Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360 Update)

We return to the frontlines with Infinity Ward's epic WW2 first-person shooter.

Call of Duty may not have been the first World War 2 first-person shooter but it has remained the best for some time. Infinity Wards epic game spanned the European theatre bringing battles from Normandy to Stalingrad to life in amazingly set-pieces. The strength of the game lay in its ability to stir emotions alongside solid gameplay that elevated the game above a mere shooter.

Those that have played the game will remember the stirring music, the sense of tragedy in the events and such wonderful set pieces as the Soviet's battling to retake Stalingrad's Red Square. There is more of this kind of thing in this very welcome sequel, Call of Duty 2.

But first a word or two about versions of the game. The original Call of Duty was released on PC only. A game called Call of Duty: Finest Hour followed on PlayStation 2 and Xbox and was a poor shadow of the original game. This time around there are two versions of the game again. Call of Duty: Big Red One is the game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and it's not the game I'm reviewing here. Today we're looking at Call of Duty 2 on PC, which will also be released for Xbox 360 next week.

The game is split into three main campaigns, which are in turn broken up into missions and sections of missions. As you progress, more missions are unlocked and you can tackle these in any order. The game begins with you playing as a Soviet recruit in Moscow, before moving swiftly on to the battle for Stalingrad.

The English missions are interesting in that Infinity Ward has ditched the solo-stealth SAS missions of the first game thanks to gamer opinion. Now when you play the English missions in North Africa and Normandy, you'll get to play missions with large battles with many AI squad mates.

Finally the US campaign, which is locked last, takes place from D-Day onwards in Normandy. It's the hardest section of the game but also the most dramatic. Thankfully the tank missions have been kept to a minimum this time around and most of the time you'll find yourself in familiar first-person territory.

One of the most obvious changes to this game from the first Call of Duty is the lack of head up display. When you're moving around the HUD disappears, lending more immersion to the proceedings. Even when it is displayed it doesn't feature much more than a map/radar with objectives and your ammo level. There is no health bar, no life count, here in Call of Duty 2.

If you're hit by an enemy bullet then the edge of the screen will go red. Receive successive hits in this state and you will die, to return to a previous checkpoint. Grenades can and do kill you instantly if caught too close to the blast and a rapid fire machine gun such as an MG42 can rip you apart in seconds. However once given the warning of the red screen you can regenerate back to a safe health level by taking cover and avoiding being hit for a few seconds.