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The game we rated a 9.4/10 finally receives an expansion. Last year’s Call of Duty was proclaimed, by me, to be “definitely recommended for PC gamers” as it had an “intense single player experience” which featured “epic game play and great multiplayer” alongside “awesome visuals and sound.” As Infinity Ward, the developers of the original game, work on the official sequel to Call of Duty, Activision tapped the development power of Gray Matter Studios (who are perhaps known best for their work on Return to Castle Wolfenstein) for this expansion. Thankfully, they were more than up to the task.
Call of Duty: United Offensive once again features three main campaigns: one for the Americans, one for the British and one for the Soviets. Like Call of Duty before it, the expansion uses a lot of scripted events to tell the story and immerse you in the feeling of war like nothing you have ever seen before. And while Call of Duty’s missions provided hectic action, they are nothing compared to the new American and Soviet missions which are truly larger than life battles and very over the top gameplay filled with nonstop actions and a wealth of enemies coming at you at all times. The British missions are closer to the original Call of Duty missions in terms of size and amount of action, but while less hectic than the American and Soviet missions in this expansion pack, still provide a respectable amount of gameplay.
The game’s length was a controversial point last time around and will probably be once more. Gamers complained when they learned that Call of Duty could be finished in around nine hours and surely complained when they realized that United Offensive is around the same length, if not a bit shorter. The same argument still applies: nine or so action packed enjoyable hours are better than twenty plus repetitive, monotonous hours.
Thankfully, Call of Duty: United Offensive features a sizeable upgrade in terms of multiplayer. For information on the original’s multiplayer modes read our review. United Offensive adds three new multiplayer modes to the mix: Domination, Base Assault and Capture The Flag. In Domination, you’ll have the task of taking over defined points while making sure the opposition doesn’t take them away from you. In Base Assault, you’ll need to destroy enemy’s bunkers and then make sure it is destroyed by infiltrating it and blowing it up with explosives. Lastly, Capture the Flag is the same first person shooter staple it has always been.
Multiplayer has also received an upgrade in terms of vehicles. You’ll spot tanks and jeeps around the levels to blow things up and move around quickly, respectively. The game includes 11 new multiplayer maps, most of which are larger than Call of Duty’s largest map, which sort of explains the addition of vehicles. The maps provide a large canvas to allow for the action and control the sniper situation by placing sniper-friendly points far from each other. There are also many new weapons in the game, most notable being the flamethrower but there are also rifles and what not added to the game. Lastly, the guys at Gray Matter Studios are rewarding teamwork in the game by giving a higher rank to cooperative players who will then be rewarded with bonuses.
The game’s visuals haven’t changed much, technically, from the original. The game still uses a very old rendering engine (the Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which in turn is based on the Quake III engine) and it shows in the character models and “look” of the game. However, the scope and magnitude of Call of Duty and particularly this expansion are most important. Gray Matter Studios did upgrade the engine a bit as explosions and other particle effects (like smoke and dirt) are more vivid this time around.
The game's audio performs well, too. The soundtrack is adequate for the game but the sound effects really steal the show with their vivid recreation of World War II.
Call of Duty was a great title, and Call of Duty: United Offensive is a great expansion. As an expansion normally is, United Offensive doesn’t tweak too much of the gameplay but provides a few upgrades and much more of it to please fans of the first game.
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, 800Mhz processor, 128MB RAM, 32MB video card, 1.2GB HD space -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Sep 27, 2004
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