Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (2005)

FPS - Follows the 1st Infantry Division's intense and gritty battles across North Africa, Sicily, and Normandy during World War II.

PROS:

++ Tighter narrative/focus. This is the first entry in the franchise that doesn't bounce around different campaigns and soldiers. This allows you to get to know a single unit (the Big Red One) and allows the side characters to receive some characterization. Although they were mostly forgettable, the side characters were likeable to the point that I felt some emotion when a few of them were killed in battle.

++ Improvement to gameplay. There's quite a noticeable improvement to the gameplay department compared to the last console entry, Finest Hour. Movement and gunplay are still slow, but not as agonizingly slow as FH. Guns felt better to use and I felt that there was greater variety. Tanks also felt much better to drive and operate. This game also brings back health packs, but I found that the difficulty was better balanced and that there weren't any levels that I found frustrating. My only complaint is how slow it is to move the camera when aiming down sight, even when it's set to the fastest setting.

++ Diverse level variety.

++ Bonus materials. I really liked the small "Bonus Materials" section in the menu where you can read more about the characters, weapons, etc. It was a nice little touch.

++ Solid sound design.

CONS:

-- Poor AI. Both friendly AI and enemy AI was quite dumb. Friendly AI could not be relied on to kill any enemy and had the habit of just standing there waiting for you to clear out a room. Enemy AI was equally dumb and mostly stood in place. It also takes them a while to notice your presence.

-- Lack of indicators. There was absolutely no feedback when you hit or kill an enemy. In Finest Hour, there was a red crosshair that appeared when you make contact with an enemy, but in this entry there's nothing. Also, it was quite frustrating that there was no grenade indicators.

-- Anticlimactic ending.

-- Dated graphics. Poor textures, and overall muddy graphics. Did not age particularly well. Although faces received great improvement, compared to Finest Hour.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One was an ambitious but somewhat flawed WW2 shooter that I absolutely loved when I was younger. Its script and character development is great, and I know a lot of players grew to love the main cast, and some of us was truly hurt by the loss of some of them. It had a vast African/European campaign and the level design, weapons and soundtrack are all passionately crafted. Even if it wasn't my favourite or the best in the series, BR1 was awesome when it came out, and it impacted me forever with its immersion and story telling. RIP Vic. RIP Brooklyn.