply plops the German's in the role of the enemy and there you go. This imposed limitation on who you get to play not only seems patronizing, it seems particularly absurd since you can turn around and play the Germans in the online battles.

Yes, you can't play the monsters in Doom, either, but veteran war gamers are used to being able to play both sides-trying to win as the loser has long been a welcome staple of WWI board and video games. Nonetheless, Call of Duty is quite a stunning FPS that deserves a look, especially if you like playing WWII games from the Allied side. Call of Duty is available for PC now and consoles this Fall.