Call of Duty 2 Review (Britt)
I haven't played this game since it came out back in 2005. This review takes place 19 years after its release date.
Playing this back when it came out, the regenerating health was a novel concept and it was introduced in this game, and you are basically wolverine as in you can take a lot of damage and heal within 3 seconds of cover. At the time, the realism of this was rightfully questioned but this innovative design would become a staple of the series and for all similar games afterwards. That single gameplay mechanic means you can keep fighting and stay in combat without being Rambo. Truly amazing.
As a 2005 review, this game is immaculate and amazing, game of the year material. For 2024, this game is a short but pleasurable experience. I beat the game without realizing it, and the story is very threadbare. None of these things stop you from an incredible experience that makes you realize how great this game was when it released, and how well it stands up to modern times.
Towards the end of the game I was really taking advantage of smoke cover and spamming grenades. I remembered that the enemies do spawn almost endlessly in some parts if you don't advance. So, knowing this and not being ensconced by combat, I decided to take a much more tactical approach to my firefights. Instead of trying to headshot people and creep up I instead flanked them and made decisive maneuvers. This single tactic was very rewarding because I missed this back in the day, and flanking someone had real combat advantages.
The characters would say things like "machine gunner on the 1st floor" and "enemies to the west" which existed before this game, but this time I was smart enough to listen to teammates and expect them to be useful if I assisted them. That tactic worked so well. You have teammates in combat who can die and instead of trying to be billy b@d@$$ and trying to kill everything by myself, I assisted teammates and that effort was rewarded. Respecting the games gentle nudging is rewarded and feels rewarding.
I gotta say, this game is great. Part 1 is better, but thats not an insult because this game is nearly as awesome.