PixlBit

I remember the release of the original Call of Duty well. It was my first year of college, and at the time, the PC first person shooter scene had gone a bit quiet. The game made quite a splash on my dorm room floor as it was unlike any other shooter available. Though Battlefield 1942 was available and still widely played, Call of Duty offered up a more refined World War II shooter experience.

Since then, the Call of Duty series has grown quite significantly, with the recently released Modern Warfare 2 owning the record for the biggest launch in entertainment history. As one would expect, to earn such a title, the game has become more refined and polished with each subsequent release. With Call of Duty: Classic, console gamers can now experience the original title that kicked off the series.

Players may be upset to learn that the original title pales in comparison to even its sequel, Call of Duty 2. This may or may not be a problem for most players, but for me, the massive step back to the now six year-old game was too much. The Modern Warfare subseries has managed to nearly perfect so many of the concepts put forth here that Classic seems to be nothing more than a history lesson at this point.

As players will quickly notice, aside from the locales and environments, much of the series' core concepts are intact. Shooting down the scope is still necessary for success, missions have a set of objectives that must be completed in order, and a variety of difficulty settings are available to players so that they can tailor their experience to their skillset.

It will also be obvious that the game feels quite a bit clunkier than newer additions to the series. This is due largely to the port from PC, as it substitutes the mouse and keyboard controls for a stripped down set of gamepad controls.

Various other aspects of the game are equally unrefined, but these are due almost entirely to its age. Character animations are rough, the graphics are not the greatest, enemy AI can be extremely poor at times, and mission design is nowhere near the current quality of the series.

The game's multiplayer may be its most redeeming aspect. Those who enjoy the old approach will find themselves right at home in Classic. The RPG elements that made Modern Warfare a massive success have been removed and instead, players will be able to experience the mode's various scenarios with the classic ruleset. This older approach was likely a favorite for many fans of the series at one point, and it's inclusion here allows those fans to enjoy the same Call of Duty style gameplay in a different way.

The problem with Call of Duty: Classic is not so much that it's a bad game, but that it has been outshined by all of the many sequels to it. Basically, players should not be purchasing Call of Duty: Classic for a modern and enjoyable play experience. Rather, Classic should operate merely as a means of experiencing the roots of a fan-favorite series.