Call of Duty 2 (pc)

[tomster2300]

I thought I'd give some insight on Call of Duty 2 for anyone who was thinking about buying it. This isn't intended to be a review, but hopefully something to foster discussion on the game. I am currently around 3/4 of the way through as of right now.

Pros:

Beautiful game: This game is simply stunning to look at. On par with Half-Life 2 (IMO), the game really focuses on the details. Soldiers backpacks and weapons look great as does the grain in the walls - everything looks better up close.

EDIT: I have taken numerous screenshots while in the game (I've had the idea of typing this in my head all day now) and will post them tomorrow.

Sounds great: I have a surround sound system but rely on onboard sound, so I don't get great discrete surround sound. But it still sounds good (my system can still pump out some sound mind you). It's on par, if not better than the original.

New guns: There's a few new guns in the game. Not many, but a few new ones to mix it up a bit.

Pretty graphics: Did I mention this before?

The pace of the action / health system: Many reviews have criticized the Halo 2, no medical pack health system, but I think it's not only good, but ultimately necessary in maintaining such a fast paced game. Instead of having to implement low fire zone areas for you to snag a health pack, now you can just duck behind a ledge for 5 seconds, catch your breath, and then get back into the constant line of fire. If you thought the original was hectic, it fails in comparison to its frenzied sequel. You will get shot a LOT more in this game, no matter what you do. Bullets will whiz and men will come out of nowhere, and you WILL remain on the edge of your seat. Guaranteed.

EDIT: Requirements: This game runs great on my machine. It does kind of chug at times, though not anywhere near unplayable. Though I have not done a fps test, I would guesstimate (thanks to my skills at tweaking BF2) around 30-35 fps at its lowest points (and that's with it raining and at dusk). I play with everything turned to max at 1280 x 1024. According to IGN's review, this same scenario really taxed their high end rig. As quoted from their website: "With a 6800GT, 3.0GHz P4 and 1GB of RAM, the game plays quite smoothly at 1280x1024, with anisotropic filtering (to make textures look nicer) and 4xAA (to reduce jagged edges). There were slowdowns when it rained and when there was a lot of smoke on screen, but it was otherwise quite playable with the latest official nVidia drivers."

Cons:

AI: This has been the most frustrating aspect of playing so far. Blatantly obvious scripting really slows down the pace at times and will make you die more often than you might think you ought to. At times your men won't move up to support you until you pass a certain spot in the game, forcing you sometimes into a wall of overwhelming firepower. While scripting is in every game, it just gets very aggravating when it creates such a problem in an otherwise action packed game.

Weird things: At times in the beginning I would shoot someone and it seemed like the hit didn't register. I didnt notice it at all afterwards but it did seem like something which shouldn't have occurred.

EDIT: Length: I played for about an hour or so the other day, about 2-3 last night, then all day today, and I'm about 3/4 of the way through. I might be less, I'm not entirely sure - I've gone through each country (Russian, British, American) once, and am back on the British again. If they repeat then I am just over halfway through. What I think is it will repeat, but just with less levels for each section than the first time through.
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I saw the game for the xbox 360 on a small lcd tv at best buy for a few minutes, and I personally didn't like what I saw. While I know it was most likely a poor quality television, the game looked rather jaggy. It did look very bright and shiny - something which isn't in the pc version. I need a much longer inspection on a nicer television before I can make a more educated comparison though.

Well that's it. This got to be a bit longer than I originally planned, but hopefully it will help anyone trying to decide on COD 2 or not.

Good luck, and please post if you have any questions or if you want to add your own input.

[jfk]

Aww, you haven't even taken Hill 400 yet. That's when the game gets REALLY fun, especially when you're up against a "veteran" level foe.

You only get the Russians once. Finish the Brits and you'll get the Yanks again.

I run the FPS counter when playing multiplayer. I play with everything on high, AA and AF maxed. The worst it goes is 35-37 fps, most of the time it's much better. Still VERY playable at those framerates.

I agree about the AI. It REALLY ticks me off that my squad mates don't advance, forcing me to take out multiple positions while they sit and wait for me to reach a specific point.

The other point is the tank battles, while fun, are hardly realistic. The Crusader tank was a very capable platform, even against Panzers. They make it sound like they need to be 10' away to be effective. The other thing is the accuracy of shooting on the move. No WAY was it that easy back then.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by jfk Aww, you haven't even taken Hill 400 yet. That's when the game gets REALLY fun, especially when you're up against a "veteran" level foe. You only get the Russians once. Finish the Brits and you'll get the Yanks again. I run the FPS counter when playing multiplayer. I play with everything on high, AA and AF maxed. The worst it goes is 35-37 fps, most of the time it's much better. Still VERY playable at those framerates. I agree about the AI. It REALLY ticks me off that my squad mates don't advance, forcing me to take out multiple positions while they sit and wait for me to reach a specific point. The other point is the tank battles, while fun, are hardly realistic. The Crusader tank was a very capable platform, even against Panzers. They make it sound like they need to be 10' away to be effective. The other thing is the accuracy of shooting on the move. No WAY was it that easy back then.

