Call of Duty 2 - The Greatest Generation

Fanghawk

New member
Feb 17, 2011
3,861
0
0
Call of Duty 2 - The Greatest Generation

Call of Duty 2 lacks the substance and polish of later sequels, but Infinity Ward produced something special for its final World War II game.

Read Full Article
 

Samtemdo8_v1legacy

New member
Aug 2, 2015
7,915
0
0
I personally found the first game and its expansion to be slightly better. Especially when it comes to the Soundtrack. Michael Giachinno has a much superior soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxR7oF9np3U&index=1&list=PLD975100EB714E017
 

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,082
1,849
118
Country
USA
COD5: was that the last WW2 COD shooter?

COD2 is dated. First Xbox 360 game I bought in April 2006.
 

WindKnight

Quiet, Odd Sort.
Legacy
Jul 8, 2009
1,828
9
43
Cephiro
Country
United Kingdom
Gender
Female
Gorfias said:
COD5: was that the last WW2 COD shooter?

COD2 is dated. First Xbox 360 game I bought in April 2006.
Pretty much. Activision insisted WaW would be a WW2 game because they were convinced Modern Warfare was going to bomb to the point they were constantly harassing IW to make it WW2 again. Also, IW wanted to Make modern warfare instead of COD2, but Activision dug their heels in.

And then of course, when MW was a hit they overruled IW wanting to do something else to get MW2, and ordered Treyarach to make a modern shooter.
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
5,264
0
0
I'd love to see another game like 'Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'.
I know a lot of folks didn't think much of it, but I loved it.

I also wish we could get a WW1/2 game that set in the 'baddies' point of view.

After all, there was MANY a dead soldier from the 'Axis' who died NOT for the swastika or the sun, but because they felt the need to protect THEIR homeland from invaders.

I think more games need to show more than just 'the winner's side', instead of cartoon cataracts that eat lead.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
I liked COD2 and it has some great moments, but as mentioned in the article, for every awesome mission, there's at least one that either doesn't really work or is rather forgettable. Some of the less linear missions can be really frustrating and the missions in North Africa, which should have been open, were oddly linear, funneling you through tunnels.

And as cool as it was to have a Russian Campaign, I was getting rather sick of Stalingrad, between COD 1 and 2.


Really, the games biggest issue is that it feels bloated at times. The game is longer then any of the Modern games, but when there's a decent number of "meh" missions, I was kind of glad when later CoD games went to having a short, tight campaign. I'd rather have 6-8 hours of memorable missions then 12 hours where I don't particularly like half the missions.

In contrast, CoD and United Offensive had much better pacing and most of the missions were interesting and exciting, for the most part, without being over the top like some of the later games in the series(although UO decided to crib heavily from "The Guns of Navarone"for the British Campaign). It also featured a mission where you were in a B-17 bomber, where you were rushing between turrets to defend from the incoming waves of German fighters and occasionally doing damage control, which would later show up in a similar mission in World at War(except in a US Navy flying boat) and arguably, was an inspiration for the Drone Death to Above/Drone missions in later games.

I do miss the "You're a soldier, doing a dirty job and trying not to get killed" take the first few games had that seems to have slipped away in some of the later games of the series and replaced with "Merica! Fuck yeah!". I'm looking at you, Black Ops 1.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Tanis said:
I'd love to see another game like 'Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'.
I know a lot of folks didn't think much of it, but I loved it.

I also wish we could get a WW1/2 game that set in the 'baddies' point of view.

After all, there was MANY a dead soldier from the 'Axis' who died NOT for the swastika or the sun, but because they felt the need to protect THEIR homeland from invaders.

I think more games need to show more than just 'the winner's side', instead of cartoon cataracts that eat lead.
It's possible but difficult. While you might be able to get away with a Japanese or Italian Campaign, it's gonna be really tricky to do a German WW2 campaign that both acknowledges the Nazis and their war crimes without making the player character complicit in them. You'd probably have to do something like the Russian Campaign in World At War(also known as "Call of Duty: Now with 50% more war crimes").

Normally, when games do the "You're working for the bad guys" plot, it almost always has you switch sides about halfway through the plot, or when your character realizes your side is evil(which requires selling the idea that your character somehow didn't notice the war crimes going on up to that point, or the fact that the Nazis were kind of dicks). This is gonna be really hard to sell in a game where you are working for the Germans during WW2. Advanced Warfare already pulled this trick a year ago, though not without some issues.

