BIOS: Technology Means Business

Call of Duty 2 is one of the most intense World War II shooters ever. Period! It's also a multimedia extravaganza, sporting some of the finest graphics and surround-sound audio effects ever seen on the PC platform. While it doesn't really bring anything new to the genre, it's definitely one of the best games to showcase a top-end gaming system. And it's SLI ready, so you can finally get the best out of your spunky (and expensive) graphics array.

Developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activion, Call of Duty 2 (Best Current Price: £26.99/$34.59) is the sequel to the best-selling 2003 original. Powered by a proprietary new engine featuring striking new visuals, advanced artificial intelligence technology, realistic squad combat and explosive action in new historic campaigns, the title lets players experience four individual soldier stories as they overcome seemingly insurmountable odds in multiple campaigns. Players have the freedom to follow each of the four storylines, or you can engage in the historic battles chronologically for quick-hitting action.

The latest Call of Duty instalment is another straightforward first-person-shooter (FPS), but players now have the freedom to take on a variety of mission objectives that allow for multiple paths and mission objectives. It offers more cinematic intensity and chaos than ever before, delivering explosive action with bigger battles, more weapons, more troops and unprecedented special effects set in a wide range of locations and environments.

An innovative new health system replaces the usual requirement to hit the 'quick save' key before any serious encounter. Call of Duty 2 does away with health and medipacks. Instead, you are killed if you get hit several times in succession. If you can make it to cover and stay safe for a few seconds, your health regenerates.

The downside to this, along with the constant auto-save, means that the game is relatively easy on all but the hardest difficulty levels. The bad guys (always the German army) keep on spawning from behind an obstacle though, until you've crossed an invisible threshold on the map. A big plus is that you never restart far from your last kill point, so you rarely have to retrace your steps and kill the same enemies over and over again - and there's always more than enough action to handle!

Also impressive is that concealment is key as battlefield smoke or even deployed smoke grenades cloud visibility. Weather effects such as the dusty sandstorms of North Africa and whiteout blizzard conditions of Russia, for example, will keep soldiers glued to their bunkers, while the 'Battle Chatter System' brings the action to life as squad-mates bark out context-sensitive updates in real-time to players. Environments sport stunning detail, soldiers half-run and half-crawl from cover to cover (some even let off a hopeless last round before dying), and the dynamic lighting illuminates details and textures on uniforms beautifully.

In addition to top-notch graphics that include realistic textures and lighting effects, the game's audio and music are also exemplary. Activision signed up award-winning film and television composer Graeme Revell to score the soundtracks for Call of Duty 2. The native New Zealander, whose credits include such feature films as Sin City, Chronicles of Riddick, The Insider and The Saint made his videogame debut using a live orchestra to capture the emotion and intensity of being on the battlefields of some of World War II's most explosive conflicts.

A total of seven relatively well-known actors voice several of the main characters too, including Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers, Live From Baghdad and The Negotiator), Rick Gomez (Band of Brothers, Ray and Sin City), Frank John Hughes (Band of Brothers and Catch Me If You Can), and James Madio (Band of Brothers and Shark Tale). Ross McCall (Band of Brothers, EMR and Hooligans), Rene L. Moreno (Band of Brothers and Last Flight Out) and Richard Speight Jr. (Band of Brothers and Into The West) also get a mention. Parents should note that there's quite a lot of 'mature' language.

The weapons in Call of Duty 2 are well balanced and vary enough to keep your interest levels up. You can only carry two weapons at a time, but you also have grenades (including smoke variants) and can swap your guns with fallen enemies. The gameplay should be familiar to those who played the original Call of Duty, or most other first person shooters, and the online support will help to extend the game's life once you've completed the single-player campaign. The online game is no match for Battlefield 2, but it offers 13 maps, including three remakes from the original game, up to 32 players per server, VoIP chat, and two weapons not available in single-player.

Call of Duty 2 looks great, sounds awesome, and provides both meaty single-player and multiplayer. The health system will find favour with videoconsole gamers looking for a John Woo take on World War II, but hardcore gamers may be put off with the God-like status. There's very little to do apart from kill people either, which although is great (it's only a game!) may be a little too shallow for seasoned pros who like depth. Nevertheless, Call of Duty is the best action shooter this year and is definitely worth your time (look out for our review of F.E.A.R next week). [9]