Saturday, September 15, 2007

Call of Duty 3




Ah, another console generation, another Call of Duty game. Call of Duty 2 really set the world on fire when it debuted alongside the Xbox 360 last November, and the sequel has been eagerly anticipated by armchair generals with itchy trigger fingers ever since.

Now, Call of Duty 3 has been released on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and it's bigger, prettier, and just as popular as ever before. But, what of the Wii version? Clearly, it won't be able to stack up visually, but can Nintendo's trusty Wiimote and a novel control scheme make up for this shortcoming? There's no unequivocal answer to that question, since the control scheme can be just as frustrating as it is liberating, but Call of Duty 3 on the Wii packs enough great gameplay to rise from the trenches with honor, nonetheless. As with every Call of Duty game before it, Call of Duty 3 focuses on real battles fought during World War II, placing players in the shoes of various soldiers from different armies on the Allied Front.

This third entry in the series focuses on a particular brutal string of engagements in France, where the Allies attempted to wrest control from the Nazi forces. Through the course of the game, players will play through the eyes of a soldier in the American, British, Canadian and Polish armies, respectively. Each stint is accompanied by its own storyline, but none of the passively relayed characterizations or plot developments are especially noteworthy. That's not to say that the game is dull, however, as the overall narrative is-like other games in the series-rife with unexpected events and exciting set pieces.

The Wii version of the game is controlled using the Wiimote and attached nunchuk. The analog stick on the nunchuk moves the character forward, backward, left, and right, while the Wiimote is used to aim at the screen and control the player's perspective. The Wiimote trigger is used to fire weapons, and buttons on the nunchuk provide for other movement actions like ducking and jumping. There is an option to either toss grenades with the press of a button, or to use an overhand motion with the nunchuk to effect the same goal. Other features include the ability to switch weapons by quickly gesturing the nunchuk to the left or right, or reload with a similar movement up or down. All of this is pretty standard for FPS games on the Wii thus far, and players familiar with Red Steel will feel right at home. To its credit, Call of Duty 3 does add a few additional novelties, like the ability to wrestle guns away from opponents by holding both controllers out in front of you and shaking them back and forth.

On the whole, the controls on the Wii are very enjoyable to work with. Aiming takes a little getting used to, especially since the game uses the same "bounding box" mechanic seen in Red Steel, but it is ultimately much more accurate than using dual analog sticks. One nice feature is the ability to zoom in on particular targets by pressing the ‘A' button, which dispenses with the bounding box entirely and allows free movement around the screen without shifting the player's overall perspective.

Aiming in this mode is highly accurate and almost akin to using the traditional mouse-and-keyboard setup familiar to PC players. Less common actions like tossing grenades and grappling with enemies prove to be less precise, and accordingly more frustrating, but practice with the game makes these actions more than manageable, and they remain enjoyable despite occasionally inconsistent controls.

Visually, the Wii version of Call of Duty 3 is a decent showpiece for the system. It definitely illustrates how modest the Wii's capabilities are, but the visuals are roughly equivalent to those in the Xbox version of the game. The particle and smoke effects are especially nice, and the environments are large and varied. On the audio front, there's quite a lot of activity in the game-from the whining zip of passing bullets to the concussive boom of nearby artillery or explosions-and the robust soundscape really adds to the excitement in the game. Fully positional, digital audio would nice, but the basic Dolby support is more than acceptable.

The biggest fault to be found with Call of Duty 3 for the Wii is the complete lack of multiplayer support. Considering the fact that Nintendo, as a company, has yet to take advantage of the WiiConnect 24 capabilities of the system (aside from the awesome Virtual Console), it might not be fair to lay too much blame at Activision's feet for this drawback, but the omission hurts, nonetheless. The single player portion of the game is worthwhile and enjoyable in its own right, but the franchise has made huge strides on the multiplayer front and there is no good reason why the Wii version should not benefit from this as well.

Ultimately, the decision of which Call of Duty version to buy is going to come down to a matter of taste. If gamers have the option of purchasing the gorgeous 360 and PS3 versions over the Wii version, there's certainly a good argument for the value of improved visuals and presentation. However, Call of Duty 3 on the Wii is one of the best examples of the system's ability to make up for substandard visuals with really engaging control. The Wiimote is a fluid and, mostly, precise method of directing all of the carnage, and there's no denying the fact that pointing and shooting is infinitely more fun than weaving around with two analog sticks.


Posted by wii-play at 12:16 PM
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