While the single player experience in COD3 did not seem strikingly different from COD2, the multiplayer mode is an all new ball game. Most average gamers out there don’t have the setup we did at Activision when we got a chance to take Call of Duty 3 into multiplayer mode. COD3 offers up to 24 player madness in one game and we got to experience this mode to it’s fullest. Imagine twenty 45+ inch plasma televisions all equipped with Xbox 360’s and surround sound headphones crammed into one small room. This is the environment I had to play in, throw in 20 screaming journalists and I think you get the picture. The first multiplayer map we loaded up was a city type level that reminded me a lot of the map from the COD2 demo. The first thing that any avid COD fan will notice once they jump online is the addition of vehicles, yep vehicles in a COD game, hell has frozen over. Treyarch took a lot of time to make sure that the vehicles were well balanced and did not throw the weight of the game off by one bit (there are jeeps, motorcycles, etc.). I simply cannot wait to grab a buddy, throw him in the sidecar of a motorcycle and go barreling across a bridge tossing smoke grenades and shooting off countless rounds. With a perfect sized grab bag of gameplay modes COD3 offers: Team Battle, Capture the Flag, Single Flag Capture the Flag, Headquarters, and an all-new mode called War. The first modes are pretty self-explanatory, with Team Battle working like any other death match game, and the usual Capture the Flag modes we've seen in countless other games.
We only got a chance to try out the Capture the Flag and War modes but let me tell you, running across the terrain carrying that flag, swinging it like a maniac was one of the single most enjoyable experiences I have had on my Xbox 360 thus far. After a couple matches of capture the flag we were thrown into a “War”, war being the title for the new mode developed in house by Treyarch. Unfortunately for anyone that has played Halo 2 they will have played this mode before, only under the name king of the hill. Yep, that’s right, the “war” mode simply pits two different teams against each other with the objective being to take control of a point on the map. Whichever team holds that point the longest wins the war. Although it has been seen before, this mode still gets pretty interesting because of the insane firefights and pissed off players attempting to take control of the point at any cost. Also, it isn’t like the new vehicles, maps, or game modes were enough to throw at fans of the series, Treyarch has taken a cue from classic games such as Team Fortress and added class character types to COD3.
Before going into combat you must choose from seven different classes: riflemen, light assault, heavy assault, support, anti-armor support, scout, and medic. Each of the different classes have their own weapons, secondary weapons, and accessories to go along with their custom uniforms. Think of it this way, depending on your style of play and whether you want to spend time healing your fallen brethren you choose either a “run and gun” style class, or a “sit and snipe” kind of class, or last but not least a “stop and heal” type of class. All of the classes are a joy to play, obviously some are more fun than others but either way there are plenty of modes and character classes in multiplayer, and along with support for up to 24 players, it will keep FPS and COD fans alike coming back to this game for a long while.
Treyarch did a great job last week convincing all of the gaming press in attendance that COD 3 is not a game to be overlooked, but is a game that we definitely need to keep our eyes on. With the addition of vehicles, new maps, and the graphical upgrade, Call of Duty 3 looks to be a surefire winner for this holiday season.
Stay tuned to Planet Xbox 360 for more information and a full review as the release date for this game approaches.
