The Begining II

In 2003, no one seemed to understand these concepts better than developer Infinity Ward, whose rookie title, Call of Duty, instantly reset the bar for first-person shooters. Although there's been no shortage of WWII shooters in recent years, the team appeared bent on outdoing titles like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (a game that much of the Call of Duty team worked on) at every turn ... and did it in spades. Remember MOHAA's "Omaha Beach" (GameSpy's 2002 "Level of the Year?") Call of Duty dishes epic missions like this out like Halloween candy, from the opening American levels at St. Mere Eglise to the marathon British struggle at Pegasus Bridge all the way to Russian battles at Stalingrad and Red Square. It wasn't enough to play through these missions just once -- you'd want to play through each several times just to see all the different events happening in every corner of the map.

Even the more "traditional" elements of Call of Duty were a step above most shooters. The weapons were rock-solid and the ability to use iron sights became a must after just a few missions. Chaotic settings meant we found ourselves diving for cover and crawling across battlefields more than any game to date. A regular stream of squadmates provided your characters with plenty of support without ever getting in the way. A sparse musical score stirred emotions at just the right moments, and even a handful of voiceovers from Giovanni Ribisi and Jason Statham added that extra bit of personality. Multiplayer features included riffs on Counter-Strike, and "Assault" and also introduced a new "KillCam" that's become the bane of campers everywhere.

Almost every game has its weak points, but just about every aspect of Call of Duty was tight as a drum and polished to perfection. As we said in our review, it's a thrill ride from start to finish, and more than deserving of our award for Best PC Game of 2003.