Call of Duty Review (Primm Slim)
I didn't play this back in 2003 (I was too busy playing Pokemon Sapphire, Enter the Matrix, and GTA: Vice City) so it was interesting to go back and see what the first game in this enormous franchise was actually like.
It turns out it holds up pretty well, and I was surprised how much of the series' DNA you can feel even in this first instalment. The aiming and shooting feels tight, and the general quality of the environments and set pieces was of a good standard. It was cool to discover certain sound effects and visual cues (like that metallic tink-tink of a grenade landing by your feet) have their origin right here in the very first game, and continue to be used in the modern games today.
There were some rough-looking fake light shafts and some non-existent water shaders, but what can you really expect from a game now 19 years old?
What little story there is is told mostly in pre-mission briefing slides (a bit boring) or letters (also a bit boring). By the time you get to the Russian campaign missions, they sort of give up on this, which was a shame but at the same time it felt like the level design got better as it went. There are a decent handful of entertaining scenarios across the 3 or 4 hour long campaign.
Worth a play if you're interested in the history of the series, but not worth the asking price. I only grabbed this on a sale, and even then it was over £10 which is outrageous given the game's age and length.