It doesn't seem like WWII FPS games are coming to an end anytime soon. It's amazing how one war can be crafted into so many different shooters. Doesn't it get boring after a while? Well, developer Infinity Ward showed us last year that there's still some great fun in WWII shooters in their first game, Call of Duty. This game won over 50 'Game of the Year' awards, including our own here at PCGS, and in doing so Call of Duty quickly raised the bar of WWII shooters by incorporating intense battles and soldiers that work together as a team. Luckily for us, its expansion pack, Call of Duty: United Offensive, contains the same great action-packed intensity set in new locales.
The strange thing here is that Infinity Ward did not develop this expansion pack to their big WWII hit, Call of Duty. Instead, publisher Activision sought out the help of one of their other development teams, Gray Matter Studios. Maybe Infinity Ward was too busy working on Call of Duty 2, but either way Gray Matter did a great job of keeping the same feel of the original Call of Duty and placing it into this expansion pack.
Call of Duty: United Offensive plays out much like the original game. Throughout the game you once again get to play as the Americans, British, and Russians in that order. However, this time around it feels like more intensity has been added to the mix. Call of Duty had some very intense and insane missions, and then eased it up a bit mainly in the British campaign with a slower pace. In United Offensive it seems like you're always in the middle of some type of large scale gun fight. It's this style of gameplay that'll have you running for cover throughout its 7 or so hours of gameplay.
Starting out in the American campaign, you play as a member of the 101st airborne, by the name of Riley. This campaign takes place in the Battle of the Bulge and later has you recapturing such places as the Belgian town of Noville. Within only a few seconds of gameplay, a German patrol gets the drop on your squad and gunfire is fiercely exchanged. Not long after, you find yourself trying to escape the grasp of the Nazi soldiers via a car with a machine gun mounted on the back. Upon reaching the rest of your platoon, you're introduced to a large field where soon the Nazi's, and your fellow soldiers, will battle it out in a very intense battle including tanks, heavy machine gun fire, and U.S. planes dropping some carnage in the form of bombs. The British campaign contains, perhaps, one of the most fun missions in this expansion pack. You start this campaign as a British gunner named Doyle, on a B17 bomber in route to destroy some German factories. Thankfully you're not restricted to using just one gun on the bomber. You can leave your gunner position and freely roam about the confined space of the plane. After your Captain repeatedly orders you to get to your position, the first wave of Luftwaffe fighters commences an attack. It's up to you, and the rest of your crew, to shoot down any enemy fighters and keep them away from your group. The battle looks large and dynamic as you look out of windows and run frantically back and forth to take up gunner positions that your fallen crewmembers no longer occupy.
After taking on wave after wave of Nazi fighters, you must release the bombs onto your target by using a manual crank since the doors have become stuck. You can see explosion after explosion as your bombs hit their target on the ground below. It's at this point that your plane comes under heavy attack and breaks in two. With nothing to grab onto, you're sent plummeting down to the German infested land below. Good thing you wore your parachute.
Finally, you end your battles as a Russian conscript named Yuri during the Battle of Kursk. Historically, this was one of the greatest tank battles of all time, and it really shows this in the game. In the beginning of this campaign you're immediately put into action as your officers herd you and your comrades like cattle from a freight train into cargo trucks. The trucks take you to the front lines where the Germans are leading attacks across a large field and into your trenches. You're then ordered to take out the enemy artillery in order to stop the German advance.
The expansion pack does more than merely give you new missions to complete. United Offensive also adds some new weapons to your arsenal. The Americans and Russians receive a light mounted machine gun that can be deployed onto any surface and is an easy way of cutting down any enemies. Both sides also receive new models of bazookas. The British now have a Silenced Sten machine gun that is very powerful against any foe. Lastly, the Germans receive their flamethrower. You can find and use this weapon at certain parts within the Russian campaign, and it serves as a very powerful close-range weapon.
We've been mentioning a lot of good things about this expansion pack, but unfortunately it's not without fault. The one major element that is quite bothering is the gameplay. Of course, seeing as this is a war shooter, United Offensive is heavily scripted. That's nothing new to this genre. The problem is that it's sometimes too scripted and the only way to pass a certain part is by trial and error. You get the impression that if you don't do something perfectly right you'll easily die and will have to try again. Thank goodness for the 'quicksave' button.
