Call of Duty 3, released in 2006, was the third instalment in the Call of Duty line. Like Call of Duty 1 and 2, Call of Duty 3 is set in World War II, but has taken a big step up compared to its ancestors. It has been released for all third-generation consoles, including the Wii!

Gameplay

In single player mode, you play 14 missions, playing each section of the campaign from different viewpoints of the armies involved. Call of Duty 3 takes you from the American campaign, to the British campaign, to the Canadian campaign, before finally ending on the Polish campaign.

Multiplayer mode features a huge variety of features that can be adjusted by the game’s host. On Playstation and Xbox, Call of Duty 3 separates the matches between ‘player matches’ and ‘ranked matches’. Player matches allow the host to invite players into the game to play with them, whereas ranked matches are based on puts the individuals, or teams, up against other individuals or teams with the same ranking to ensure a fair game. Player matches don’t contribute to the ranking of the players, but ranked matches (obviously!) do.

In Call of Duty 3, there seems to be a much greater emphasis on multiplayer matches, with the players being able to choose between battles (the basic idea where the player with the most point wins), team battles (two teams play against each other and the one who annihilates the other team first wins), war (taking control of a flag before moving on to get the next one), capture the flag (2 varieties of) and headquarters (team must posses the radio to win).

Call of Duty 3 for Wii

Call of Duty 3 Wii release has sparked much debate within the gaming community about its right to be there. Games such as this haven’t had a history of making it to the Wii, but it does seem to be as close to being in the heat of the battle as we can get at the moment. The controls for it aren’t quite 100%, but they almost make you believe you’re there.

Also, Wii’s were never particulary built for graphics it seems, so the trade off between the game controls and graphics have had to be accepted, but it seems to do it just fine!

All in all, a very good game no matter what console you get it on.

Best Bits

Here are the most notable features of Call of Duty 3:

• Very fast, enjoyable action.
• Story very believable; sucks you in.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is another addition to the popular Call of Duty first-person-shooter franchise. The idea takes places in the near-future, where you play the role of either an American Marine (Sergeant Paul Jackson) or British SAS Commando (”Soap” MacTavish). Gameplay is set in locations worldwide including Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Call of Duty 4 differs to previous Call of Duty games, as this one is set in the near future rather than in World War II. This shift into the modern day has brought in lots of new concepts to the game, including the ability to use grenade launchers, anti-tank missile launchers and even call airstrikes!

Game Modes

Playing Call of Duty 4 in campaign mode, you go along taking the places of different officers which requires you to get to checkpoints throughout the game or simply annihilate all the enemies present.

Multiplayer mode in Call of Duty 4 has a very wide range of games that can be played, due to the sheer amount of options that can be customised when playing a multiplayer game. The game type is deathmatch, where the host can set the map and players are allowed to use airstrikes, reconnaissance scans and attack helicopters once they have achieved a certain number of kills in a row. Points are earned and built up throughout gameplay, and better weapons and tools can be unlocked as you go along.

Game Announcements and Developments

The developers later released a variety map pack for multiplayer games, which is available for download on Xbox 360 and Play station 3. This pack consists of 4 new maps that add extra variety to gameplay.

As Call of Duty 4 was released on 4 major systems (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Windows, Mac OS X), it sold the same amount of copies as the hugely popular Halo 3, which was only released for Xbox 360, it even became the best selling game worldwide for 2007! How could you live without a copy?

Best Parts

• The graphics on Call of Duty 4 are amazing – pretty much the best you’re going to get on any Xbox 360 game out there.
• The single player campaign mode is really satisfying to play – it’s been researched well provides a very good single-player experience.
• The multiplayer mode is truly excellent! There is a multitude of variance in every single game played.

In 2008, Harmonix Music Systems released Rock Band 2, giving millions of gamers across the globe the opportunity to come together once again to belt out classic rock ballads. Much like its predecessor, Rock Band 2 allows gamers to choose between strumming a guitar, bashing a set of drums, or singing classic lyrics. And with over eighty new tracks included in the game, there is plenty of depth for all to enjoy the game for a long time.

For those who have never played Rock Band, the main objective of the game is to follow on-screen patterns by using controllers shaped like instruments. The game is simple enough to pick up and play immediately, and difficulty ranges from very easy, allowing beginners to get a grasp of the controls, to very difficult, offering a rewarding task to those who have already spent hours mastering the game.

The main difference between the Rock Band line of games and other music video games is that Rock Band allows up to four instruments to be played in harmony. Rock Band 2 improves on its predecessors shortcomings with this feature, offering greater incentives to the experienced to find good teammates, while also allowing a group of four beginners to play together without worrying if one was falling behind.

Perhaps the largest strength Rock Band 2 has is its offerings post-purchase. Owners of the game can take advantage of the constantly-updating online store, which offers hundreds of new tracks to choose from. And as an added bonus to purchasing the game, Rock Band 2 owners receive twenty free downloadable songs just for playing!

With improved game play and new songs available for download every week, there is no doubt that Rock Band 2 has a long shelf life. Overall, the game is a terrific sequel and a must-have for all who enjoy music video games.

Call of Duty: World at War is a very popular new game from Treyarch. The game, set in the Pacific Theatre of World War Two, follows the lives of several soldiers as they make their way through revenged towns, burnt cities, and fields of death – but who cares about the campaign? Anyone who has been playing Call of Duty for a while knows that multiplayer is by far the best part of the game. Unfortunately, World at War has no system of matching you to players in your skill group, like Halo does with their TrueSkill system. For that reason, you need to be well equipped if you plan to do well on World of War. Below I have compiled a list of my favorite custom classes, as well as some that I see many skilled players using.

Sniping Class
Primary Weapon: Moisin Nagant/Kar 98/Arisaka (they are pretty much all the same)
Attachment: Sniper scope
Side Arm: Magnum (if you don’t have a magnum, us a Nambu)
Primary Grenade: Frag
Secondary Grenade: Turban Gas
Perk 1: Bandolier or Bouncing Betty x2
Perk 2: Stopping Power (unless you are playing hardcore, stopping power is essential)
Perk 3: Iron Lungs
Vehicle Perk: Ordnance Training

Rushing Class
Primary Weapon: Mp40
Attachment: Dual Clips/Aperture Site
Side Arm: Magnum
Primary Grenade: Frag
Secondary Grenade: Smoke (works well for rushing), or Gas
Perk 1: Bandolier/Bomb Squad
Perk 2: Stopping Power
Perk 3: Steady Aim
Vehicle Perk: Ordnance Training

Mid-range Class
Primary Weapon: SVT-40
Attachment: Aperture Sight/Suppresser (Suppresser for Search and Destroy, Sight for other game types)
Side Arm: Magnum
Primary Grenade: Frag
Secondary Grenade: Smoke/Gas
Perk 1: Bouncing Betty x2
Perk 2: Stopping Power
Perk 3: Second Chance
Vehicle Perk: Lead Foot

Hardcore Class (for hardcore games only… You will get owned if you use this in normal)
Primary Weapon: STG 44
Attachment: Telescopic Sight
Side Arm: Magnum
Primary Grenade: Frag
Secondary Grenade: Gas
Perk 1: Bandolier/Bouncing Betty x2
Perk 2: Camouflage
Perk 3: Deep Impact
Vehicle Perk: lead foot