If they were really good, It might be possible to try a pull of the idea of "A German soldier sees terrible things happen, tries to seek redemption", which might be hard in an FPS, let alone a CoD game. I'm not sure the CoD writing staff could pull that off convincingly, considering some of the Abysmal writing we've seen in the last few years.
 

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,082
1,849
118
Country
USA
Windknight said:
Gorfias said:
COD5: was that the last WW2 COD shooter?

COD2 is dated. First Xbox 360 game I bought in April 2006.
Pretty much. Activision insisted WaW would be a WW2 game because they were convinced Modern Warfare was going to bomb to the point they were constantly harassing IW to make it WW2 again. Also, IW wanted to Make modern warfare instead of COD2, but Activision dug their heels in.

And then of course, when MW was a hit they overruled IW wanting to do something else to get MW2, and ordered Treyarach to make a modern shooter.
And I'm greatful they did. MW2> than WaW IMHO, though, WaW was a heck of a last cry for a truly beaten horse. I like that they're trying to give us something new, even if the stuff in it isn't real. Yet.
 

WindKnight

Quiet, Odd Sort.
Legacy
Jul 8, 2009
1,828
9
43
Cephiro
Country
United Kingdom
Gender
Female
Gorfias said:
And I'm greatful they did. MW2> than WaW IMHO, though, WaW was a heck of a last cry for a truly beaten horse. I like that they're trying to give us something new, even if the stuff in it isn't real. Yet.
Except IW were looking into sci-fi or supernatural related content before being yanked back to to do MW2. Heck, we might even have had Titanfall with a proper single player campaign, and its arguable that Activision decapitated IW to prevent them forcing through with a new concept instead of MW3, like they did with MW.
 

Jaeke

New member
Feb 25, 2010
1,431
0
0
My favorite CoD game.

If someone argued CoD4 to be the best CoD in the series (at least of the IW entries) I wouldn't disagree with them but CoD2 will always be my favorite of the bunch. The spectacle that it brought to the gaming scene at the time (being a launch title with the "next gen") was seriously exciting.
 

Darks63

New member
Mar 8, 2010
1,562
0
0
I dont remember Stalingrad being in CoD 2 I thought you start at Kursk in that game.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Darks63 said:
I dont remember Stalingrad being in CoD 2 I thought you start at Kursk in that game.
Stalingrad was part of the opening slew of Russian Missions(with the Russian Intro mission being Moscow), IIRC. Kursk was the big Russian setpiece in United Offensive.

I did rather like the bit in the Russian opening where you are a new conscript being trained on Grenade throwing using Potatoes, because "Real Grenades are worth more then you are". Your training is then interrupted by a German attack, which you have to then repel.

Which is still better then the poor Russian dude in CoD1, who will always get the ammo clip, not the rifle(no matter how hard you try to time it) and is forced to spend half the mission trying to climb a hill with almost no cover under heavy machine gun fire and no way to fight back.
 

Dalisclock

Making lemons combustible again
Legacy
Escapist +
Feb 9, 2008
11,228
7,007
118
A Barrel In the Marketplace
Country
Eagleland
Gender
Male
Windknight said:
Gorfias said:
And I'm greatful they did. MW2> than WaW IMHO, though, WaW was a heck of a last cry for a truly beaten horse. I like that they're trying to give us something new, even if the stuff in it isn't real. Yet.
Except IW were looking into sci-fi or supernatural related content before being yanked back to to do MW2. Heck, we might even have had Titanfall with a proper single player campaign, and its arguable that Activision decapitated IW to prevent them forcing through with a new concept instead of MW3, like they did with MW.
Not that I have any love for Activision, but I thought most of IW walked out in protest after Activision refused to pay them the bonuses they were promised for making MW2 a bestseller. I'm sure there's a lot more to it that I don't know about the whole affair.
 

WindKnight

Quiet, Odd Sort.
Legacy
Jul 8, 2009
1,828
9
43
Cephiro
Country
United Kingdom
Gender
Female
Dalisclock said:
Windknight said:
Gorfias said:
And I'm greatful they did. MW2> than WaW IMHO, though, WaW was a heck of a last cry for a truly beaten horse. I like that they're trying to give us something new, even if the stuff in it isn't real. Yet.
Except IW were looking into sci-fi or supernatural related content before being yanked back to to do MW2. Heck, we might even have had Titanfall with a proper single player campaign, and its arguable that Activision decapitated IW to prevent them forcing through with a new concept instead of MW3, like they did with MW.
Not that I have any love for Activision, but I thought most of IW walked out in protest after Activision refused to pay them the bonuses they were promised for making MW2 a bestseller. I'm sure there's a lot more to it that I don't know about the whole affair.
It was covered a lot at the time - Activision 'raided' the IW headquarters and had the studio heads forcibly removed and their employment terminated. A bunch of the remaining IW staff promptly walked to join them at their new studio, and they ended up having to sue to get their cut for all the sales MW2 had made. The next bit is kinda half remembered, so you may want to take with a pinch of salt, but it sounds like Activision had held back bonuses for both the original MW and 2 with the 'promise' they'd get the bonuses they'd earned when they delivered the next sequel.
 

