When it comes to console gaming, the name Call of Duty doesn’t really do much for gamers. At least not for me anyway. When I think of Call of Duty and consoles the first thing that comes to mind is the mediocre Call of Duty: Finest Hour. However, I’m extremely confident in saying that that’s all going to change come November 22 when Infinity Ward releases the direct sequel to the PC smash-hit Call of Duty.

Even if you’ve only seen a single screenshot of this game, you have an idea of how gorgeous this game is. That being said, no picture can do justice to how nice the game looks in motion, and how smoothly it runs. First, and in my opinion most importantly, Call of Duty 2 runs at an incredibly solid 60 FPS, and barely ever drops below that. The textural detail, from the characters to the interior of buildings, is also mind-blowing. This is easily one of the most realistic games I’ve ever been fortunate enough to get my hands on. While we’re still on graphics, the game’s special effects, particularly those concerning the use of smoke (which plays a vital role in the gameplay), are also jaw-dropping and bring a great sense of realism.

If you’ve ever played a FPS (of course you have) in the past on your Xbox, you will be immediately at home with the controls of COD2. For anyone who has played a COD title in the past, you will also be relatively familiar with this game. However, the gameplay has been altered a bit. The primary alteration is the enemy's (and even your teammates') AI. I’ll step aside from the facts right now and say that the AI in this game is brilliant.

When you play COD2, it actually feels like the AI is thinking. For example, allies will change their positions and their aim on the fly as enemies show up, and will also call out dynamic vocal lines that will help indicate the action taking place at hand. Enemies will also use a lot of dialog to coordinate their efforts. Players will need to pay closer attention to their squadmates’ actions and make sure to continually work as a part of the group in order to accomplish mission objectives. The game's AI significantly alters how you go about each situation.

After a little play time with the game, I can say that this is probably the most immersive, exciting, and intense WWII shooter I’ve played. One of the greatest aspects is the pacing. There is barely ever a pause in the action that will give players any chance to collect themselves before having to make split-second decisions that will determine their survival.

One of the missions I was able to play started with your character aboard a small ship with close to a dozen other soldiers as you made your way towards the beaches of Normandy (wait, am I experiencing déjà vu for the 50th time?). As you make it to the beach head and are rushed out of the boat, you will be momentarily frozen and will be forced to watch as your allies are picked off one by one. After a minute or so you end up pulling yourself together (with the “help” of another solider), and move on with snipers at hand. You can choose to pick them off one by one with your sniper, but that would be to time-consuming and somewhat pointless.



Squadmate AI has been overhauled to match the revamped enemy AI scripts.

To move on in the level, you must walk up to the cliff and climb up a rope. If storming the beach and climbing the cliff wasn’t hard enough, the real action doesn’t begin until you reach the top. Once at the top, you will go head-to-head with the German forces who are well-protected and armed with heavy machine guns, aimlessly and endlessly firing away at anyone even relatively in their range. Your only chance of survival is to depend on your ability to function as a unit while coordinating your movements with the rest of the squad. Though I didn’t get to go too far into the level, the amount of realism and intensity in the level in the brief time I spent with it will make it (and has made it) one to behold, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the rest of the game was the same.