Anubis2005X

Hey guys, I searched to see if there was already a thread for this, but wasn't able to find one. I missed the first Call of Duty when it was released, but I downloaded the demo for this and found it to be simply awesome. Anybody else play the demo? I'm seriously thinking of buying this now. Never played an FPS that had such a chaotic feeling to it. And yes, I've played various versions of Unreal Tournament, Half-Life 2, etc...

By the way, I should mention that a lot of you will probably be playing this game on the 360. As I've got hardly any interest in what the Xbox has to offer this generation (unless they make a new Killer Instinct, then I'll have to be their biatch), here's hoping that the gold PC version maintains the quality.

bigsoos

Call of Duty is awesome on the PC. Never played the Xbox or PS2 versions.

Noonan

The Call of Duty that came out for the current gen systems was not even close to the quality of the first PC game. It was a completely different game and not nearly as good. This time it looks like both the PC and 360 versions are going to be great. I'll check it out after I finish Perfect Dark Zero.

ytrez

I'm picking up the PC version as well. I have the previous and still have a blast playing the on-line team deathmatch and capture the flag games. Also, I played the demo and thought it was great. Can't wait for the release.

DJ_Longfellow

I have the 360 version paid for already...looks GREAT

Anubis2005X

One great thing about these games coming out for 360 and PC...widescreen support. Very pleased to find that it supported 16:10 with 1680 x 1050 resolution.

Anubis2005X

Hey guys,
If anybody's planning on picking this up for PC...Best Buy is selling the regular CD-ROM version ($49) with the 2nd DVD disc of the Collector's Edition included for free. So, basically, with the Collector's Edition ($59), you're basically paying $10 more for a more hassle-free installation period and a shiny box. But hey, if that's your thing...

Darkfriend

I'm definitely picking this up next paycheck

I know I'll have a good time with the single player but the real reason I'll buy the game is for the multiplayer. Right now I still have to finish FEAR.

dvd-fanman

My question is what is the real difference between Big Red One on the XBOX and what the regular "Call Of Duty 2" on XBOX 360 will be. Is there actually a difference, or is it Activision hope you'll buy one for XBOX and one for XBOX 360 when you get it. I'm eventually going to get a 360 at some point, so should I hold out and just buy the regular "Call Of Duty 2" for that and pass on "Big Red One" for now?

Anyone know what's in the "Collector's Edition" of Big Red One for XBOX?

Eric D.

I also would like to know what the difference between the X-Box and 360 versions will be.

From EBGames.com
Collector's Edition Includes:
- Interviews, MoCap/VO session footage in-game voice actors from the cast of Band of Brothers
- Interviews with WWII Vets of the Big Red One, incl. memories of in-game events
- Multiplayer map fly-thrus with DVD-style developer commentary (tips, interesting facts, etc.)
- Behind the scenes with Treyarch, discussing development of COD2: Big Red One
- Concept and production art gallery(Art, sketches, storyboards, renders, etc.)

discostu1337

xbox/ps2/gc call of duty: big red one is basically 'finest hour' with a new story. the PC and XB360 Call of Duty 2 is the 'real' sequel.

Cardiac161

I've been playing COD2 PC almost every chance I get since it came out. Have finished the single player which is incredibly intense to say the least. The AI is just fantastic as your enemies find a way to flank you, avoid your gunfire and throw nades to draw you out.

The Multiplayer is way better than the first one. Physics are much better, maps are tighter, and for some reason the "pray & spray" method doesn't seem to work much anymore. I usually play the Headquarters gametype and the rules here are different and calls for more teammwork.

Be sure to jack up those speakers because the sound is phenomenal.

Noonan

I'm pretty sure they're completely different games. Just like the console release of the first CoD was not the same as CoD for PC. As far as I know, the 360 version is the same as the PC CoD2, and the current gen consoles have thier own game.

DJ_Longfellow

Yep, they are totally different games (Xbox vs 360). I appluade them for doing that. Most companies are putting out the same game, with upgraded graphics (hopefully) for XBOX and 360 (Gun, Tony Hawk, King Kong to name a few)

lukewarmwater

I just picked up call of duty 2 collectors edition. I really like the single player but I cant get into the multiplayer. It just too fast paced for me. Seems like it's running and shooting. Doesn't seem to have any really strategy like halo or counterstrike multiplayer.

Edited to add:
If anyone is interested in the collectors edition I'd really advice against it. It's ten bucks more and all you get is a ten minute behind the scenes video, artwork that is online at every game website, and a 2 walkthrough's with audio commentary.

The fucker at ebgames told me you get exclusive maps.

kegman

does call of duty 2 have co-op

mrpayroll

This seems to be the only Call of Duty 2 specific thread, so I'll post this here. Is anybody else with the XBox 360 version having these problems that this story is speaking of?

