Other modes that deviate from standard FPS action include driving a tank, riding as a gunner in an SAS jeep, and driving the same jeep around a town while looking for POWs. In the last one you'll be given a lot of freedom, which can end up getting you lost. Luckily your squad mates will tell you which direction to turn, but sometimes they're silent for a bit too long. Even so, you'll still have a map icon to tell you where your objective is. The jeep is actually fun to drive, and there is a handbrake so you can actually powerslide it to make especially tight turns. Who'd have thought that we'd be powersliding in a Call of Duty game?
I know that so far CoD 3 sounds like it may just be a rental, but I haven't gotten to the multiplayer features yet. Multiplayer is what saves the day here. The past CoD games have always had great multiplayer support, and this edition holds up to that tradition. The Headquarters mode from CoD 2 is back, and along with it are capture the flag, single-flag CTF, War (where you vie for control of key points on a map), Battle (basically deathmatch), and Team Battle. There are about nine MP maps included and each varies greatly in layout and look. There are European countrysides, factories, a dam and blown-out cities. Many maps include drivable vehicles such as motorcycles, jeeps and tanks.
Online matches aren't as numerous as we'd like right now, but the game just came out so you can bet that more games will be up in the future. Still, I had no problem finding decent matches. The online play ran smoothly and I didn't experience much lag or other issues. There are different classes for you to play as, such as medic, anti-tank or support. Diversification within a team is essential to success, and this was proven during our online matches. The weapon balancing felt plenty fair to me, with each one filling its own particular niche. Thompsons and shotguns rule in close quarters, but the M1 Garand is a great weapon for wide-open outdoor areas. Sadly, you can only play as the US or Germans in the multiplayer modes, so you can't run around online as a Canadian or any of the other nationalities depicted in the single-player game.
There was one minor glitch that I found while online. If you're priming a grenade and then get killed before throwing it, you'll automatically toss the grenade when a medic revives you. This can meet with disastrous results, especially with friendly fire on. This happened to me twice, and the first time resulted in me tossing the grenade right at my feet, quickly undoing the efforts of the medic who had just revived me.
CoD 3 looks good and sounds good, but that's par for the course in this next-generation era. Don't get me wrong, the level of detail and the style of the game are gritty and detailed -- individual blades of grass add realism and act as visual cover, aiming at a close object with your iron sights will cause distant objects to blur, and the smoke grenade effect is both believable and effective. There are plenty of visual highlights that will impress your wandering eyes. In a roomful of next-gen titles, CoD 3 stands a little taller than the rest, but it won't beat out the likes of Gears of War in a beauty pageant.
If you've been paying attention this whole time, you've probably come to the conclusion that Call of Duty 3 is a solid game, and you'd be right. It promises intense WWII single and multiplayer action and delivers on both counts. The multiplayer experience is definitely the highlight here, but the single-player campaign is worth a play through. Yes, there is a collection of minor issues that keeps this game from being four or more stars, but it doesn't skimp on fun, and that's what counts the most.
