Before any sort of confusion is created, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is not the sequel to the excellent PC title last year; that is appearing on the PC and Xbox 360. Instead, it is more of a sequel to the mediocre Call of Duty: Finest Hour that appeared on consoles one holiday ago. This of course set up some low expectations for Big Red One, and that's a good thing as it is an alright game, but it certainly won't blow your socks off. Read on for the full briefing soldier!


Campaign

The entire single player campaign follows the United States Army's First Expeditionary Division. The Fighting First was better known as 'The Big Red One' for the distinctive patch worn on the left shoulder. Though at first unskilled and green, the Big Red One eventually becomes one of the more renowned fighting units of World War II. You will follow this unit as it progresses through battles in North Africa, Sicily, and eventually continental Europe.

The game's campaign begins with you fighting in Europe, fighting off the Nazis on their last legs. It also serves as a tutorial fo sorts, getting you acquainted with the controls, which are a tad different from the normal first person shooter controls. Luckily, this first level will acquaint you with the controls pretty well. Just be sure not to play any Halo 2 or nearly any other FPS and then play Big Red One, or you'll likely need to get re-adjusted to the controls (this can be especially annoying online.). It's also worth noting that Big Red One takes a page out of Brothers in Arms' book with the aiming reticule, wherein your soldier will lift the gun up and you'll have to fire using the gun's own sights. A nice touch indeed.

Of course, the weaponry in first person shooters is half the fun of the game (it's blowing enemies to pieces that's the other half.). For one part, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One captures half of this. There's a large selection of Allied and Axis weapons for you tp pick up, and grenades (including everybody's favorite, the German potato masher). As with most FPSs now days, Big Red One. has a limit on weapons you can carry at once, the limit being two. The weapon variety includes pistols, rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, and the odd rocket launcher thrown in for good measure. The only real problem with the guns is that they could use a tad more 'OOMPH!' to the firing.

The campaign itself actually is pretty fun, as far as military themed first person shooters go. Missions take place in a variety of different locales, including a desert, the invasion of Omaha Beach (a staple of any good WWII shooter), and assaults in various cities in Europe. Accompanied with these locales are some fun objectives. For example, in one of the African missions, you'll see yourself fending off a large wave of Axis forces, who happen to be accompanied by some rather unfriendly looking tanks. It's up to you to man a huge machine gun and fend them off until heavy weaponry can arive. Another cool objective sees you running from machine gun tower to machine gun tower with bazooka in tow taking out a German tank division before they can take you out. The objectives are wide and varied, and are usually pretty fun for the most part. It only makes me wish that the A.I. for your enemies and teammates were a tad smarter, to make the experience more compelling. The campagin is unfortunately a little short, and will have you wishing for more.

You'll find yourself in a variety of locales taking the battle to those Nazi bastards.