If you get bored of United Offensive's 7 hours of scripted war scenes, then look no further than its own multiplayer feature. Multiplayer is an absolute blast! There are three new types of gameplay that have been added to the traditional Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. The first of which is Domination. Although this style of gameplay isn't exactly new to multiplayer games, it's definitely new to the Call of Duty series. In Domination, two teams must attempt to capture 5 to 6 zones on the map. These zones are resembled by flags that the player must stand under for a certain amount of time in order to capture it. The next one is Capture the Flag. I don't think we need to explain this one at all. Perhaps the best multiplayer gameplay style is Base Assault. Two teams have to attack and destroy at least three of the opposing team's bases on a map. You must first destroy the base's defenses with heavy weapons, and then the infantry can go in and plant satchel charges to blow the whole place.
Also new to the multiplayer battles are drivable vehicles. This adds a Battlefield 1942 sense of style to the gameplay. Anything from jeeps to tanks can be fully controlled with one man on the machine gun and the other driving the vehicle. Of course there are plenty of anti-tank weapons lying about, but you still may want to consider running for cover when you see a couple of German tanks heading your way. As the result of including vehicles, the 11 new multiplayer maps are huge. There are plenty of large battlefields, rolling hills, and ruined cities that offer perfect sniping positions. All said and done, this makes for one heck of a great multiplayer experience.
On the more technical side of things, Call of Duty: United Offensive is still utilizing the old Quake III engine. Who would have thought that this overused engine could still have some eye candy to pump out of it? Gray Matter tried their best to squeeze out some more details and they succeeded very well. The most notable of graphical enhancements are the explosions. The explosions are bigger, better, and full of more debris. Plus the smoke effects look so real that at times it may even look picture perfect. Other than that, United Offensive contains basically the same look and appeal of Call of Duty.
Once again United Offensive delivers some detailed and engaging audio for a WWII shooter. Just like in Call of Duty, every explosion, bullet, and cry for help can be heard. It gets particularly intense during the Russian missions when there are many things happening all at once. With so much chaos, your speakers are filled with the sounds of war. Make sure that those speakers are 5.1 surround sound speakers too, so you can get the best experience and hear everything the game has to offer.
As usual, your AI counterparts are right there by your side throughout the game. The only problem is that the game seems to be driven by your actions. For example, your men won't move up any further without you moving up first. This gives the feeling that your squad mates really aren't thinking on their own and taking actions into their own hands.
Conclusion
If you enjoyed Call of Duty the first time around then Call of Duty: United Offensive should peak your interest. It's definitely a worthy expansion to this great World War II shooter, and Gray Matter did a great job at capturing the intensity of the original game. After all, that's what makes this series so great: the intense and large-scale battles. Without this, United Offensive would just be another boring shooter making its way to the bargain bin with no takers. Luckily that's not the case here. This expansion pack still manages to bring some new and interesting details to this overplayed war. Which is just what this genre needed.
The strange thing here is that Infinity Ward did not develop this expansion pack to their big WWII hit, Call of Duty. Instead, publisher Activision sought out the help of one of their other development teams, Gray Matter Studios. Maybe Infinity Ward was too busy working on Call of Duty 2, but either way Gray Matter did a great job of keeping the same feel of the original Call of Duty and placing it into this expansion pack.
Call of Duty: United Offensive plays out much like the original game. Throughout the game you once again get to play as the Americans, British, and Russians in that order. However, this time around it feels like more intensity has been added to the mix. Call of Duty had some very intense and insane missions, and then eased it up a bit mainly in the British campaign with a slower pace. In United Offensive it seems like you're always in the middle of some type of large scale gun fight. It's this style of gameplay that'll have you running for cover throughout its 7 or so hours of gameplay.
Starting out in the American campaign, you play as a member of the 101st airborne, by the name of Riley. This campaign takes place in the Battle of the Bulge and later has you recapturing such places as the Belgian town of Noville. Within only a few seconds of gameplay, a German patrol gets the drop on your squad and gunfire is fiercely exchanged. Not long after, you find yourself trying to escape the grasp of the Nazi soldiers via a car with a machine gun mounted on the back. Upon reaching the rest of your platoon, you're introduced to a large field where soon the Nazi's, and your fellow soldiers, will battle it out in a very intense battle including tanks, heavy machine gun fire, and U.S. planes dropping some carnage in the form of bombs. The British campaign contains, perhaps, one of the most fun missions in this expansion pack. You start this campaign as a British gunner named Doyle, on a B17 bomber in route to destroy some German factories. Thankfully you're not restricted to using just one gun on the bomber. You can leave your gunner position and freely roam about the confined space of the plane. After your Captain repeatedly orders you to get to your position, the first wave of Luftwaffe fighters commences an attack. It's up to you, and the rest of your crew, to shoot down any enemy fighters and keep them away from your group. The battle looks large and dynamic as you look out of windows and run frantically back and forth to take up gunner positions that your fallen crewmembers no longer occupy.
