I love the original call of duty game, and it’s expansion pack united offensive way back in 2004/2005 if I recall, but for some reason never bothered with the follow up, my time was taken up with a combination of Guild wars, Everquest 2, Wow, and for the last couple of years, Lord of the rings online.

Anyways, COD2 now sells pretty cheaply from most stores, so I picked up a copy the other day and installed it.

First impressions, the graphics are greatly improved, as is the AI of your teammates in the single player campaign mode.

I’ve been taking it easy, and so far have reached the D-Day Normandy landings stage on easy mode, sampling the sights and sounds, and of course the carnage.

I’ve yet to try the multiplayer side of things, but here’s a rundown of the single player campaign mode :

Call of Duty 2 contains four individual campaigns, split into three stories.Each story concerns a World War II soldier overcoming insurmountable odds in the war.

Characters

Lieutenant Dimitri Volsky is the officer who commands the player’s platoon in the Soviet campaign. Private Vasili Ivanovich Koslov is the first playable protagonist. Vasili participates in the winter battle of Stalingrad.

Sergeant John Davis is the second playable protagonist. Davis participates in the North Africa campaign, as well as recapturing Caen in the Normandy campaign. Pvt. MacGregor is a hot-tempered, Scottish, bearded soldier who fights alongside the player in most British missions. MacGregor is voiced by James Patrick Stuart. Captain Price also returns from Call of Duty with the British 7th Armored Division. This completely differs from the prequel where he is with the 6th Airborne Division and 3rd SAS and KIA on the Tirpitz off the coast of Hakøya, Norway

Corporal Bill Taylor is the third playable protagonist. Taylor participates in the battle of Normandy by destroying artillery and securing Pointe du Hoc, assaulting a farm silo, and assaulting Hill 400. Taylor then participates in the crossing of the Rhine River. Sergeant Randall is first encountered when he saves the player’s life at Pointe du Hoc. He leads the player’s squad in the American missions. He is promoted to lieutenant by the battalion commander in the final mission, and recommends Taylor for promotion to sergeant. Randall was voiced by Nolan North.

North African campaign

The player takes control as a British soldier, Sergeant John Davis of the 7th Armoured Division. The first map has the player in a sneak attack on German troops, ending with the destruction of a valuable German supply station. The next map on the same night has the player defending a crucial town from overwhelming numbers of Germans, finally achieving victory by destroying much of the German tank force using artillery. This is followed by the Second Battle of El Alamein, during which the player has to fight through several trenches, machine gun nests, flak 88s and finally taking the German’s field HQ. The assault on El Daba to intercept the remaining Germans in Africa and destroy several flak 88s soon follows, ending the first British campaign. An addendum to the second set of missions has the player taking on the role of a British Tank commander, David Welsh. The first mission of the third campaign in Toujane, Tunisia, has the player immediately under fire, holding a household with a single machine gun and then wreaking havoc with an armored car, forced out by mines, and then escaping the town with a bare handful of men. The following mission has the player retaking the town, and the final map involves capturing Matmata and shooting down several Stukas using a German anti-aircraft gun.

Battle of Normandy

As Corporal Bill Taylor of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the player starts off by playing a part in D-Day, at the assault of Pointe du Hoc, to destroy a German artillery battery, and hold it against a massive German counteroffensive in the following mission. Soon after, the player captures a nearby town and serves as a sniper against mortar crews until reinforcements arrive. The second US campaign is focused on Hill 400, involving the capture of Bergstein, a disastrous charge at Hill 400′s bunkers and the defense against the German counterattack, with the player again performing sniper work against German mortar teams, destroying enemy armor, and generally holding the hill against the counteroffensive, all the while burdened by artillery and overwhelming numbers of German soldiers. The final British mission takes place during the Battle of Normandy for control of Caen.

Crossing the Rhine

The final mission is set amongst the Americans in the Rhine River crossing into Germany. It begins as one of the few missions with the player immediately under fire, providing cover fire against the Germans until reaching the river banks and then fighting throughout most of the town. The final fight has the player defeat two German Tiger I’s.

Overall, really glad I picked this up.