Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Critic Reviews

By far the best action game you'll find on the Xbox this year.

Gritty realism aside, no other game has ever grabbed me from the opening level and captivated my interest from start to finish like Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. I literally played this game until I was too tired to play anymore, went to bed, got up, and played it some more.

The Xbox version's online support is nearly flawless, but there is some occasional lag on the PlayStation 2 version.

So much fun and so well made that it completely obliterates the insultingly awful "Call of Duty: Finest Hour." This is the game that war gamers have wanted on a console, and it delivers the thrills and entertainment in ways I did not think possible.

The gameplay is great throughout, even if the graphics and A.I. don't quite live up to the standard set by "Call of Duty 2" for 360. But it stands up really well among the existing Xbox library.

Striking visuals (it's not at all grey) and ear-piercing sounds make the action intense, engaging and very cinematic.

For those of you sticking with the Xbox this holiday season, I highly recommend picking up Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, as it is most definitely one of the better shooters released on the Xbox this year.

The emphasis in Call of Duty 2: Big Red One is on the complete experience, which just so happens to include a more scripted, movie-like gameplay experience. If you don't like the more "on rails" M.O. in your war game, then you may want to look elsewhere.

Ultimately it's a game of straightforward shooting, but one directed with such care that it really shouldn't be neglected.

One the best examples of a series which makes you feel like you are a part of the war rather than the most important member of the war, which is perhaps the game's biggest draw, and rightly so.

An immersive and cinematic game featuring a storyline plenty of action enough to spare.

I would put Call of Duty 2: Big Red One below "Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood," but above "Battlefield 2: Modern Combat."

Aside from my mixed feelings on A.I., which was never one of the series' strengths to begin with, and the length, the game has a lot of great action, well done atmosphere, and multiplayer to keep you coming back for more.

It's a fine, fine shooter, capturing a micro scale in a macro story, with a remarkable capacity for maintaining alert attention.

With an engrossing, chaotic presentation that's sometimes at odds with the repetitive tasks you're ordered to carry out, Call of Duty 2: Big Red One asks you to overlook some questionable gameplay as you toil alongside the rest of the Fighting First.

You don't have to already be a fan, though, to appreciate the game, and that's a big part of its appeal. It's pretty easy to jump in, grab a gun and start starring in your own WWII movie mowing down Nazis.

The game is fun and well worth a play if you are into all things war.

A massive improvement on the lacklustre 'Finest Hour', and provides a solid, highly enjoyable singleplayer campaign.

A great game. The sound and graphics alone make this title worth checking out; the only problem is that it does little to innovate. The whole game, while exceptionally well done, is just more of the same old WWII action that we have already seen a hundred times before.

The combination of multiple sensory inputs allows for a very believable environment and is the primary draw of the game.