The boat lurches in the heaving waves as it approaches the coast. The cliffs are lined with German machine guns and I can feel each and every one of them training on me as the catapults launch the grappling hooks upward. The gate lowers with a crash and almost immediately I am lifted off my feet from an explosion. My vision is dazed…there are soldiers on fire running and screaming for help. My gaze wanders upward as I am dragged out of incoming fire. Who knew a trip to France would be so deadly?

Welcome to France

Call of Duty 3 is the sequel to the much-loved Call of Duty 2 but Treyarch developed this time. The change in developer didn’t do much to the overall experience. It still plays like a Call of Duty game, complete with the over-the-top action scenes, big explosions and of course well-done scenery. The Halo 2 style of health management makes its return in CoD3, relieving players for hunts of health kits and being near death for the entirety of a firefight. While this health system may seem cheap, as the difficulty level is raised, the amount of hits you can take before needing to take cover is reduced. As such, the Veteran difficulty is just disgustingly tough to get through, but you get that worthwhile Achievement Point for it.

There have been some new additions to CoD3, mainly small gameplay bits. Sprinkled through the game are mini-game-like elements such as fighting off a German in hand-to-hand combat, setting charges and a jeep driving level. While this shakes things up a bit, the button mashing and joystick rotating sequences breaks up the action and are always predictable. The jeep driving level was a blast though.

CoD3 itself overall is a fun experience. This time around you get to have a taste of playing as the Polish in this installment, as a tank driver. It feels good to be getting a taste of the different countries that served in World War II, since it wasn’t just the British and the Americans. Back again are the Americans making big pushes, the British with their behind-the-lines action and the Canadians with their fanciful accents. In CoD3 we no longer see varied theaters of war, but all sides fighting a different area in the French continent that lead up to the historical battle in the Falaise Pocket, where a large German army was surrounded and routed. As the game reaches the climax, you really get a feel for how epic and incredible this battle was more than sixty years ago.

Even though you're pushing back the Germans, doesn't mean they're entirely a pushover. The AI has been improved I feel into a much more smarter enemy. They will retreat to better positions, toss grenades at you to flush you out (but this time, you can throw them back!) and on harder difficulties, really give you a run for your money.

While CoD is known to have linear levels, CoD3 switches it up slightly by adding the choice of which way to approach your destination. Some choices force you against a different array of targets while another may lead into an ambush. It still manages to be linear but is a lot less noticeable.

War is Dirty

Graphically CoD3 has improved slightly over CoD2. The addition of rag doll bodies enhances the experience, especially when you drop a grenade on an enemy position and the troops go flying. The frame rate is very smooth for all the action going on the screen and rarely will you see a slow-down.

Aside from some visual enhancements and larger levels, it isn’t much of a change over CoD2, which is a good thing since CoD2 had wonderful graphics and the 360 handles the software extremely well.

Sound Off Troops!

An interesting story while I was playing CoD3. A fellow friend was down the hall and wandered in, asking me what war movie I was watching. That comment alone nails how well the sound is done in CoD3. The robust sound of the guns, the screaming and yelled commands by troops down to thunderous artillery barrages brings a wonderful aural experience. If you have great speakers and neighbors that are deaf or far away, blast the sound and expect to feel dragged into the war through the sound itself.

How Fun is War?

War can definitely be fun on the consoles. Taking over enemy positions, calling in artillery and hunting down enemy tanks never felt so exciting or enthralling since the previous Call of Duty. And once you have had your fill playing the campaign by yourself you can take the experience online, which is what I’ll explain in my next section.

Take the Fight Online

Heading online allows you to experience a whole new experience in CoD3. With up to 24 players in one game, the air is guaranteed to get thick with bullets and grenades. With that being said, the online mode comes in a variety of flavors. You have your standard Capture the Flag, War, which is akin to capturing a territory to move the front line forward, Team Battle and of course the wildly frantic free-for-all mode. Each come with a variety of rules which are self explanatory, but the real fun of the games comes from the distinct and unique classes you can choose before spawning.

You first have your standard rifleman, which is able to fire a rifle grenade. This grenade can go farther and explodes on impact, much like a mortar and is effective for those longer distances. Next up is the much loved and hated sniper class, which can call in artillery strikes on enemy positions. Then you have the MG class, armed with a heavy-hitting machine gun that can suppress and annihilate anything in its path that is soft and breathing. The ability of the MG class is to disperse more ammo to the other classes, which is handy for those long firefights. The medic class is both a welcome sight and an opponent to be feared. Able to revive soldiers that are wounded on the ground, the medic defends itself with a powerful shotgun, useful at short range but when used for anything past that, gets more laughs than a football to the crotch video. Submachine gun classes are armed with their fast firing guns and sticky grenades, this class moves faster and can lay down nasty mines. The support class gives you a powerful assault gun like the BAR or the StG44. This class is also able to lay down mines to take down troops and vehicles. Last but not least, the anti-armor class does exactly what the name suggests. Their ability to also lay down ammo boxes and take down tanks a welcome sight for allies. Fighting successfully in a map allows you to gain "rank" and use your abilities faster with each rank up.

Depending on the map or what the host wants, vehicles are present online. These range from fearsome tanks to the quick motorcycle or nimble jeep. This adds a lot of fun to the online games as you’ll have to work together to take down a threat or to use combined arms to win.

Beat Veteran. I Dare You

Overall Call of Duty 3 is a great game to play if you love WWII FPS's. While not much of a change from Call of Duty 2, that shouldn't stop you from going out and enjoying a new section of WWII. If you really want an experience though, I suggest giving Veteran difficulty a try.