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/677/677174p1.html

The Live Chronicles, Chpt. 4

Call of Duty 2's single-player game is fantastic.
But how does Activision's shooter fare online?

by Douglass C. Perry

December 16, 2005 - For weeks now, owners of Xbox 360s have been spending time playing Call of Duty 2 off- and online. Few people disagree on the topic of the game's extraordinary single-player campaign. The visceral punch of intense combat, ferocious enemy AI, and excellent level design is something not seen on consoles too often in the WWII first-person shooter sub-category. There is very little to berate in the fields of graphics and sound. It's just the damn online portion of the game that hurts so badly.

Since November 22, gamers have been plowing through Call of Duty 2's technically challenged online setup. For the most part, Infinity Ward has done many things right. A few maps returned from Call of Duty 1, but for the most part, all new maps were etched out for up to eight players in Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Headquarters, Capture the Flag, and Search and Destroy. The maps themselves are decently sized, good looking, and filled with combat possibilities. There is good vertical playability, lots of broken walls and holes to peek, creep, and shoot through, and a nice sense of polish. These levels feel like they've been played and tested over and over again to make them right.

First-person shooters have come a long way on Xbox over the past few years. There are lots of interesting techniques innovated and tested over the past three years to make Xbox Live games work, and work well. From the basics such as QuickPlay and Custom Match to more sophisticated lobbies and more detailed custom games, to updated maps and game patches, Xbox Live has become THE online way to do things on console. But Call of Duty 2 suffers in a few key areas, and it's driving gamers crazy.

Do a simple search for Call of Duty 2 on the Internet and you'll quickly find what seems like thousands of people screaming in pain, as if they have indeed been shot and dragged over burning coals. The subjects are clear: no parties, huge lag, and the game's minimal interface. Yes indeed, hardcore gamers are screaming at the top of their lungs in anger and frustration over these issues, and yes, we'll admit, some foul language was used just a few times while we read. Most fans and players agree they like Call of Duty 2. In fact, many love the game, but the online plays anywhere from decently to poor to unplayable, depending on the connection.

I played about 50 games yesterday and today and several more over the last week. About 90% of my games suffered from lag. In most cases, it wasn't a little lag either. It was major crunching, uncontrollable, skipping all-over-the-place curse-your-mother-in-horribly-unspeakable-ways lag. I'm not sure I've ever seen that happen before even on a regular Xbox game. In at least 15% of my games I had to manually drop out of them because it was impossible to play, and in another 15% of them I was the last person standing in a capture the flag game because everyone else had dropped out -- because of lag. And you bet I won those cheap games too, despite how lame that sounds. In about three games, the whole thing just crashed. And in uncountable games I experienced multiple disconnection issues. This is me playing from the IGN Offices mostly, where the connection is a giant fat pipe, not my home connection.

So yes, there is a problem. Infinity Ward, Activision and Microsoft need to fix it. According to the latest NPD Reports, Call of Duty 2 sold with a 77% attach rate to the Xbox 360, meaning that more than three-fourths of the people who bought an Xbox 360 bought Call of Duty 2. That's a stunning attach rate -- especially for a third-party title -- and something that all involved should be proud of. But if half of those people are online, then they're all in trouble.

I'm not a programmer or a networking genius. In fact, just the opposite. I can't place my finger on why the issues are occurring. But I'm sure Infinity Ward was made aware of the problem right away. And I'm sure the development team, the ones not on a well deserved vacation, anyway, have been looking into it. The lag and connection issues might be fixable if the teams can pinpoint the areas causing the trouble. Is it conflicting software, troubled servers, a problem with Microsoft's online service? Or all of the above? We've called Activision about the issues and at deadline time, their staff had no comment. That's not a we-don't-give-a-crap response; instead it's more of a we're-working-on-it no comment. I know it. Something this big on such a huge title cannot be simply overlooked. Activision most likely wants to have an answer and a solution, and when it does it wants to let everybody know, so it can keep its loyal fans happy.

But if that were the only issue, one could find a little more hope. Call of Duty 2's online functionality, while not broken, is primitively designed. Gamers have few choices with regard to how they set up games and who plays in them. Usually, the basic Xbox Live game has QuickMatch, Custom Match, and OptiMatch, each of which provides gradually deeper choices. In Call of Duty 2, there are fewer choices than that. You've got the choice of a ranked or player match, which then leads to quick match or custom match, and then you can pick game type. That's it. You can't pick any other options. There is no map selection, time selection, or other basic options such as weapon types, kill count, etc, etc. You can pick weapon and nationality, and you can switch teams or weapons during play. The choices are minimal, and it's unfortunate.

