Call of Duty 3 (Sony Playstation 3, 2006)

Pros
+ Gorgeous, slick visuals with nice detail.
+ Trademark 'Call of Duty' small part of a big war action.
+ Realistic weapons & improved sniping & better tank driving than the previous installment.
+ Intense gameplay througout the whole game.

Cons
- No co-op.
- No real improvements over 'Call of Duty 2' except for some new multiplayer stuff like being able to sprint.
- Lots of glitches that make the game almost unplayable on harder difficulties like the CPU always knowing where you are & useless teammates.
- Useless mini-games that attempt to break up boredem within the game like close quarters combat (visually cool though) & bomb planting.
- Shortage of checkpoints.

Comments
There aren't many improvements to the series but there are quite a few more glitches. These glitches are usually obvious & frustrating to deal with. You will also get tired of playing levels over on harder difficulties because checkpoints are so rare during big battles. Driving still needs some work & the series needs to break away from the traditional 1st person shooter by allowing you to take cover or sprint. Sprinting is available in multiplayer but never in the campaign. But getting shot trying to peak around corners gets old, especially when the enemy can hit you with blind fire. This is still a solid game though & plenty of intense Nazi-fighting fun.

Verdict
Fun WWII game. Not a must have but if you are a fan don't pass it up.

With as much praise as it had, the original Call of Duty left me with wanting a little more. In addition, a few reviews had brought to my attention possible downfalls of the game that seemed rather legitimate. However, the only other preorder I had was Red Steel, and being somewhat disappointed, I took another look at COD3. Forgive me for a few comparisons to Red Steel, but since they are both FPS launch titles, I figure it counts especially to those who have a Wii before the end of the year.

Initially, the controls were a little odd to me, but they feel rather different than Red Steel's controls (much tighter and more responsive). After a quick tweak of the sensitivity, (lowered it dramatically) I was off and blasting away at just about anything that spoke German. It still took me about an hour to get a handle on the controls (especially reliable grenade throwing) but oddly my new-to-modern video games girlfriend picked it up in a flash. I think because she's not used to a particular control scheme so it was less work to wrap her mind around the Wii-mote's use.

Graphics-wise, the game is great, but the Wii can and probably will do better. It is obviously not par with the PS3, but the lighting is good, there are enough polygons to avoid excessive blockiness, and more-than-decent textures. The best part is that I've experienced no slowdown or framerate problems, even with a battle waging with guns and tanks in the rain and particles of dust and debris everywhere. The voice acting is rather good (worlds away from Red Steel) and I especially appreciated the British, Scottish and French accents. The audio in the game is excellent, and a moving musical score oddly similar to that from Lord of the Rings:-).

The thing that clinched my approval though, was a couple hours into playing the game, right after a particularly intense battle, I suddenly became aware of the fact that I was naturally using the controls. I had forgotten that self-aware sensation of "using" the wii-mote. I was just simply playing the game, and enjoying it. This showed me that the Wii-mote isn't just a novelty, it is a spectacular way of controlling your game. After I became used to the wii-mote, lost that conscious awareness and became fully immersed in the game, it became even more enjoyable.

As a release title, I feel COD3 deserves a lot of praise. The third parties had very little time to get their act together, and fortunately this one worked well. In the future, I would like to see customizable bounding-box sizes (which has been mentioned in a few reviews), some graphics tweaks (which will come with time), and a little more handle on the linearity of gameplay. (sometimes it would be slightly confusing as to where the game intends you to go, thus resulting in your sole character running around a deserted building or field). <- a problem slightly inherent to the Call of Duty series. Lastly the lack of multiplayer is disappointing but will hopefully be seen in later versions.

So here's the breakdown:

Gameplay - 8.5
Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 10
Multiplayer - N/A
OVERALL - 9 (given that it is a launch title, otherwise it would have been an 8.5).

First off, the Call of Duty series has really taken off as a solid contender against the Medal of Honor series, and Call of Duty 3 is a strong addition. As previous versions of Call of Duty, COD 3 takes you through a certain time period of WWII through several different peoples' perspectives.
Here is the quick and dirty of the game:

Pros:
-Intuitive controls
-Decent graphics (see Cons)
-Awesome all-around sound
-Many perspectives in game progression
-Long single-player campaign
-Bonus interviews with WWII vets for beating the game

Cons:
-Zoom-in aiming system
-Only 720p output
-Graphics are essentially the same as XBox360
-Sometimes the AI is Artificially Un-Intelligent
-Use of Six-Axis controller is awkward and seems to be forced into gameplay


The gameplay is great because the controls are very intuitive and easy to pick up. One thing that it is a constant annoyance, however, is that when you zoom in, it is very hard to aim your weapon. However, there are many weapons at your disposal and it is fun just to try them out.
You'll be disappointed if you have a 1080p capable TV because the game only supports 720p output. But unless you are a stickler for graphics, it doesn't matter too much.
The Pros and Cons pretty much outline everything else, although I must say that the campaign is very easy on the easiest level and will not take long to beat. In addition, even if you manage to beat the game on the hardest difficulty, the online multi-player is awesome.
That being said, if you want an even better FPS shooter for the PS3, the go for Resistance: Fall of Man. But in my opinion, if you can swing it, both are worthy for your game library.

I read the reviews elsewhere on this and I was not sure if I was going to get it.
I think they were wrong.
I own Call of Duty 2 for the XBox 360.
Reviews said Call of Duty 3 was "More of the Same".
I don't know if it is the PS3 or the Duty 3, but this game is alot better than Duty 2 on my 360. The Smoke effects are better. The Water is amazing... Damn shot again starring at the water...
I noticed something in Resistance Fall of man that is also present in this game, Everything is alive. The Grass whisps in the wind, this makes the environment come alive.
I think Resistance does the Ambiance better, but it is nicely done here too.
Swinging the Sixaxis as if to do a Rifle Butt causes your on screen character to do a Rifle Butt... Cool...
The Driving Sequences using the Sixaxis takes a little getting used to, however you can still drive via the Analog stick as well.
Graphics are Very nice, I did not see the Frame Rate Problems spoke of by the Reviewer. The Sound is very good. I did not give the Sound a 10 though because after playing Resistance where there is more clips of audio from the AI characters, I found hearing the same thing over and over again to be very "Last Gen" of Course my "Next Gen" 360 has the same problem. I think it stems from people starting to use the Extra capacity available on the BluRay disc.

Free Online Thanks to Sony. Goodbye XBox Live. Until Microsoft gives Live for Free, I will not renew. The Microsoft Fanboys keep trying to convince me that the Xbox Live is somehow better, well... after using them both I can not see the "greatness" that constitutes $50 a year.

If you liked Call of Duty 2, You will love Call of Duty 3.
Man I could sit here all day Whiping my Sixaxis all day. Rifle Butt. Rifle Butt. Yes. Yes. Yes.
I hope they keep adding these little touches to the Future PS3 games.

In Call of Duty 3, get closer than ever to the fury of combat as an Allied soldier in World War II’s most harrowing military operation, the Normandy Breakout Campaign. Melee combat and destructible cover bring you face-to-face with German forces. Multiple attack routes mean you decide whether to flank your enemy or hit him head on. Varied terrain, next-gen graphics and sound, and a dramatic story deliver Call of Duty’s signature cinematic intensity.