Call of Duty Classic

The year was 2003 and Infinity Ward caught the world by surprise with their epic World War II portrait Call of Duty. A brilliant sense of presence, inspired sound design and solid visuals made it into a milestone in the genre. The new developer was at its core made up of veterans from 2015, the makers of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. They knew the subject matter well, and they took it to the next level.

It's been six years since that initial success and the franchise has grown in popularity with each iteration. And thus they realised they had a lot of fans who had never experienced the original as well as old fans who would be more than happy to relive the glory days. This is why we are getting Call of Duty Classic, a remake of the original game, on Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

By now you should know the main outline of the story. A bloke called Hitler went ballistic, invaded Poland and just about any other neighbouring country and the end result was that most of Europe was turned into rubble. The answer to this problem was to land 170000 troops on the Northern shores of France and hope for the best. If anything moves, shoot it.

As you take a look a the technical side of things it is easy to tell how far we have come in six years. At it time Call of Duty looked amazing, but new hardware and more powerful engines have arrived since then. To put it in simple turns, Call of Duty Classic isn't a looker, but then again there aren't a lot of six year old games that would look this good today.

The sense of presence, isn't as intense as it used to be, but it's still there in Call of Duty Classic, and the fear and anger of your fellow soldiers is there at all times. There is a constant mix of screams and bullets flying through the air as you truly feel as though you are in the middle of a battlefield. The basic recipe for a Call of Duty game has almost remained exactly the same. Highly scripted action without any true dynamics. This is true even for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 although Infinity Ward have become better and hiding their tricks. It is easier to see the strings when you play Call of Duty Classic.

Sometimes it feels a bit too obvious and it breaks the illusion. But it is important to keep in mind that this is a concious choice on the part of Infinity Ward and that this enables them to deliver a stronger and more chaotic experience. There is almost not a moment of rest and the action comes flying in at an insane pace at all times. This is the greatest strength of the game. As an experience it is still very entertaining and it's a game that has stood the test of time, if you can look passed the surface.

It is not without its fair share of flaws. Something that annoys me is that the fact that my fellow soldiers, build from 400 lbs sacks of potatoes, often stand in my line of fire and get in the way as I try to seek out cover. They huddle up and make passing through doors trickier than it ought to be at times. You can always squeeze past, but it an old design flaw we don't often see these days. The stiff and blocky graphics is something we have to live with in a six year old game, but the twitchy animations feel out of place. But my main problem with Call of Duty Classic is the utter lack of intelligence in the enemies. It's something that it inherited from the original, and it comes with the package, but I don't have to like it.

The online component does not impress me. I didn't play Call of Duty online back in the day, but from what I've experienced with Call of Duty Classic it's not very impressive. Stiff and boring without anything to really get me inspired. It's the campaign that's the real appeal in Call of Duty Classic.

Personally I have to admit that Call of Duty has aged quite a bit. It is apparent both in terms of visuals and audio, and when it comes to game mechanics. However, there is no doubt that it's still a more than decent experience for those who haven't experienced the start of perhaps the most successful franchise right now. For those who want to relive the glory days it's also a recommended purchase. It's a piece of gaming history no one should miss, as long as you can overlook the visuals.