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,082
1,849
118
Country
USA
Windknight said:
Gorfias said:
And I'm greatful they did. MW2> than WaW IMHO, though, WaW was a heck of a last cry for a truly beaten horse. I like that they're trying to give us something new, even if the stuff in it isn't real. Yet.
Except IW were looking into sci-fi or supernatural related content before being yanked back to to do MW2. Heck, we might even have had Titanfall with a proper single player campaign, and its arguable that Activision decapitated IW to prevent them forcing through with a new concept instead of MW3, like they did with MW.
Very convoluted history!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty#Call_of_Duty_2

I am glad they did MW3 though. Terrific game, just, how could they live up to MW2?

I building up a heckofa shame pile though. I haven't finished either Ghosts or Advanced Warfighter and Blops 3 is coming!!! EDIT: Doh! 11/6/2015 release date. Dang!

I am intrigued by the Titanfall with a proper single player campaign. Terrific and unusual game. I wonder if tech in 2005-9 could have done it justice.
 

Fanghawk

New member
Feb 17, 2011
3,861
0
0
Gorfias said:
Windknight said:
Gorfias said:
And I'm greatful they did. MW2> than WaW IMHO, though, WaW was a heck of a last cry for a truly beaten horse. I like that they're trying to give us something new, even if the stuff in it isn't real. Yet.
Except IW were looking into sci-fi or supernatural related content before being yanked back to to do MW2. Heck, we might even have had Titanfall with a proper single player campaign, and its arguable that Activision decapitated IW to prevent them forcing through with a new concept instead of MW3, like they did with MW.
Very convoluted history!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty#Call_of_Duty_2

I am glad they did MW3 though. Terrific game, just, how could they live up to MW2?

I building up a heckofa shame pile though. I haven't finished either Ghosts or Advanced Warfighter and Blops 3 is coming!!! EDIT: Doh! 11/6/2015 release date. Dang!

I am intrigued by the Titanfall with a proper single player campaign. Terrific and unusual game. I wonder if tech in 2005-9 could have done it justice.
You're not missing too much from Ghosts and AW, although Extinction and Exo Zombies was pretty fun.

Plus having a dog with you in multi-player was THE BEST.

But having finished Black Ops 3 last night, Treyarch clearly made the best near future CoD of the bunch.
 

Darks63

New member
Mar 8, 2010
1,562
0
0
Dalisclock said:
Darks63 said:
I dont remember Stalingrad being in CoD 2 I thought you start at Kursk in that game.
Stalingrad was part of the opening slew of Russian Missions(with the Russian Intro mission being Moscow), IIRC. Kursk was the big Russian setpiece in United Offensive.

I did rather like the bit in the Russian opening where you are a new conscript being trained on Grenade throwing using Potatoes, because "Real Grenades are worth more then you are". Your training is then interrupted by a German attack, which you have to then repel.

Which is still better then the poor Russian dude in CoD1, who will always get the ammo clip, not the rifle(no matter how hard you try to time it) and is forced to spend half the mission trying to climb a hill with almost no cover under heavy machine gun fire and no way to fight back.
Yeah I remember now i was getting CoD 2 and the Cod 1 expansion mixed up.
 

gorfias

Unrealistic but happy
Legacy
May 13, 2009
7,082
1,849
118
Country
USA
Fanghawk said:
having finished Black Ops 3 last night, Treyarch clearly made the best near future CoD of the bunch.
Oh snap. Just spent my most recent $60 on Star Wars Battlefront 3! (Getting 7/10s: gameplay fine but nothing special: graphics, sound and production values top notch and great to experience if you are a Star Wars nut. Like I am. Arrives Thursday.) So, holiday's approaching. Black Ops 3 will be mine!

I wonder if COD2 will have a Xbox One BC playable. It would be a nostalgia rush to experience it again.

Might look for COD3 on Wii for fun too. I missed that one.