I just got to Hill 400, but I haven't gotten that far yet. I just cleared the first two houses and quit for the night at the save point. I forgot to add that I too have the AA and AF maxed, and I'm amazed at how well it runs with that stuff turned up.

[rspassey]

Thanks tomster, I am definately going out to get this game, hopefully today if I get all my homework done on time, with the latest nVidia drivers that is a special enchancement within the game for SLI which is what really caught my attention, game sound great and if it can pump my system to the limit the better.

Enjoy it,
I hope I will.

[wolfie]

nice thread to read if you are going to get cod2

http://www.iwnation.com/Forums/index...howtopic=17450

wolfie

SUPPORT COD COMMUNITY ACTION, SUPPORT CCA

[DiGiTaL bOOsT]

another con is that, yea it may be realistic, but is it fair. the ppsh is like the super light mg42. you have to be pretty good to defend against it. although i am loving the unscoped rifles (kar98, mosin)

[tomster2300]

UPDATE!

It's Christmas and I just got my 19" Samsung LCD tv monitor (it has a built in tv tuner) and I need to change what I said about the xbox 360 comparison. The pc version is on par, if not better than the 360 and DOES have the glossy lighting effect. The problem before was my old monitor. Either I never had it configured right, or it just was a piece of horse hockey, but this new one has blown me away. The colors are so warm it takes your breath away. Sunlight is bright and shadows and lit walls and items look more real than before. Also looking at the sun almost hurts your eyes it's so bright. Soldiers' clothing has that bright, shiny look to them that you see on the new xbox - also the tanks look superb as well.

Thought I'd update this since I've found what the graphics truly look like now.

[jfk]

Welcome to the future.

I LOVE my Samsung monitor....I never knew what incredible colors or crisp resolution were before I bought it. Oh yeah, COD2 still ROCKS!

[rspassey]

Well, I just got CoD2 and FEAR yesturday.... Can't wait to get back home and play them!

What monitor was that?

I was looking for a 19" one soon...

[tomster2300]

Samsung 910M - it has a tv tuner built in.

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Moni...n/MZ19FSSS.asp

Only problem I can find so far is that it's analog - it hasn't bothered me, but somebody looking strictly for digital might be turned away.

[rspassey]

Well, I just loaded it up and played a few missions, and I have to admit - I think this is one of the best games I have ever played... I took the weak way out and started the mission on easy, and did about four of the missions and haven't died yet so I will have to change that, but non the less it is incredibly fun and quite intense. For a few minutes the controls were difficult - a little different than most games, but the SLI support is awesome - I bumped up everything to full AA an AF and it was as smooth as ever.

[tomster2300]

Originally Posted by ryan124712 Well, I just loaded it up and played a few missions, and I have to admit - I think this is one of the best games I have ever played... I took the weak way out and started the mission on easy, and did about four of the missions and haven't died yet so I will have to change that, but non the less it is incredibly fun and quite intense. For a few minutes the controls were difficult - a little different than most games, but the SLI support is awesome - I bumped up everything to full AA an AF and it was as smooth as ever.

Well mine shows a little jitterness during extremely intense spots, but on the whole is quite playable. Glad you enjoy it and be sure to bump that difficulty up to really enjoy everything. I just stopped replaying certain missions with my new monitor a few minutes ago.

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by tomster2300 Well mine shows a little jitterness during extremely intense spots, but on the whole is quite playable. Glad you enjoy it and be sure to bump that difficulty up to really enjoy everything. I just stopped replaying certain missions with my new monitor a few minutes ago.

Yeah, I came to a conclusion that you can only die from grenades in easy mode. I will finish off the game in easy, then move on to the next difficulty. I did notice that the optimize for SLI doesn't stay enabled, and I have to manually turn it on each time I load the game. Anyway, it isn't a big issue and doesn't affect me that much.

[blue60007]

Originally Posted by ryan124712 Well, I just loaded it up and played a few missions, and I have to admit - I think this is one of the best games I have ever played... I took the weak way out and started the mission on easy, and did about four of the missions and haven't died yet so I will have to change that, but non the less it is incredibly fun and quite intense. For a few minutes the controls were difficult - a little different than most games, but the SLI support is awesome - I bumped up everything to full AA an AF and it was as smooth as ever.

