How about that Modern Warfare 2? I hear Activision has managed to pull in something like $3 million from it. And what better way to celebrate Infinity Ward’s latest success than playing the game that started it all! Anyone who picked up the various collector’s editions of Modern Warfare 2 got a code for Call of Duty Classic in the box, but as of this week, the game’s available to all, for 1200 MSP ($15 USD on PSN).
Call of Duty Classic is a six year old PC game, brought to consoles for the first time. It runs in HD, but that’s pretty much it. All the original models, textures and levels are here. It’s not a super-impressive experience, and doesn’t even compare all that well to Call of Duty 2 (an Xbox 360 launch title), but it’s still very cool to have more Call of Duty in one place.
Like Call of Duty 2 (and Call of Duty 3, and World at War), Call of Duty Classic is a World War II shooter. There’s a single player game, spanning British, American and Russian campaigns, with a game style and over-the-top touches similar to the more modern versions of the game. The console versions suffer because of the PC roots, with weapon switching ending up a little awkward and significantly less hand-holding in the accuracy department.
Still, this is pretty fun stuff. I never played the first game, so it’s all new to me. Graphics, AI and some general design choices reflect that generation – dated. Taking the experience as a whole, it’s amazing how little the series has changed. The single player is exciting, iron sights are still great, although the lack of an off-hand grenade button is a bit of a drag. What can you do, though?
On the multiplayer end of things, the game supports lobby-based games of up to eight players, across more than a dozen maps and a handful of gametypes. Most of these are team-based, and there’s even a survival-style one named Behind Enemy Lines that pits unbalanced teams of Axis and Allies against each other. There’s none of the persistent character stuff from modern Call of Duty titles, so everyone’s on an even playing field.
It’s nice of them to offer multiplayer support, albeit for only eight players with no support for local split-screen or even LAN. That’s a little weak. Still, there’s a good amount of content packed into these modes, for those who enjoy the smaller games.
The asking price for all of this seems a bit on the steep side of things, given how limited the appeal is going to be. Looking back at classic titles is usually best reserved for those who have some sort of emotional interest in the game to begin with. As far as features and content goes, Call of Duty Classic seems pretty decent. So it’s just a matter of giving the trial a download and testing out the presentation.
And hey, at least there’s no jerks wielding akimbo shotguns or running around at the speed of sound knifing dudes in the back.
Brad Petch has been playing games longer than most gamers have been alive. This does not mean he's good at them, or has good taste in them. Online interactions are not rated.