Despite a landslide of World War II themed shooters in the last year, Activision and developer Infinity Ward manage to put out an experience in the genre that is worth playing to the bitter end. Building ever so slightly on the formula used in the first game, Call of Duty, Infinity Ward brings you back to World War II for an entertaining and thrilling series of missions on the Russian Front, North Africa and occupied Europe - all the way into the final push to Berlin. The experience is satisfying in both multiplayer and single-player and fans of the genre will not regret this purchase for one minute.

In Call of Duty 2 players will find themselves in the boots of Allied Forces (Russian, Brittish and American) as they take out Axis forces across varied and sprawling landscapes. Sometimes you'll fight alongside a handful of squad mates and other times you'll be part of a larger fighting force trying to take over heavily contested areas like supply depots or villages. No matter the setting you're in for a a tough fight as Axis forces try to do you in at every turn.

There are three different campaigns for Russian, British and American troops where you take on the roles of enlisted men in some of the roughest battles of WWII. Each of these warriors has a name and a small bit of backstory delivered in in-game dialogue and journal entries, but in the end you won't pay much attention as you try to stay alive and complete each mission's objectives without getting capped.

The missions don't deviate too much from what players had to deal with in the first game: players will find themselves hunting for vital military secrets, clearing out bunkers, repairing communication lines, destroying radios, holding positions, destroying military hardpoints so that your armored divisions can get in close, driving tanks and taking out Panzer decisions, calling in mortar strikes using your handy dandy binoculars, navigating tunnels and pipes and clearing out contested hotspots like villages, supply depots and train stations. Unlick Call of Duty, COD 2 does provide levels that are a bit more open, allowing players to progress using different paths. Instead of being forced into chokepoints and narrow areas, players can now progress in different ways, making the gameplay a bit more interesting. While the gameplay itself is still quite linear, at least players now have multiple paths to get the job done..

While the gameplay and weapons available in the game haven't changed all that much from the original game, they are still solid. Some things have been refined and tweaked but they still pretty much work the same as in Call of Duty. Players can still look down the barrel of a weapon, squat, go prone and lean left or right as in the first game. Running and gunning doesn't work too well in the game (save up close and personal battles) and utilizing cover is still an integral part of the battles. Two of the interesting features in Call of Duty 2 is the grenade indicator and the health system. If players or the enemy throw a grenade the game will show an grenade indicator with an arrow) to tell you how close it is to you - ignore it and you'll get blown to bits.

The health system is also interesting because there's no health packs or medics in the game that you have access to. Instead players can take light damage and survive - but taking too much damage turns the screen a reddish hue and gives players a warning to take cover for a time. While some may argue that this isn't very realistic it's a shade more believable than quaffing health packs in the field. Interestingly there's no indicator for health at all so the only time your in real peril is when you get the aforementioned warning. A lot of times you'll just simply get popped or blown up and head back to the last checkpoint.

On the multiplayer front, Call of Duty 2 offers deathmatch for the more personal online experience, but most of the multiplayer modes are meant for teams. These modes include team deathmatch, old standbys like Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy, and a revamped version of the Headquarters modification that charges teams to control and keep possession of a radio that spawns randomly at points on the map. COD 2 also offers some classic COD multiplayer maps, further dangling the carrot for fans of the original game. Overall the multiplayer side of the game follows the same formula as the single player game, which series fanatics will appreciate.

Finally there's the overall presentation of the game which is just superb. Call of Duty 2 is a great looking game on the PC, offering some nice and varied locations, lots of intense action that doesn't make your system choke, and nice effects like smoke that envelope the battlefield and lend further credence to the game's attempt at realism. This beautiful presentation is further dressed up by real footage from some of the most brutal battles of World War II and personal journal entries from real soldiers. While Call of Duty 2's source material is bloody and violent, Infinity Ward has also done a good job of respecting this material by not using too much blood or gore, which in turn allows the game to carry a Teen rating. Overall the presentation is as grand as the men that fought this world are heroic. It should also be noted that Call of Duty 2 doesn't use the same engine as the first game - Infinity Ward built the new engine from scratch, opting not to use id Software's Quake 3 technology. That decision seems to have paid off, because COD 2 is smooth and great looking game.

In the end Call of Duty 2 proves that the WWII shooter genre is alive and well, and as fun as ever it was. With familiar and entertaining gameplay, a slick overall presentation and multiplayer that still proves to be a worthwhile distraction Call of Duty 2 may very well be in the running for the 2005 action game of the year. If you like first-person shooters then Call of Duty 2 is a must buy game.