The abilities within the game and the button layout are also top notch and are very easy to pickup and learn right away. You can carry two weapons, smoke grenades, and regular grenades. You can kneel or go prone with one button, aim with the left analog stick, move the with the right, throw grenades with the L and R buttons, shoot with the right trigger, and aim with the left trigger. You can even hold your breath while aiming, by pushing in the left analog stick, in order to steady your shot. The only problem in the 360 version of the game is that you can’t peek around corners. I saw my soldier mates and enemies alike doing this throughout the game and wondered why I couldn’t. It seems this is a PC only feature that 360 owners will miss out on. The good thing is that it’s not a major feature that will deter very much from the game at all.

Multiplayer in Call of Duty 2 feels like a great added extra as the single player alone is worth the price of admission. The modes available are deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and search and destroy. They are all very fun and are extremely smooth online. After hearing reports that the online component of the game wasn’t that great I was worried but after experiencing it first hand I can honestly say that it plays smooth and is great fun. And even though the 360 version is limited to 8 players online I didn’t feel as though this was a major detractor at all. Call of Duty 2 for the 360 also features four player split screen which is a welcome feature for those with real friends and no internet. It’s smooth as butter framerate and the hardcore ability to link up several systems and several TVs for up to 16 player local network action makes for a great extra for the 360 version.

The glue that holds all these features together commonly known as presentation is also extremely well crafted. From History Channel footage with narration at the beginning of each campaign, to easy to use menus, to HD support that makes the game just as pretty as the PC version this game really has all you’d ever want from a nextgen launch title.

As for which version is better, PC or XBOX 360, I’d really have to go with the 360. This is the type of FPS that really feels great with a controller and plays extremely smooth with no need for the latest graphics card and driver tweaks. Then you throw in Dolby 5.1 sound and HDTV support and you’ve got a living room experience like none other.

If you like FPS games on consoles, great immersion, true nextgen graphics, variety in single player, fun smooth multiplayer, and everything else good listed above then you’re going to want to at least rent this 15 hour classic. If you’re hardcore and want gamer points you’ll probably want to rent it twice or buy it as the veteran difficulty is a bit rough but in a good way. So if you’re not overly sick of WWII shooters you should definitely grab this one with the purchase of your brand new 360.

• Immersive environments and events
  
• Great FPS gameplay
  
• Best next generation graphics of the 360 launch

• Reports of laggy online play
  
• Bug that erases game saves after a certain mission