After taking on wave after wave of Nazi fighters, you must release the bombs onto your target by using a manual crank since the doors have become stuck. You can see explosion after explosion as your bombs hit their target on the ground below. It's at this point that your plane comes under heavy attack and breaks in two. With nothing to grab onto, you're sent plummeting down to the German infested land below. Good thing you wore your parachute.
Finally, you end your battles as a Russian conscript named Yuri during the Battle of Kursk. Historically, this was one of the greatest tank battles of all time, and it really shows this in the game. In the beginning of this campaign you're immediately put into action as your officers herd you and your comrades like cattle from a freight train into cargo trucks. The trucks take you to the front lines where the Germans are leading attacks across a large field and into your trenches. You're then ordered to take out the enemy artillery in order to stop the German advance.
The expansion pack does more than merely give you new missions to complete. United Offensive also adds some new weapons to your arsenal. The Americans and Russians receive a light mounted machine gun that can be deployed onto any surface and is an easy way of cutting down any enemies. Both sides also receive new models of bazookas. The British now have a Silenced Sten machine gun that is very powerful against any foe. Lastly, the Germans receive their flamethrower. You can find and use this weapon at certain parts within the Russian campaign, and it serves as a very powerful close-range weapon.
We've been mentioning a lot of good things about this expansion pack, but unfortunately it's not without fault. The one major element that is quite bothering is the gameplay. Of course, seeing as this is a war shooter, United Offensive is heavily scripted. That's nothing new to this genre. The problem is that it's sometimes too scripted and the only way to pass a certain part is by trial and error. You get the impression that if you don't do something perfectly right you'll easily die and will have to try again. Thank goodness for the 'quicksave' button.
If you get bored of United Offensive's 7 hours of scripted war scenes, then look no further than its own multiplayer feature. Multiplayer is an absolute blast! There are three new types of gameplay that have been added to the traditional Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. The first of which is Domination. Although this style of gameplay isn't exactly new to multiplayer games, it's definitely new to the Call of Duty series. In Domination, two teams must attempt to capture 5 to 6 zones on the map. These zones are resembled by flags that the player must stand under for a certain amount of time in order to capture it. The next one is Capture the Flag. I don't think we need to explain this one at all. Perhaps the best multiplayer gameplay style is Base Assault. Two teams have to attack and destroy at least three of the opposing team's bases on a map. You must first destroy the base's defenses with heavy weapons, and then the infantry can go in and plant satchel charges to blow the whole place.
Also new to the multiplayer battles are drivable vehicles. This adds a Battlefield 1942 sense of style to the gameplay. Anything from jeeps to tanks can be fully controlled with one man on the machine gun and the other driving the vehicle. Of course there are plenty of anti-tank weapons lying about, but you still may want to consider running for cover when you see a couple of German tanks heading your way. As the result of including vehicles, the 11 new multiplayer maps are huge. There are plenty of large battlefields, rolling hills, and ruined cities that offer perfect sniping positions. All said and done, this makes for one heck of a great multiplayer experience.
On the more technical side of things, Call of Duty: United Offensive is still utilizing the old Quake III engine. Who would have thought that this overused engine could still have some eye candy to pump out of it? Gray Matter tried their best to squeeze out some more details and they succeeded very well. The most notable of graphical enhancements are the explosions. The explosions are bigger, better, and full of more debris. Plus the smoke effects look so real that at times it may even look picture perfect. Other than that, United Offensive contains basically the same look and appeal of Call of Duty.
Once again United Offensive delivers some detailed and engaging audio for a WWII shooter. Just like in Call of Duty, every explosion, bullet, and cry for help can be heard. It gets particularly intense during the Russian missions when there are many things happening all at once. With so much chaos, your speakers are filled with the sounds of war. Make sure that those speakers are 5.1 surround sound speakers too, so you can get the best experience and hear everything the game has to offer.
As usual, your AI counterparts are right there by your side throughout the game. The only problem is that the game seems to be driven by your actions. For example, your men won't move up any further without you moving up first. This gives the feeling that your squad mates really aren't thinking on their own and taking actions into their own hands.
Conclusion
If you enjoyed Call of Duty the first time around then Call of Duty: United Offensive should peak your interest. It's definitely a worthy expansion to this great World War II shooter, and Gray Matter did a great job at capturing the intensity of the original game. After all, that's what makes this series so great: the intense and large-scale battles. Without this, United Offensive would just be another boring shooter making its way to the bargain bin with no takers. Luckily that's not the case here. This expansion pack still manages to bring some new and interesting details to this overplayed war. Which is just what this genre needed.
