Call of Duty: Encyclopedia II - Call of Duty - Overview

Call of Duty - Overview

Call of Duty is similar in theme and gameplay to Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and like the earlier game includes various singleplayer campaigns and missions. However, unlike Medal of Honor, the war is seen not just from the viewpoint of an American soldier but from the viewpoint of British, American and Soviet soldiers - players take the perspective of a soldier by the name of Pvt. Martin of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, Sgt. Jack Evans in the British 6th Airborne Division and Special Operations Executive, and Sgt. Alexei Ivanovich Voronin in the 13th Guards Division.

The game is somewhat unique in that throughout the single-player mode, the player is joined by computer-controlled allies who range in quantity from two (in some of the British missions) to company-strength or greater (in the Russian missions). The computer-controlled actors will often lay down covering fire for the actual player as well as contribute helpful dialogue. They also further the game's goal of providing a truly immersive and realistic experience; that is, soldiers in World War II nearly always were part of a larger group, as opposed to the "lone wolf" that is often seen in video games.

The American campaign begins with Pvt. Martin parachuting into France as a pathfinder of the 101st Airborne Division on D-Day for the Battle of Normandy, with echoes of the film Band of Brothers. The series continues with a night assault on the town of Sainte-Mère-Église, a defense of the town against a counter attack by German Panzer units, the Brécourt Manor Assault, and ends with fighting for control of bunkers around Bastogne. The British campaign begins Sgt. Evans of the British Special Air Service or SAS assisting in the capturing of Pegasus Bridge, as seen in The Longest Day, and ends with a sabotage mission of a V-2 rocket base. Evans also helps sabotage anti-air defenses around the Eder Dam, in preparation for a follow up Dambusters Raid (Operation Chastise). The Russian campaign begins with material based on the Battle of Stalingrad including a recreation of the battle for Pavlov's House. The material based on the Battle of Stalingrad is similar to scenes in the movie, Enemy at the Gates. The Russian campaign continues with material simulating close combat in an underground sewer system, followed by a role as a tank commander. The Russian campaign ends as an infantry soldier in Berlin with the raising of the Soviet flag above the ruins of the Reichstag.

Famous actors like Jason Statham and Giovanni Ribisi, as well as voice actor Steven Blum, contributed to this game with their voices in the roles of Sgt. Waters (British), Pvt. Elder (American) and Cpt. Foley (American). Michael Giacchino, who previously worked on the Medal of Honor franchise, composed the soundtrack.

The weapons portrayed in this game include the M1 Garand, the Kar98k, the Mosin-Nagant, and the Lee-Enfield (the four main long rifles of World War II) along with the Thompson submachine gun, MP40, Sten and PPSh-41 submachine guns. The machine guns featured in the game are the Bren, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and the Sturmgewehr 44. The game's two pistols are the Luger and Colt M1911. The Kar98k, Mosin-Nagant, and Springfield 1903 rifle are also featured as scoped sniper rifles. Various other weapons, including Flak cannons, Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons, M1 Carbine, FG 42, and MG42s are used.

Call of Duty also has a feature called "Shellshock", which when the player is close to an explosion, his vision is blurred, time moves slower, and sound is muffled, similar to some scenes in the movie Saving Private Ryan.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Overview", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki