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Something special. It's a war shooter that's both intoxicating yet grisly. From the game's first moments as a young Russian soldier learning the ropes, you'll be sucked in to combat.
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100A freakin' work of art. It is, without a doubt, the best-looking console game to date, and the most psychotically intense World War II shooter to boot.
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100It’s by far the best of its kind, and the variable but fair enemy AI keeps the game fresh, especially on higher difficulties.
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100As you play the game you just can’t help dropping your jaw in amazement at what you’re seeing and getting to do.
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Quite simply, this is the best WWII game ever made. [Dec 2005, p.146]
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97Infinity Ward took the bar, threw it up, and jumped over it when it was still in the air.
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96A true gamer’s dream. This is a title where every aspect of gaming comes together seamlessly to make an instant classic and quite possibly the best Xbox 360 game on the market right now.
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95A fantastic PC title that didn't get watered down in the conversion to console. If this is the future of console gaming, I'm sold.
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95A must have title. If this is the future of console gaming, I'm sold.
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95It's so pretty that it’s fun to just simply watch it rather than play it.
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A fantastic effort, and worth the cash to own this one outright.
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95Call of Duty 2 is easily one of the best war games I've ever had the chance to play. It features one hell of a campaign as well as a solid online game to boot. Infinity Ward has created a near masterpiece in this amazing sequel. Call of Duty 2 is a must have game, any way you look at it. What are you waiting for? Go buy it now!
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95Sure the health system is unrealistic and the multiplayer options may be a little drab, but the game itself is phenomenal. This is easily the best WWII shooter on the market and the best FPS on the Xbox 360.
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The definitive, most universally appealing WWII title ever made. It's not that the game does anything more or less than its digital brothers in arms, far from it, but instead it strips the genre down to the bare essentials and this turns it into one of the most pure shooters we've seen for some time.
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As close as you'll come to starring in an epic war movie.
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It is a finely tuned work of art with so much research and attention to detail incorporated into it that action gamers will become totally immersed in the unrelenting experience of brutal combat.
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93I'm generally the first guy around to make fun of "another WWII-themed game," but Call of Duty 2 not only wiped that smirk off my face but turned it into a teeth-grinding, pulse-quickening, Nazi-shooting grimace. When you have to put down the controller after one mission just to gather your wits about you, you know you’ve found a great game.
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The environments (indoor and outdoor) all scream for you to search through them all and see the effort put forth to create this fantastic game.
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92Stunning graphically, a pleasure to control with the 360 gamepad, Call of Duty 2 is an amazing example of precisely what gamers can expect from the machine.
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The single mission is definitely worth the full price of admission, compared to games where all of the emphasis is on the online play.
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Both online and offline, this is my frontrunner for Game of the Year until something else shows me otherwise.
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The single-player experience is worth the price of admission alone and must be seen to be believed.
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An amazing single-player experience is put together with a multiplayer section that doesn’t have the features it should, but the game’s quality still shines through, brightly.
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Infinity Ward did a great job of capturing the feel of such an awful and devastating war. It is easy to dedicate hours of your life to playing Call of Duty 2, and when you do, you won’t be disappointed.
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91Without multiplayer, this game is great. With multiplayer, it’s amazingly fun. Definitely worth getting.
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91The impressive presentation and intuitive gameplay make a surprisingly enjoyable WWII adventure despite this being part of a tired genre.
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91If you like FPS games on consoles, great immersion, true nextgen graphics, variety in single player, fun smooth multiplayer, and everything else good listed above then you’re going to want to at least rent this 15 hour classic.
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91The fact that you can basically throw a whole bunch of Germans and a whole bunch of Allies into an environment and play out a realistic battle is really quite remarkable.
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90Probably the best launch title for the Xbox 360, with killer graphics, intense gameplay and a solid, if slightly small multiplayer element.
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90The impressive presentation and intuitive gameplay make a surprisingly enjoyable WWII adventure, despite this being a member of a tired genre.
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90This multiplayer component caps an already stunning single-player campaign and extends the value greatly. If you can't get enough of WWII, Call of Duty 2 is the hot ticket.
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90It succeeds graphically, over-achieves in the audio department, and plays with such deft design and implementation that the linear paths and lack of freedom won't even matter. Your ears will be rattling and your senses bombarded with such force, you’ll actually be happy to be directed through these levels.
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90Infinity Ward has created a PC game for the 360 (with better graphics than the PC version to boot) and managed to include not only next-gen sounds and graphics, but also gameplay features that were basically impossible on the old hardware.
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A nine-hour, tension-filled rollercoaster ride. [Holiday 2005, p.66]
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It's one of the best games of the year. [Dec 2005, p.56]
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If you can look past the thin multiplayer component, the questionable decision to let player's health regenerate, and the fact there's not a lot of replay value in Call of Duty 2, you'll find a very worthy successor to the franchise.
