Call of Duty is now the best respected and most famous war first person shooter. This Call of Duty 2 demo will give anyone who's never played it an idea about why it's so popular.
You begin your experience on the back of a truck, driving into a town in Egypt, where you're dropped straight into a fierce fire fight against the German army. You're given orders and targets along the way, but the first time you play the main emotions you feel are panic and confusion. There is lots of noise and explosions all the time, and it's not always clear exactly what you should do.
In a game like Call of Duty 2, confusion is actually a compliment, as it is part of the experience. You can learn to prioritize yourself. There are lots of keyboard controls, making it difficult to pick up for novices, but they are pretty much standard fare for this genre. The graphics and sound are surprisingly good for a game from 2005, too.
The problems with Call of Duty 2 are ones of age, really. The AI can be a bit dumb. Sometimes soldiers appear standing in odd places, and your colleagues seem to have a habit of not getting out of the way of grenades!
Despite this, Call of Duty 2 is an exciting first person shooter, with lots of drama and realism. Its sequels have certainly outshone it, but it's still a great experience.