I've got the game on the way...I can't wait to get it.

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by blue60007 I've got the game on the way...I can't wait to get it.

The single player game play is great, I haven't tried multiplayer yet, but I might try to get ahold of one of my friends in Brazil and see what servers are there. It is closer and less lag. I am sure you will really enjoy it, I know I am.

[davsl]

I love this game, I have just upgraded my PC so I could play later games and I have to admit this is my favourite game at the moment by a mile. First of all I tried Half Life 2, this just seemed like a load of stuttering, buggy rubbish IMHO. I then tried Battlefield 2, this appears to be very laggy on the majority of servers that I tried, even with all the setting turned down. Also I am rubbish at it that doesn't help, I just cannot be bothered trying to get better at it as I really do not care for it and the laggy nature of it, just IMHO as most people seem to think it is awesome.

Call Of Duty 2 is excellent in single player, Multiplayer is awesome. I love sniping, and the amount of excellent rifles for sniping, and quite a lot of dedicated servers for snipers make this game spot on for me. Also the game is very well made, I suffer no lag and it seems to be bug free. I love this game, the lack of Punkbuster at the moment is the only negative point. After playing older games before I upgraded my PC like Soldier Of Fortune 2 and Medal Of Honour Allied Assualt I am well at home with this game, although it is vastly superior to MOHAA, also SOF2 which is not as serious. Top game wish there were others like it! As previously mentioned the first 2 recommended games that I bought have been a huge let-down, this is just my opinion and I am positive other people with different tastes obviously enjoy them more than COD2.

[blue60007]

All I have to say about this game is: WOW! The graphics are abesolutely amazing, the sound is beautiful, and the game play is great! I've yet to play multiplayer, I want to go through the single player campaign first - I just got past El Daba (demo level).

[tomster2300]

You'll love it blue. I kind of got tired of having to clear out houses on what seemed like every level, but despite that I was sad after finishing it. Good luck and bump that difficulty up and play it on the hardest - it's just more fun.

[rspassey]

Originally Posted by tomster2300 You'll love it blue. I kind of got tired of having to clear out houses on what seemed like every level, but despite that I was sad after finishing it. Good luck and bump that difficulty up and play it on the hardest - it's just more fun.

Have you completed it on Veteran? I will probably skip up to Veteran and play it over again tomorrow - the game seems to take a while when you are clearing out rooms, but I eventually get bored of it and charge the house throw some frag's and beat my enemies to the floor with shift then finish them off. I am disapointed with the lack of a knife however.

[tomster2300]

I beat it on hardened - I beat the original COD and the UO expansion on veteran, so I picked one of the higher difficulties when I got COD 2. You can pick and choose random levels once you beat them, so I have gone back over the last couple of days and picked a few of my favorite missions and replayed them on veteran. It's fun and makes it a bit more challenging because you can literally be rivoted in place by gunfire - and it kills you very quickly. I'm not even going to try to replay the Hill 400 level...you'll understand when you get there. Not the taking portion of it (though that would be hard too) but the defending portion ought to be impossible. It took me too long to beat it on hardened. You get to defend the top of a hill with only an assortment of crates for protection and the Germans advance from every direction. You get the little bunker too, but if you duck into it you'll get at least three grenades tossed in behind you (and this was on hardened). The game conveniently seals off the door to the bunker's interior rooms so you have this little hall to duck into that grenades bounce around in.

Yeah, there's never been a knife in the COD series (pc at least), although one would be a nice addition.

[rspassey]

Ooooh, I just finished the one before I have to defend - it is getting more interesting. The description of it made me thing about wheter it was worth starting up now (when I am deadly tired, or wait till the morning).

[tomster2300]

Did you beat it yet? What did you think?

[rspassey]

Yeah, finished it a little earlier - I didn't quite like the end... seemed like the last battles were too easy to finish off the game. However, I am playing back through on hardened - taking a little break - it is a lot more intense - I actually died this time from gun fire... The defending the Hill was the best part of the game. I just picked up an anti -tank and started to go to town on the enemy. It wasn't that effective, but it was certainly fun.

[jfk]

I've played through it several times on "veteran" level. Still a great game. The actual taking of Hill 400 isn't as difficult as I'm sure it was in reality, but the defending of it from counterattacks is TOP NOTCH. I can't believe how many times I caught myself so engaged in the game that I was cussing at the Germans. Wow. Very intense mission, ESPECIALLY the last 5 minutes waiting for reinforcements. It is a GREAT game.