Call of Duty 2

OK, so today I ran out to watch Jumper, which was about as good as I expected. Good to see Hayden Christiansen do some actual acting, unlike what was seen in SW 1-3.

When I got back, it was on to the next game, which was going to be Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare until I realized that I hadn't actually played COD2 yet (NM COD3, as it was a console only BS move). So, I installed COD2 and COD4 for a bit of old-time and current fragging.

COD2 starts out eerily similar to COD1, or was it the expansion pack, I don't remember. Anyway, I'm another Russian "recruit", handed a gun and a uniform and told to march forward into the fray...or get shot if I don't.

The COD series has always been pretty good as far as scripted events go, and the developers want you to feel like a part of an actual army, opposed to the Medal of Honor titles where it mostly seemed that it was you vs. the entire other army. Of course, they always come down to the same sets of missions: timed survival, planting bombs, a vehicle run or two, and typically at least one sniper attack, but that doesn't mean the they're not a good run through.

So, I'm out here in the cold with a crappy rifle and a bunch of Nazis out for some target-shooting. That and a few Panzer tanks they keep rolling through Stalingrad. At one point I'm a glorified Verizon repair man, making repairs to our communication lines, which really was a bit of a pain in the ass.

Before long, we're sneaking through pipelines that run above what I think is a trainyard. Every now and then I take some potshots through gaps in the pipe to snuff a few soldiers milling about, but forget that gives away my position and I rapidly get filled with holes a few times before I finally make it through.

Grrr. More tanks. And silly me, I usually have to run up to a tank and slap on an explosive to destroy them. Oh, what I wouldn't give for some Panzershreks or other means of blowing them up. Soon it seems that we're marching onto City Hall for the wrap-up of this campaign. Getting in - not so bad, but then the inevitable survival mission begins. Hundreds of Germans all of a sudden appear out of the woodworks including some halftracks.

In the end, we stand victorious
Axis: 0 Allies: 1