Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005 Video Game) User Reviews

Sadly Overlooked

[peyton_possum · 10/10 · 31 July 2019]

Of every Call of Duty ever made (and I have played all of them with two exceptions), Call of Duty 2: Big Red One still stands out as perhaps the best and most complete campaign in a Call of Duty game with the possible exception of the Modern Warfare series. The unforgettable story of an infantry squad from the 'Fighting First' - the Big Red One - as they fight through the Second World War from North Africa in 1942 to Italy in 1943 to France and Belgium in 1944 and finally to Germany in 1945. An array of locations never seen in any other game with authentic weapons combined with stunning historical context and an unforgettable cast of characters makes Call of Duty 2: Big Red One a unique masterpiece. The character development and camaraderie remains unparalleled and no other game has gone as in-depth as this when it comes to accuracy. Sadly, the era of such well-made games seems to be a bygone one. It is unfortunate more people never experienced this game when it was in the spotlight for as brief a time as it was, though even then it was overshadowed by Call of Duty 2 (the one most people remember). 14 years later and I still love to dust it off and turn on the old Xbox from time to time.

Lesser title of the Call of Duty series

[johanloth · 5/10 · 26 February 2008]

While being a huge fan of WWII video games, especially the Call of Duty series, I felt a bit disappointed with this title. The first Call of Duty title for the last gen console ( PS2 and Xbox)a.k.a Finest Hour was a great improvement over titles like Medal of Honor. Although movement in this game was frustrating and slow, the possibility of charging through the gates of Stalingrad was brilliant. Call of Duty is known for its versatility, where you can play through different campaigns ( Soviet, American), different characters as well as locations ( France, Russia, Germany) and the ability to commandeer tanks. Big Red One (BRO), as the name suggests, focuses only on one squad from the famous US army division. Here you travel from North Africa ( taking' down French Vichy troops was a first!) through Italy, Normandy ( of course)on to the Siegfried line for a dramatic showdown. While this could sound great to you, along with the whole cinematic concept of this game ( it really looks and sounds like a movie),it has in my opinion some major flaws. The thing is, a WWII game must be realistic. Sounds, weapons, locations, all must be true to reality as gamers like myself will judge a game on this aspect.In BRO all the rifles and SMG's sound and more surprising, fire the same way (except for the fast rate of fire of the SMG's of course). Here you can head shoot an enemy from a big distance with a Thompson, which would be impossible in real life. So why use a rifle if a SMG would do just the same? Although movement is better than in Finest Hour, it still feels unnatural. And you'll probably spend more time bumping into walls than shooting. It still is a last gen shooter, where you simply go from point A to B. Pretty straight forward.

As graphics are excellent ( PS2 version) and movie-like, it still is a simple FPS shooter. Lack of different parties ( Soviets were great to play in Finest Hour) and terrible weapons lowers the rating. This last fact is the most important: great weapons make you play a FPS shooter in the first place,don't you think?