On October 25th the highly anticipated wait for the Xbox release of Call Of Duty 2: The Big Red One, was over and after recently finishing the game, I can honestly say it was worth the wait - if not one of the best Xbox games of the year. If you are a fan of first person shooters, then your gonna find this one to be a must own title. In Activision's WWII shooter America's most decorated unit, The Big Red One, fights its way across the globe in North Africa, Italy, Nazi occupied Western Europe, all the way up to D-Day - and you'll be right there in the middle of all the action. the game itself is based on the real soldiers of the Big Red One and events in history which gives the title a real authentic feel.

The first thing you're gonna notice is the excellent detail in this game (proving that the merge between Grey Matter and Treyarch will have some very excellent possibilities). You'll be happy to see how quickly you move from one fight to the next as you conquer 13 levels in single player mode. And with over 3 dozen very authentic weapons you're gonna find lots of ways to eliminate your wide selection of enemies like the Afrika Korps and the Italian army and German forces. Each level will have more to offer than the one before it including some tank missions, ground-to-air defense against an array of planes and even some sea action as you invade Omaha Beach under some pretty harrowing conditions.

Because of the game's strong focus on the group of soldiers you're with, you'll feel the very close bonds that these men had develop. Being that there's an assortment of characters (from seasoned soldiers to greenhorns, like your character) there's a lot for each of them to offer to the group including stories of war experiences or tales of their lives back home and even some wise cracks between the men. I think this is a great angle they have taken for Call of Duty 2, which ultimately helps to intensify situations when your relying on the same people time and time again.

when your characters are confident, you feel confident and when you're stressed or scared, so are they. Anyway I personally feel that these bonds help you get more involved in the game than when your team members are always changing or you don't get the chance to know them on a personal level like this.

Something you'll notice (and should remember) is your environmental covering, because it is more expansive than a lot of games in this genre. Players will want to make good use of it when hiding from gunfire or trying to flank the enemy! The details seen in things like bunkers and pillboxes isn't all that was done with awesome clarity though; pay attention to your weapons, the heavy artillery and even the tanks and planes - I think anyone that plays the Xbox version is definitely gonna be surprised.

I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say there's parts in some of the missions where you use a sniper rifle, as this is pretty common in the first person shooter games. Sniper missions are one of my favorite parts in these games and I can honestly say Call of duty 2 is not lacking in this area. The sniper scope is extremely clear and the shots -- as well as the way the bodies fall -- is very realistic and lifelike. Probably my absolute favorite part of this game is the heavy artillery (30 cal., 50 cal, and ground to air, to name a few); it's almost like you can feel the heavy weight of the weapons as you use them and you can definitely see the extreme damage they do compared to the smaller weapons you'll be using.

An interesting side note on the game: some of the in-game movies that play in between levels are actual footage from WWII and it comes right from the History Channel. I think that's a great way to pay homage to the people who fought and even lost their lives fighting those battles to protect the integrity of humankind. So don't be surprised if you recognize some of the footage you'll see or even learn something new about this war that put the world in turmoil.

Once you've beaten the single-player campaigns you can take the battle online through Xbox Live and slug it out in a variety of modes against up to 16 players. Game modes include standard game deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and domination. There's no non-Xbox Live multiplayer like split screen play but Xbox Live subscribers will be able to get their fill of WWII themed multiplayer mayhem which includes vehicular combat, holding map points and good old fashioned run-and-gun play. Multiplayer is a lot of fun and a great extension to the stellar single-player gameplay..

In closing if you like first person shooters then I highly recommend getting this game as soon as possible - I'll even go so far as to guarantee that you won't be let down. This will be one of the few games you don't trade or sell as soon as you beat it. Activision definitely knows what they are doing with this series, which gets better and better with every new chapter. Big Red One is by far the best action game you'll find on the Xbox this year.