Even though Bungie removed the choices of hosting with Halo 2, it provided an enormous amount of options, and that developer added something far more progressive: Parties. Parties enable a group of players to stick together in private or regularly public groups, with the ability to remain in a group game after game after game. The idea was simple, it removed the clunky and annoying necessity to return to a server, pick a friend, and then invite them to your group. Perhaps we're all spoiled from that experience, or perhaps we've all seen how well it worked and figured that any smart developer would pick up on this lesson, copy it, maybe even make it better. Call of Duty 2 doesn't provide that option and the result is unfortunate. Some would say maddening. Most likely, if you want to play a game with friends on Call of Duty 2 you may not even find them. The best option to connect with friends in COD 2 is to set up a game, invite them all, wait -- and hope that nobody else comes -- and if the game isn't filled up by other people, start. Not so good.

Last, Infinity Ward's Xbox 360 title only enables eight gamers to play simultaneously, while the PC version offers 32. That doesn't seem very next generation, does it? I mean, Halo 2 gives you 16 right off the bat. Heck, Black Hawk Down on the first Xbox enables 50 people to play. Naturally, I'd rather play Call of Duty 2 any day of the week than BHD, but the point is that with such a well polished, smartly honed, and brilliantly designed single-player game, one must genuinely wonder what happened to the multiplayer game. The pieces are all there, but why isn't the multiplayer game better?

In the end, the last few days were awesome. I got to sit around and play games online and get paid for it. I've been doing that for a while, but these days were different, probably because the reviews, the news, and everything else is slowing down. Call of Duty 2 is a wild adventure in the single-player game, and if you're patient, you can bear through the online portion. But it will be like climbing through rose bushes, or trying to swim across a lake of mud. There are technical issues, and there are design issues. A lot of people have just given up playing the online portion altogether because of the lag, the drop-outs, the inability to create a constant party. I'm not sure, but I believe Infinity Ward is trying to figure it all out and solve the problems. I hope so, and if and when we find something out, we'll let you know.


Chris

Michael Corvin

I played one match on Live with my friends. The lack of creating a party keeps me from playing more than that.

BTW, this is also a BS lan game. 1 player per 360 per TV. That's crap. I frequently play with 5-6 people and two-three tvs is convenient. Not 6.

Adam Tyner

The online feels really tacked on.

I haven't played much online, but when I did, the lag was sporadic but horrific. One bad player can screw up the entire match, although if he drops out, everything can go swimmingly from there. One of my main gripes is that what defines Call of Duty for me is the overwhelming odds. Running around for a couple of minutes to find one of five other players on a gigantic map and then getting knocked out by a headshot 2 seconds later really isn't in the same ballpark as "fun".

I was more impressed by Call of Duty 2's single player campaign than any other game I've played this year, but if I want to play a 360 FPS online, I really have to turn to Perfect Dark Zero. It looks like you need both games if you want the best play online and off.

mrpayroll

Well I'm hoping that Infinity Ward uploads a patch that will automatically download to our HD's and make this a workable online game. That is, if the problem is with the game itself and not the game code that resides on the XBox servers.

I'm not a programmer but the problem is either in the game itself and how it speaks to the XBox Live servers or it is the servers themselves and the code that is on them that is causing all of these problems.

Is there an actual master (server) game for each of these XBox Live games that resides on the Xbox Live servers or do I not have a clue as to how all of this works?

Chris

BeanDip0001

okay man two things CoD2 looks better on the 360 than your PC. the frame rates are way high on the xbox than the PC. now i'm basing this on the fact I have an AMD64, an X800XT, WD raptors in RAID 0, and an xFi sound blaster. so if you know you're stuff you know that the X800XT is bad ass and it has 16 pipelines 256 bit path. the 360 has 48 pipelines. now um do the math. i have CoD2 on my computer and it looks BAD ASS, but there are effects that the 360 can do that my compy can't. and unless the compy vs the 360 is some sort of dual x1800 with a 4500+ or something crazy you're better off with the 360 version. oh and they're the same so no they didn't do a gay change like the other CoD games. they're the same pc/360 same game different platforms. now if you don't have an HD tv than stick with PC, but if you do and you get a 360 sometime you'll be glued to it. just my two cents not that anyone was asking, but i was biased as hell for the compy instead of a console but damn the console is freaking awesome.

mrpayroll

So are you saying you like the XBox 360?

Chris

msdmoney

I am looking to pick up the first CoD for the PC, $10 bucks at EB. I will pick up CoD two when it drops in price.

DVDKrayzie

i have my 360 hooked up to an HDTV(either my dell 24 inch widescreen LCD or 65" HDTV in the living room) and i have a nice computer(XPS-Gen5), but it doesnt matter how good it looks on either, it comes down to 2 words for which version to get.

mouse and keyboard

i can't stand playing fps with a controller.

also, the fact that it was $25 cheaper for PC doesnt hurt either

Anubis2005X

I was actually thinking of picking up the 360. I won't be getting COD2 though. I had already picked that up for the PC awhile ago, and played through it. Awesome game, loved every bit of it. I was definitely a fan of the keyboard and mouse. Does it look better on the 360? Probably, but I was more than happy with the performance on my PC. Now, Need for Speed: MW? Yeah, I'll probably be pickin' that one up for 360 if/when I get it.