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90The comfortable 360 controller is actually better for this game than the trusty old mouse and keyboard. Movement with the analog sticks is natural, intuitively transitioning from walk to run without having to hold down a special key.
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90This is the best game on the Xbox 360 right now in my humble opinion, but I fear that another game might quickly take its place that offers some of the things that this game is lacking, i.e. co-op, both online and split-screen, in addition to a more controllable Xbox Live experience through the ability to host your own games and invite only your chums.
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This is an enthralling shooter, with some fantastic setpieces we're aching to get back to. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]
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90Everything a person can ask for in a war-based first person shooter: Precise control, plenty of action, great visuals and sound, and a musical score that compliments the action throughout.
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An exceptional game no matter which way you cut it: intense singleplayer with stunning graphics and audio, and a rock solid multiplayer component.
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It outguns just about every other console shooter currently on the market.
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90It couples some extremely well executed facets such as its great sense of realism and lovely visual effects, with its rock solid presentation.
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90The mix of spectacular graphics, marvelous sound, and solid gameplay easily make CoD2 one of the Xbox 306’s must have launch titles.
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90The pure adrenaline rush that you get from any level in this game is amazing, the mission structure actually keeps you entertained, and the presentation and top-notch AI really draw the player into the game world.
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90Even if you're getting a little sick of the WW2 shooter genre, I'd suggest you give it a shot, as its gameplay is the right mix of fun and realism and the multiplayer modes are plenty of fun.
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90Yes, it's a World War II shooter, but it's not just any WWII shooter -- until there's a revolutionary leap in the genre, this stands as the most polished, intense, and atmospheric war shooter for the living room, bar none.
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90One of the finest FPSs ever created. Thanks to a combination of sharp visuals, teeth-rattling sound effects, and tricky enemy AI, you'll be on the edge of your seat from the moment you're dropped into combat until your dying breath.
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90The environments are fantastic and smooth, the gameplay is refined, and the aggressive AI could very well have you for lunch.
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89It allows up to sixteen players to take the battle online and delivers on all accounts a satisfying WWII shooter. If you do happen to have Xbox Live (which I hope every Xbox 360 owner at least attempts to get), go immediately to the ‘headquarters’ mode and play that to death.
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88Almost everything that makes the PC version one of the year's best shooters remains intact on the Xbox 360 version of the game, which looks just as good and actually runs smoother than all but the most beastly of gaming PCs.
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What makes Duty so special is the A.I. Enemies make great use of cover; they charge when it's to their advantage and give up positions when they know they're beat; they actually seem to understand grenades, running from them or tossing them at the perfect spot to draw you out of hiding.
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Admittedly the game’s next-gen appeal is questionable since it shuns flashy graphical effects in favour of immense detail and smooth action, but the fact alone that it can stand alongside the PC version looking none-the-worse for it speaks volumes about how far console gaming has come.
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A very solid launch title for the Xbox 360 but there’s still room for improvement, like some kind of enveloping physics engine.
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Although the game could probably be completed in a rental period on easier settings I have no doubts that this game is one title that many players will want to replay over and over.
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85Easily one of the most cinematic games released on any platform. The graphics and sound grab you from the first mission and carry you through to the end of the game. The only thing that is really holding the game back is the buggy/laggy multiplayer which will hopefully be fixed soon.
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85A launch game all 360 owners should consider. An unforgettable single player experience that gets better the further you go.
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80The single player is a phenomenal first-person shooter, standing firmly shoulder to soldier (sorry) with the best of the genre. However, its sorely under-developed multiplayer aspect has definitely let the side down, like a soldier who's lost his big toe in the war.
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80The sense of mortality, tension and sheer scale makes for a truly stunning experience. [Christmas 2005, p.110]
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80As far as sound goes, the game is loud. The rattling of chain guns, explosions, Nazi screams, the shouting of your teammates telling you to “throw some grenades in those windows!”, there’s quite a bit going on, and it’s all good.
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It's so gritty and intense that at times you can suspend your disbelief to such an extent that the couch, TV and controller simply melt away. [Issue #2]
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80It will give you a ton of value as a single player game. It's also a great first effort for the genre on the next gen system.
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It delivers unbelievable graphics and more cathartic chaos than you can shoot a luger at, but has something of a dumb head on its shoulders, an overly simple control scheme and busies itself providing greater densities of the same old content without doing anything new.
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For those who can tolerate having their brain beaten numb by it, the game entails often enthralling, occasionally awe-inspiring sights and sounds. But little is there that’s new compared to much that needs renewal. [Christmas 2005, p.96]
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70Of the shooters available on the 360 at launch, Call of Duty 2 is easily the most accessible and consistently entertaining single player offering, but if online is your thing you're better off considering what Rare has to offer ["Perfect Dark Zero"].