Long before I decided to become a reviewer, I used to jot down brief thoughts on the games I was playing in order to capture my feelings at the moment of completion for personal archival purposes. Since then, I’ve of course evolved my craft into full-fledged write-ups, but I do think there’s enough merit to some of these earlier critiques to warrant their publication, especially for titles I do not intend on replaying (in the near future at least). I’ve thrown in some updates, but this is one of them.


STORY
-Honestly, not much has changed from the first CoD and United Offensive to the second. The story is basically the same, with you playing as different Allied nations during various stages of World War II. This time around the tutorial is much quicker, giving it more replay value.

-Game continues the boring documentary intros and diary entries for the beginnings of each mission, though at least the docos here seemed realistic compared to the lame briefings from the first CoD.


GRAPHICS
-Texturing is inconsistent with marble, tile, and bricks not looking as good as wood & stone.

-Was admittedly surprised by how good skin and clothing looked on soldiers, even if NPC models were reused. Overall things are consistent enough that you won't notice anything off.

-Love the display of muzzle flashes when you're shooting in a darkened environment. Very well done. Also love the gun metal texturing and sunlight sheen on the firearm barrel that shifts as you move it..

-A lot more particle effects render realistic looking snowfall around you (Soviet campaign only). Can't say the same for rain, which looks way too much like the PS1 era of window dressing.

-Love that grenades send enemy bodies, dead and alive, flying. The particle effects that accompany an impact (whether bullet or grenade) look nice, but are a rehashed model, regardless of if you’re in snow or dirt.

-Shooting at animal carcasses just creates dirt explosions.


SOUND
-Gun SFX is terrible. Bullets only have two impact noises- steel or ground, no matter what you shoot at (lanterns, windows, trees, etc...), the exception being prerendered glass bottles that you can shatter. Guns themselves sound pretty standard despite there technically being variety among the different types.

-That being said, there is a nice echo effect that occurs whenever you’re in a contained space like a pipe or lower floor.

-Russian voice acting is terrible, like Americans doing bad Slavic accents. The British and American VAs are better, though there are still times where the performers come across like they're trying too hard to be in a combat situation.

-Soundscape for the USSR campaign is well done. You get a sense that you really are in a war zone with people screaming, bullets flying everywhere, explosions nearby, and soldiers/vehicles moving about you.


GAMEPLAY
-The game designers did a good job giving city street combat in the Soviet Campaign that infamous urban feel which encompassed the majority of the Battle of Stalingrad. Having to go through individual houses, clear out soldiers, or destroy individual tanks rolling around on the streets was well done (particularly the former, where it could even get tense having to check rooms for remaining Nazis!).

-Unfortunately, the game gets very repetitive as the majority of the non-Soviet missions (British and American) consist of the same cityscape fighting wherein you trudge through an environment, clear it out, and then hold the base until reinforcements arrive. The exception being a couple of tank missions in the British campaign.

-Did enjoy smoke grenades as they actually help hurt enemy accuracy and provide good escape/movement cover. A welcome addition to the series that I'm sad were removed in the sequels (replaced with flashbangs).

-Ally AI is a mixed bag. They do a good job of fighting enemies by shooting them, throwing grenades, and meleeing them when in close quarters; however, they seem to have two modes -- either run out in the open, or hide completely behind cover & refuse to advance until YOU go out there and clear enough troops.


VERDICT
-Overall, I found myself not enjoying Call of Duty 2 due to the aforementioned repetition of the mission structure. Despite playing as the same character, you don't really bond with anyone the way UO at least somewhat succeeded at doing, while the campaigns are just war cliches (like a bad attempt at recreating the narratives of Saving Private Ryan and Das Boot without the strong characterization and set pieces those films had).

Game took me about 8-8.5 hours to beat, so at $20.00 it doesn't provide enough content to justify the price per my time : price ratio. But even if it did, I would still recommend getting it on sale because I just didn't find it all that fun to play compared to the first one + UO. Combined with the lack of major graphical/sound upgrades from its predecessors, as well as a rehashed story, and you have the first cashgrab in the CoD franchise.

Call of Duty 2 is a classic that, just like the first game in the series, brings back some great memories for me.
This game throws you into the thick of World War II with three different campaigns, allowing you to see the war from the perspectives of American, British, and Soviet soldiers. Each campaign offers a decent variety of missions and environments, keeping the experience fresh and engaging.
The historical accuracy is pretty good. Whether you’re storming the beaches of Normandy or fighting in the streets of Stalingrad, the game does a great job of making you feel like you're part of the action. Some missions are intense, some are suspenseful, capturing the chaos and heroism of WWII battles.

Unlike many shooters at the time, this game ditched health packs in favor of regenerating health. This made the game feel less frustrating compared to its predecessor, allowing you to stay in the action without constantly hunting for health packs.
The main menu of Call of Duty 2 was a nice touch, with a very war-ish song and theme that set the tone perfectly.
Graphically, Call of Duty 2 was a leap forward. It looked good back in the day and still holds up pretty well.
Both Call of Duty 1 and 2 laid the groundwork for the series with their straightforward WWII gameplay. However, the modern "Call of Duty" games have expanded and evolved into something entirely different, the difference is stark. While today's games offer a lot more in terms of features and content, there's a certain charm and authenticity to the older titles that I miss.

I wish they would remaster the older Call of Duty games, as they were the ones most true to the series' roots. Call of Duty 2 remains a classic, and an underrated game, reminding us of what the series used to be and how it is now.